Griz head south for trio of California meets

Thursday, April 13

Long Beach, Calif.

Montana

Pacific Coast Invitational

Scenes from the Griz-Cat Dual at Dornblaser Track on April 1, 2023.

Photo by: UM Photo/Tommy Martino

4/12/2023 10:42:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Pacific Coast Schedule Beach Invitational Schedule Bryan Clay Invitational Schedule Performance List

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana track and field team is heading south to sunny California this week, competing across a trio of meets as they hit the midway point of the outdoor season. The Grizzlies will start the week Thursday at the Pacific Coast Invitational with a select squad of participants and remain in southern California through Saturday.

It will give Montana an elevated competition level and bigger fields from what they've seen through the first two weeks of the outdoor season, but most importantly it should give them good weather to try to improve their marks. Temperatures are expected to be in the high 60s and low 70s throughout the week, a drastic improvement from the cold, wind, and snow that Montana have competed through thus far in the season.

"We're excited about heading down to the Los Angeles area because of the good weather that they typically have down there," head coach Doug Fraley said. "The Brian Clay and the Long Beach meets are excellent performance venues. The competition level is going to be really good. We're excited after having two home meets in less than ideal conditions to get down there and see what we can do."

It will also be the first chance for some of Montana's multi athletes to put a number on the board. The Grizzlies will have three women competing in the heptathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Morgan Radtke will look to build on her third-place finish in the indoor pentathlon. She will be joined by Whitney Morrison, who has experience in the event, and freshman Brooke Stayner.

The meet, which is named after 2008 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bryan Clay, is one of the premier multi-events in the entire country. It should give a great test to the Grizzlies competing there.

"That's an area we look to be strong for us at the conference championship. This gives those ladies a great opportunity to get into a high-quality multi against really good competition and see where they are at," Fraley said. "Adding those extra events from the indoor pentathlon, it's a new experience for them and Brian Clay is one of the best places to go and get that under your belt, get that valuable experience before the most important multi which is the conference meet."

Outside of the multi athletes, Montana will also have another entry into the highly competitive Bryan Clay Invitational, which has tough requirements for entry and hosts top athletes from schools across the entire country. Maxwell Scott will run the 5,000-meter race for Montana on Friday night.

Similar to the multis, the meet is well-renowned for putting together highly competitive distance races

"If you are a good distance runner in this country, you are going out there to run this weekend," Fraley said. "Regardless of what section Max gets in, it is going to be a great race and a great opportunity for him at sea level to go and potentially run a fast time."

The rest of the Grizzlies that are travelling will be competing in Long Beach at the Pacific Coast Invitational on Thursday, followed by the Beach Invitational on Friday and Saturday. It's another chance at a championship level competition for the Grizzlies.

After two events at home, one against primarily NAIA competition and another a dual with Montana State, the variety and depth of competition that will be on hand at Long Beach will be a welcome change.

"Our hope is that they will rise to the level of competition that they're going to be facing, which is definitely going to be a step up for every kid that we're taking," Fraley said. "It will be a good indicator mid-season of where we are performance wise in what you consider good competition conditions. We're excited to step up to the challenge of stronger competition and see if we can elevate our performances from what we have at home."

The Grizzlies are travelling a limited number of athletes on this trip, but are still represented in most events by at least one athlete. Several will be looking to build upon great starts to the season in much better conditions.

Evan Todd leads Montana's trio of impressive javelin throwers in a competition that has certainly been a strength for the Grizzlies. Todd ranks 18^th in the NCAA West region and second in the Big Sky after throwing 222-0 at the Griz-Cat Dual. Matthew Hockett is third in the league and 32^nd in the region with a best throw of 208-7 this year, while Everett Fred is currently just outside of qualification for the regionals at 50^th.

Todd has a chance to threaten Jensen Lillquist's school record of 232-6 sometime this season, and California should provide a great opportunity. He's not the only Grizzly that is within the vicinity of a school record.

Noah Ramirez has improved on his previous PR in both meets this season in the hammer and the shot put, but it's the latter event where he has a chance to make Grizzly history. Ramirez is currently 56^th in the west region and third in the Big Sky with a season-best throw of 56-5.75. He improved over three feet from the first event to the second this year, and is now just over two feet away from Brent Yeakey's school record.

Also in the men's field events, Zane Johnson and Carson Weeden, who both rank inside the top four of the conference, will look to rise even higher in the pole vault.

Montana will have a trio of sprinters in the 100m with Cooper Hewett, Teagun Holycross and Jason Upton. Hewett currently ranks inside the top six in the Big Sky in both the 100m and the 200m. Cutter Thatcher takes the fourth-best 400-meter hurdle time in the conference to California as well.

On the women's side, Shealyne McGee (pole vault) and Kaitlyn Gallo (hammer) are both in the top 75 in the West Region in their respective events. There is also a trio of sprinters (Audrey Smith, Mikenna Ells and Holly Sudol) that are in the top 12 in the Big Sky in the 100 meters that will be in action.

Plenty of other Grizzlies that are within scoring range in the Big Sky will be competing. Kylie Frohlich in javelin, Erin Wilde in the high jump, and Ailsa Gilbert in several events will have a chance to move into or remain in the top eight in the Big Sky.

The two-day meet will have preliminaries on Friday and finals on Saturday, providing a format similar to the Big Sky Championships for Montana to participate in.

"The top kids on our roster are going on this trip and they're all getting an opportunity to do their strongest events," Fraley said. "Some will do other events because we have two meets out there so we have them scheduled to do a variety of events that are all in their wheelhouse to provide good, realistic competition opportunities like they have at the conference meet."

In addition to the setup of the meet, the level of competition and the excitement around the meets should also give Montana a taste of what the Big Sky Championships will be like.

"When you are running a distance race at the Brian Clay meet, it is a championship environment regardless of which section you are in," Fraley said. "It's very exciting, it's very much like championship track and field like it will be at the Big Sky meet in Greeley. It's a great opportunity for those athletes to get that championship feel midseason."

The same can be said of the Long Beach State events, where they typically fill out fields from all across the country with a high level of competition.

"In every event that we're going to be doing at Long Beach, it is as good or better competition than what we will face at the Big Sky Championships," Fraley said. "That's why we are making the investment to go down there for those two meets is to be able to put our athletes in every scenario that they will need to face to get ready for the Big Sky Championships."

The Grizzlies will travel on Wednesday before competing over the next three days. Fraley is also excited to see how his team responds the aspects of travelling for a meet like this after being at home for the previous two meets.

And while spring has shown signs of finally arriving in Missoula, it will nice for Fraley and his staff to be able to focus completely on performance in California.

"The meets we've had so far you are watching the weather and it's driving you crazy," Fraley said. "When is it going to rain? When is it going to snow? The reason you go to southern California this time of year is so that all you're worried about is competing. You aren't worried about the elements or any of those sorts of things that can hold you back. We can go down there and just compete aggressively in good conditions against great competition. It really will be a great midseason measuring stick for where we are at."

Pacific Coast Invitational Entries (Thursday, April 13)
Men's 100m – Cooper Hewett, Teagun Holycross, Jason Upton
Men's 200m – Xavier Melice
Men's 400m – Paul Johnstone, Taylor Johnson
Men's 110m hurdles – Jaydon Green
Men's 400m hurdles – Cutter Thatcher
Men's 4x100m relay – One squad
Men's high jump – Patrick Kremer
Men's pole vault – Zane Johnson, Carson Weeden
Men's long jump – Jason Upton
Men's shot put – Noah Ramirez
Men's hammer – Noah Ramirez
Men's javelin – Evan Todd, Matthew Hockett, Everett Fred

Women's 100m – Audrey Smith, Mikenna Ells, Holly Sudol, Lily Meskers
Women's 200m – Holly Sudol, Lily Meskers, Mikenna Ells
Women's 400m – Holly Sudol
Women's 800m – Katie Whitehurst
Women's 100m hurdles – Ailsa Gilbert
Women's 400m hurdles – Holly Sudol
Women's 4x100m relay – One squad
Women's high jump – Erin Wilde
Women's pole vault – Shealyne McGee, Aly Tekippe
Women's long jump – Ailsa Gilbert
Women's triple jump – Ailsa Gilbert
Women's hammer – Kaitlyn Gallo
Women's javelin – Kylie Frohlich

Bryan Clay Invitational Multi Event Entries (Thursday and Friday, April 13-14)
Women's heptathlon – Whitney Morrison, Brooke Stayner, Morgan Radtke

Brian Clay Invitational Collegiate Entries (Friday, April 14)
Men's 5,000m – Maxwell Scott

Beach Invitational Entries (Friday and Saturday, April 14-15)
Men's 100m – Cooper Hewett, Teagun Holycross, Jason Upton
Men's 200m – Cooper Hewett, Teagun Holycross
Men's 400m – Paul Johnstone, Taylor Johnson, Xavier Melice
Men's 1,500m – Maxwell Scott
Men's 110m hurdles – Jaydon Green
Men's 400m hurdles – Cutter Thatcher
Men's 4x100m relay – One squad
Men's 4x400m relay – One squad
Men's high jump – Patrick Kremer
Men's pole vault – Zane Johnson, Carson Weeden
Men's long jump – Jason Upton
Men's shot put – Noah Ramirez
Men's hammer – Noah Ramirez
Men's javelin – Evan Todd, Matthew Hockett, Everett Fred

Women's 100m – Audrey Smith
Women's 200m – Audrey Smith
Women's 400m – Holly Sudol, Lily Meskers, Mikenna Ells
Women's 800m – Katie Whitehurst
Women's 100m hurdles – Ailsa Gilbert, Brooke Stayner, Whitney Morrison
Women's 400m hurdles – Holly Sudol, Brooke Stayner
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
Women's long jump – Ailsa Gilbert, Whitney Morrison
Women's triple jump – Ailsa Gilbert
Women's hammer – Kaitlyn Gallo
Women's javelin – Kylie Frohlich