Montana to host Griz-Cat dual

Scenes from the the Al Manuel Invitational on March 25, 2023.

Photo by: UM Photo/Tommy Martino

3/30/2023 2:40:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Performance List (PDF)Schedule of Events

By: Montana Sports Information

After a chilly opening weekend at home, the Montana track and field team will hope for warmer weather but continued good performances this Saturday when they host the annual Griz-Cat Dual. The meet will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the women's hammer throw with the final relays scheduled for a 4:10 start. Attendance is free to all fans.

The Grizzlies had several athletes PR last weekend at home despite snowy and windy conditions. The winter weather created travel issues for Montana State's program. The majority of the Bobcat team was not able to make it to Missoula for the Al Manuel Invitational.

There shouldn't be any problems with travel this week, as the two rivals will meet at Dornblaser field. The Bobcats were picked to finish second in the Big Sky in both the men's and women's preseason polls. It should give Montana a great challenge in week two of the outdoor season.

"It's definitely a step up and it is a great piece of the progression," head coach Doug Fraley said. "It's an old-school dual meet where you keep score and it's against the other big in-state school. A lot of the kids from both schools have competed against each other in high school and know each other well. I look for it to be a real spirited competition between the two teams."

The dual will award team points based on finish in each individual event. It will be a 5-3-2-1 point system and the top two performers per event from each team will score. When asked if he expects his team's competitive level to rise based on the point system, Fraley said, "It should."

"The success of that meet is based on point totals and that's why I love dual meets," he continued. "It brings track and field into the sports culture of, you add up the points and the highest total at the end of the day wins just like in every other sport. That's the era that I grew up in, so I'm really looking forward to, win, lose, or draw, just the competitive spirit of two teams going head to head."

There were several standout performances in week one for Montana. While it's early in the season, the Grizzlies already have placed many athletes inside the top 10 of the Big Sky performance lists. Zane Johnson, who set a PR in the pole vault with a mark of 16-4.75, is currently second in the league, as is Evan Todd in the javelin with a throw of 213-9. Both athletes are among the top 30 in the NCAA West Region.

The javelin was a strength for the Grizzlies in week one as both Matthew Hockett and Everett Fred currently find themselves among the top 48 in the region as well.

Cooper Hewett returned from injury with a PR in the 100-meter that also has him ranked second in the conference, and is followed closely by Teagun Holycross in fourth place. Noah Ramirez in the shot put, Patrick Kremer in the high jump, and Casey Crouch and Will Dauenhauer in the 800-meter also rank in the top five in the Big Sky in their events.

The women's side competed hard as well and early in the season have placed several athletes within the top 10 in the Big Sky. Shealyne McGee highlights that grouping, as her vault of 12-7.5 puts her third in the Big Sky conference and 44^th overall in the NCAA West Region through the first few weeks of the outdoor season.

Kaitlyn Gallo also ranks third in the league in the hammer with a throw of 170-11, while Erin Wilde cracks the top 70 in the region and ranks sixth in the conference in high jump with an initial mark of 5-3.25 in the poor Missoula weather.

In the first week, several of Montana's top performers sat out or participated in events that they don't typically compete in, particularly on the track. There were a few that sat out from the opener because of slight knocks, but the Grizzlies are hoping to get competitors in every event against the Bobcats.

"We will be represented across all events with everybody that we have that is healthy," Fraley said. "Last week, we ran some off events for people just kind of breaking the ice. People will be doing their best events for us this weekend."

The schedule sets up well for the Grizzlies to get their progression into the season. After hosting these first two weeks at home, Montana will have an off weekend before heading south to California for several different meets from April 13-15.

Fraley expects that the level of competition, combined with the fact that this will be Montana's last live action for a few weeks, should have his team in a positive and aggressive mindset.

"This is a good medium for us between the first meet and then going out west, especially given the fact how strong Montana State is across the board. It will be an excellent test of where we are at in the early season," Fraley said. "It will help us shore up our roster for the kids that are going to go out and compete in California. Between the dual meet itself and trying to work yourself into a travel spot for the California meets, there is quite a bit at stake for our kids."

In a season that moves quickly, Fraley know that every step is important for his squad's development. A team that wasn't satisfied with the results of the indoor season has a chance to make a statement this weekend against a Big Sky title contender. But regardless of the result, it's progress that he's hoping to see.

"This is just another piece of the puzzle and our ultimate goal is to go to the Big Sky Championships and improve on the team finishes that we had indoors. That's important to our coaching staff and it's also important to our kids," Fraley said. "They were not at all pleased with the team finishes and are definitely striving to finish higher than we did indoors. That will be our litmus test for the season to see if we've gotten better."

FIVE EVENTS TO WATCH

1. Men's and women's pole vault, 11:30 a.m. – A highly competitive area for both the men and women of both teams, it's hard to miss this high-flying event. The Grizzlies are coached by Doug Fraley, a five-time national champion in the event at Fresno State, and Erica Fraley, who competed in the event at the 2008 Olympics.

Their guidance has Montana reaching new heights. Shealyne McGee on the women's side and Zane Johnson on the men's both had outstanding indoor seasons and kicked off the outdoor schedule with PR's last weekend. They lead a deep roster of Grizzlies on the rise.

They will have to face off against a very talented Bobcat team in an event that will see eight athletes in the top 100 in the west facing off against each other. Every attempt should matter in this one.

2. Men's Javelin, 12:15 p.m. – This event is perhaps the strongest for Montana on either side, led by the defending Big Sky Champion Evan Todd. He is one of three Grizzlies (with Matthew Hockett and Everett Fred) to rank inside the top 48 in the NCAA West Region, which is the necessary placement to advance past the Big Sky Championships.

The school record of 232-6 set by Jensen Lilliquist in 2019 is not out of Todd's reach this season, and is something to watch for as they progress throughout the year.

Montana's throwers will have their hands full, as the Bobcats also have Cooper Hoffman and Pat Vialva inside the top 30 in the region. It should make for a great display Saturday afternoon.

3. Women's high jump, ~11:30 a.m. – Erin Wilde had a spectacular freshman indoor season and started off in the cold weather with a jump of 5-3.25. In better conditions, expect the freshman to improve upon that mark. She's joined this week by Morgan Radtke, who has a career best mark of 5-7.25 in the event.

But Montana's jumpers will have their hands full in one of the deepest events for the Bobcats. Lucy Corbett is a four-time indoor Big Sky champion and is currently 21^st in the West Region with a jump of 5-7, and three other Bobcats have cleared at least 5-3 this year.

4. Men's 100m, 1:40 p.m. – The two Montana schools currently occupy four of the top six spots in the Big Sky Conference in this event, and a good chunk of team points could swing in either direction in the event. Yes, it's early in the season, but the starts that Cooper Hewett (10.66) and Teagun Holycross (10.79) got off to with PR's in the opening week are encouraging.

They will have to hold off Stryder Todd Fields (10.75) and Xavier Simpson (10.88) from MSU to take home the lion's share of the points in this event.

5. Women's 800m, 2:00 p.m. – Katie Whitehurst had a fantastic indoor season in this event, but came up heartbreakingly short of the finals at the Big Sky Indoor Championship. She is poised to improve on that finish in the outdoor season, and will have a couple of Bobcats to chase in Madison Smith and Mya Dube. Smith finished in fourth place at the Big Sky indoor meet in the event with a top-10 time in Bobcat program history.

Griz-Cat Dual Entry List
Men's 100m – Cooper Hewett, Teagun Holycross, Jason Upton
Men's 200m – Cade Johnstone, Cooper Hewett, Xavier Melice, Teagun Holycross, Ty Ferguson, Jay Beagle
Men's 400m – Paul Johnstone, Taylor Johnson, Ty Ferguson, Jay Beagle
Men's 800m – Will Dauenhauer, Casey Crouch, Rogelio Mares, Brady Woods, Lane Cole, Cooper Morris
Men's 1,500m – Maxwell Scott, Truman Cowan, Rogelio Mares, Nathan Carter, Lane Cole, Cooper Morris, Brady Woods
Men's 5,000m – Maxwell Scott, Nathan Carter, Truman Cowan
Men's 110m hurdles – Jaydon Green, Porter Coffield, Adam Maxwell
Men's 400m hurdles – Cutter Thatcher, Porter Coffield, Adam Mawell
Men's 3,000m steeplechase – Rogelio Mares, Cooper Morris, Brady Woods
Men's 4x100m relay – One squad
Men's 4x400m relay – One squad
Men's high jump – Alfred Peterson, Patrick Kremer
Men's pole vault – Zane Johnson, Carson Weeden, Carter Petersen, Carson Hegele
Men's long jump – Jason Upton, Alfred Peterson, Gordon McMillion, Patrick Kremer, Jethro Thorne, Dylan Zink
Men's triple jump – Zane Johnson, Dylan Zink, Gordon McMillion
Men's shot put – Noah Ramirez, Wade Rykal, Walker McDonald
Men's discus – Walker McDonald, Noah Ramirez
Men's hammer – Noah Ramirez, Walker McDonald, Wade Rykal
Men's javelin – Evan Todd, Matthew Hockett, Everett Fred

Women's 100m – Holly Sudol, Audrey Smith, Cosley Bruno, Rileigh McGree, Destiny Santiago, Kara Mattson
Women's 200m – Lily Meskers, Mikenna Ells, Audrey Smith, Cosley Bruno, Destiny Santiago, Ainsley Shipman
Women's 400m – Lily Meskers, Mikenna Ells
Women's 800m – Katie Whitehurst, Mackenzie Morgan, MacKenzie Dean, Iris McKean, Jaylyn Hallgrimson
Women's 1,500m – Jaylyn Hallgrimson, Kayla Ingraham, Iris McKean
Women's 5,000m – Beatrix Frissell, Olivia Lackland-Henry, Kayla Ingraham, Leah Gath, Jaylyn Hallgrimson
Women's 100m hurdles – Ailsa Gilbert, Morgan Radtke, Kara Mattson, Rileigh McGree, Ainsley Shipman, Brooke Stayner
Women's 400m hurdles – Holly Sudol, Brooke Stayner
Women's 3,000m steeplechase – Iris McKean
Women's 4x100m relay – One squad
Women's 4x400m relay – One squad
Women's high jump – Morgan Radtke, Erin Wilde
Women's pole vault – Shealyne McGee, Aly Tekippe, Emma Zimmerman, Molly Chambers, Ani Smith
Women's long jump – Ailsa Gilbert, Morgan Radtke, Kara Mattson, Ainsley Shipman, Rileigh McGree, Perry Paffhausen, Brooke Stayner
Women's triple jump – Ailsa Gilbert, Ainsley Shipman
Women's shot put – Madi Arneson, Molly O'Dell
Women's discus – Madi Arneson, Molly O'Dell
Women's hammer – Kaitlyn Gallo, Savana Ramirez, Molly O'Dell
Women's javelin – Autumn Morse, Kylie Frohlich, Tatum McNamara, Lea Moose, Cyisa Weidman, Brooke Stayner