Montana heads to Big Sky Indoor Championships

Thursday, February 23

Moscow, Idaho

Montana

Big Sky Indoor Championships

Photo by: Torrey Vail

2/21/2023 9:30:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

ESPN+ Live Stream Live Results Meet Schedule Big Sky Women's Performance List Big Sky Men's Performance List Montana Performance List

By: Montana Sports Information

The rehearsals are over and the stage is set. The Montana track and field team will travel to Moscow, Idaho this week for the Big Sky Indoor Championships. The meet begins Thursday with the multi-events and continues until Saturday evening.

It's head coach Doug Fraley's first chance to see his athletes competing on the biggest stage that the conference has to offer, and also the first time that he will be competing in a meet that welcomes the full league.

"I'm really excited to be going to my first Big Sky Indoor Championships and really get a feel for what the conference is all about at a championship type event," Fraley said. "You're curious how the environment is in that championship situation."

The first four meets of the season have been deemed successful for the first-year staff, blending together experienced veterans with a cast of younger student-athletes to create an environment of growth.

One of the things, prior to the season beginning, that Fraley was most excited for was seeing how his team reacted in live competition. Their first meet in December was cancelled, which led to months of training without a real competition. The team grew during that time, and Fraley became familiar with the athletes, but it's hard to replicate the emotions and adrenaline that come with a real meet. This weekend, those levels are cranked up even higher.

"You go to the conference meets and the lights are brighter, so it's another level. It's something my staff and I are looking forward to is seeing how this team does at the next level," Fraley said. "If your normal meet is a six on a scale of one to ten, the conference meet is a nine or a ten."

The growth mindset has been key for Montana this year as they look to continue building on past results. Fraley said that one of the biggest things for him as a coach is to see that his team is excited and unified, and that certainly is true of the Grizzlies.

He said the team is very self-motivated, and that there are plenty of leaders on the team that are helping to keep the focus on the task at hand. It should hopefully lead to success in a meet that is much more team oriented than any that they have competed in so far. This is about more than individual times and marks, it's about contributing to your team score.

It's easy to go into a bigger meet like this and let the excitement get to you, but it's important to remember that at the end of the day it is still just a track meet.

"That's what makes this fun. For the majority of the track season we go along and all we're looking at is time and distance because your typical track meet doesn't keep score," Fraley said. "Then all of a sudden you go to the conference championships and the time and distance is secondary to points on the board.

"At the same time, you don't want your team changing their outlook going in and that's one of the things as a staff that we want to make sure our kids are still preparing the way they have," Fraley continued. "You don't want a sudden change in mentality where it feels like a different sport you're going into."

Montana was picked seventh in the Big Sky preseason polls on both the men's and the women's side. It places them in a tight group of teams that should be highly competitive, which means that every point that the Grizzlies can earn will make a huge difference in where they end up in the standings.

The top eight positions all score points for their teams. After the regular season, Montana have eighth women across five events in the top eight on the Big Sky performance lists and five men across six events in scoring position currently.

The Grizzly men and women are also in the top eight in the 4x400-meter relay and the distance medley relay. For Fraley, big performances from the team's leaders along with a few outside contenders breaking into scoring position will be key to rising above that seventh-place prediction.

"We have some people firmly in the top eight that we need to take care of business and do what they do. We have a lot of people right on the fringe in that 8-12 area that if they break through we can exceed our expectations," Fraley said. "If they don't break through, it's probably going to be fairly accurate."

The meet will start Thursday with one of Montana's strengths. There are currently three Grizzlies inside the top eight in the women's pentathlon, led by Morgan Radtke (3) and Brooke Stayner (4). Whitney Morrison also cracks the top eight.

Radtke, a senior from Drummond, brings the veteran leadership and experience having scored in three Big Sky multi-events in her career. Stayner, a hometown Missoula freshman, is one of the more-promising athletes on the team competing in just her second collegiate multi. The group has the talent and potential to set the tone for the week.

"It's' a great thing that we're starting off with that event on Thursday because I believe that group is going to give us a really good jump start going into the week," Fraley said. "I think when the rest of the meet starts on Friday we should have a little boost in the points from that multi so we're really looking forward to getting started off. That's a real strength for our women's team."

The race to watch for the men will the 60-meter hurdles, where school record holder Jaydon Green will have a shot at a Big Sky title. He's currently third in the performance lists with a time of 7.86, trailing the leader Jerome Campbell by just 0.16 seconds.

There are a few more key areas of strength on the women's side for Montana. The pole vault is certainly one, where the Grizzlies place Shealyne McGee and Aly Tekippe in scoring range entering the meet and Emma Zimmerman and Molly Chambers are lurking just outside.

The 400-meter race will also be an area to watch as Holly Sudol has been among the Big Sky's best. She won the event at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open and improved on her time the following week to rank fifth in the conference. Mikenna Ells has also improved her time in every meet this season to move up to 11^th.

"Holly in the 400 is ranked and she will also run on the 4x400-meter relay and that's a big area for us," Fraley said. "I think Mikenna is on the outside but she could potentially break through and get to the final."

The same event is also a strength for Montana on the men's side. They have a lot of depth at the 400, but haven't been able to get everyone running at full health this year. They are hoping the week off leading up to the meet will be a difference maker in surprising some teams and putting points on the board.

Taylor Johnson currently ranks sixth in the Big Sky with a time of 48.58. The Grizzlies also have three athletes in the 13-15 range, which doesn't include Xavier Melice or Cade Johnstone.

"The men's 400-meter we've got Taylor ranked in the top eight but we've also got the two Johnstone brothers who are healthy now and haven't really had a chance to race, so they are wild card. Xavier Melice is the same way," Fraley said. "If one of two of them happen to hit a good race that can change things dramatically."

Noah Ramirez also has an opportunity for a big weekend. The senior from Milwaukie, Ore. has been on an incredible trajectory this year. He has improved more than four feet on his shot put mark and nearly nine feet in the weight throw from the opening meet of the season. The marks have him among the top eight in both events, creating multiple scoring opportunities.

"Noah's trajectory this indoor season has been fantastic," Fraley said. "He's just gradually improved week-to-week and month-to-month, so if he stays on that same trajectory and goes in and has the type of meet that he's been having, I think he's got a good chance to place in those two events."

Erin Wilde is top five in the high jump for the women and Katie Whitehurst is currently in eighth place in the 800. The men also have Teagun Holycross in eighth place in the 60-meter race. There are also several breakthrough candidates for Montana, and plenty of athletes that are floating around on the fringes of scoring territory. This includes Zane Johnson in men's pole vault.

Johnson is currently tied for fifth in the Big Sky with a mark of 16-0.75. There are three athletes with the same exact mark, and four more within three inches in either direction. It creates an event that should be full of drama.

"There's a lot of critical events, and the pole vault is one that, if you make 16 feet on your third attempt you might get ninth but if you make 16 feet on your first attempt you might get fourth," Fraley said. "That's just how tight some of these events are and so a couple of key performances here and there that move you into that top eight is going to be critical."

The women's 800 is another event that should be highly competitive. Whitehurst, a sophomore from Whitehall, has won the event at two different stops this indoor season and ranks eighth in the conference. But the margins are thin in such a highly competitive race. She is one of many Grizzlies in the similar position of needing to match or best their marks entering the meet to get some points.

"When you're in that spot if you have a good race you should advance, but if you have a little bit of an off race you're probably not going to and there are just so many little areas like that," Fraley said.

Jason Upton is another athlete that is currently on the outside looking in, but one that could be crucial for the Griz. He is 11^th in the Big Sky in both the long jump and triple jump, but Fraley said he has the ability to breakthrough into the top eight in either.

The meet will conclude Saturday evening with an event that Montana should be expected to get some points in. They are currently in the top five and will compete in the faster of two heats in both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relay.

"We're going to have a good mix of upperclass leadership and really good underclassmen who have earned their way onto those relays," Fraley said. "Those should be high points for us."

You can look at the performance lists all you want and wear yourself out crunching the numbers and trying to find areas to score. At the end of the day, for Fraley and all of Montana's athletes, all that matters is the performance on the track.

"You can have all the predictions but ultimately if you're going to improve on the expectations going in you've got to have a well-rounded effort from the veterans who have been in that situation to the rookies who are in it for the first time," Fraley said. "Truly at the conference meet it is a team effort if we're going to exceed the expectations of that seventh-place ranking."

The dress rehearsal is done. The curtains are ready to be drawn back and the lights are flicking on. It's time for Montana to start the big show.

"We've had athletes that have done a great job progressing through the indoor season. I like to call it the dress rehearsal," Fraley said. "Those have gone really well, but now it's time to see what happens when we're in front of the audience."

Big Sky Indoor Championship Entry List
Men's 60m – Teagun Holycross, Cooper Hewett, Jason Upton
Men's 200m – Teagun Holycross, Cooper Hewett
Men's 400m – Taylor Johnson, Paul Johnstone, Jay Beagle, Cade Johnstone, Xavier Melice
Men's 800m – Casey Crouch, Will Dauenhauer
Men's Mile – Lane Cole, Rogelio Mares, Truman Cowan
Men's 3,000m – Maxwell Scott, Nathan Carter
Men's 5,000m – Maxwell Scott
Men's 60mH – Jaydon Green, Porter Coffield
Men's 4x400m Relay – One squad
Men's Distance Medley Relay – One Squad
Men's High Jump – Patrick Kremer, Adam Maxwell, Alfred Peterson
Men's Pole Vault – Zane Johnson, Carson Weeden, Carter Petersen
Men's Long Jump – Jason Upton, Gordon McMillion
Men's Triple Jump – Jason Upton
Men's Shot Put – Noah Ramirez
Men's Weight Throw – Noah Ramirez

Women's 60m – Audrey Smith
Women's 200m – Holly Sudol, Audrey Smith
Women's 400m – Holly Sudol, Mikenna Ells, Lily Meskers
Women's 800m – Katie Whitehurst
Women's Mile – Jaylyn Hallgrimson, Bridget Boyle, Iris McKean, Mackenzie Morgan
Women's 3,000m – Kayla Ingraham
Women's 60mH – Brooke Stayner, Ainsley Shipman, Ailsa Gilbert, Kara Mattson
Women's 4x400m Relay – One squad
Women's Distance Medley Relay – One squad
Women's High Jump – Erin Wilde, Morgan Radtke, Brooke Stayner
Women's Pole Vault – Shealyne McGee, Aly Tekippe, Molly Chambers, Emma Zimmerman, Ani Smith
Women's Long Jump – Kara Mattson, Ailsa Gilbert, Perry Paffhausen
Women's Triple Jump – Ainsley Shipman, Kara Mattson, Ailsa Gilbert
Women's Shot Put – Ariel Clark, Madi Arneson, Whitney Morrison
Women's Weight Throw – Savana Ramirez, Ariel Clark
Women's Pentathlon – Morgan Radtke, Brooke Stayner, Whitney Morrison, Ainsley Shipman