Grizzlies start California trip with big day

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

4/13/2023 8:57:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results

By: Montana Sports Information

Head coach Doug Fraley had hopes for his team entering this week's trio of meets in southern California. He hoped that the nicer weather and good venues would allow for a distraction-free competition. He hoped that the competition level would make his athletes rise up to a challenge. He hoped that the meet would result in a lot of growth from his student-athletes.

After one day of competition, it seems that all of his hopes have come true. The Montana track and field team had a standout day at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Meet in Long Beach on Thursday, setting 14 new PR's and coming very close to a few Montana school records.

"It was a really good start to our trip. I was really proud of the way the kids travelled yesterday and took care of themselves," Fraley said. "They got up today very enthusiastic and ready for some good performances, so they did a good job handling their first big trip of the year."

The success across the board made it hard for Fraley to focus on the performances of individuals or groups. The Grizzlies competed with just 14 women and 15 men this weekend because of the travel involved, giving some of the best performers on the team a chance to stand out in the sunny weather.

They didn't let their coach down, competing very well across the board against talented fields. It is a sign that this team is hungry to compete on the big stage, which includes the Big Sky meet in May.

"There were so many areas today that it wouldn't be fair to single any particular group of people out because we had a lot of athletes that had PR's and season-bests," Fraley said. "It is very encouraging for us to get out here in good conditions with good competition and see the team respond the way they did."

A definite highlight of the day came early on the track. Jaydon Green already owns the Montana school record for the 60-meter hurdles indoors, but he's looking to add an outdoor school record to his name. He very nearly did.

Green ran a tight race to finish in seventh overall with a time of 14.25 seconds. It was a new personal best for Green, and came up just one-hundredth of a second shy of the school record set in 1970 by Roy Robinson.

"The great thing about Jaydon's run is it still has a lot of room for improvement," Fraley said. "For him to be able to be that close to a school record and get a new PR with a lot of room for improvement, it's very encouraging."

It was a good day overall for Montana's sprinters, as five new PR's were set by the women's group. Mikenna Ells and Lily Meskers both had double-PR days in the 100 and 200-meter races, but perhaps the best performance came from Holly Sudol in the 400.

Sudol shattered her previous outdoor best by nearly three seconds, setting a new PR with a time of 54.80. After reaching the podium in the event at the Big Sky Indoor meet, Sudol kept the positive momentum rolling in her first run of the outdoor season.

She finished second in the event in a field of nearly 50 runners, outpacing all but one of them for the highest individual finish by a female Grizzly on the day.

"She was excited to get the outdoor season started in the 400 and ran a really good, patient race," Fraley said. "It was an excellent 400 opener for her and we're excited to see her run the 400 hurdles on Saturday, which could very well end up being her best event during this outdoor season."

Sudol, Ells and Meskers also combined with Audrey Smith to improve the 4x100-meter relay team's time by nearly a half of a second. Fraley put Sudol in the anchor position, and said he was very happy with the handoffs the team performed.

While Sudol was a near-winner, Montana did pick up an event win on the men's side. Evan Todd continued his perfect streak to start the season, winning his third straight javelin event with a throw of 214-10. Montana placed three men in the top eight in that competition with Matthew Hockett (198-7, 5^th) and Everett Fred (191-7, 8^th) both recording good throws.

A strong day for the throws group was capped off in the final event. "Mr. PR" Noah Ramirez continued his skyward trajectory with a new best of 57-0.75. It's the third straight week that Ramirez has improved in the event, and it gets him within 18 inches of the school record.

The school records weren't out of danger quite yet. After a disappointing week in the wind and cold at the Griz-Cat Dual for Zane Johnson, the junior pole vaulter responded with the best day of his career in California.

Johnson had a double-PR in the pole vault and made his way up to 16-11. It's seven inches better than his previous best jump, and it also brings him just over three inches away from Keith Webber's school record set in 2014.

It's the best jump by a Big Sky athlete this season and puts him in a tie for 26^th in the NCAA West Region.

"It's a huge deal. Most years that will get you into the NCAA First Round," Fraley said. "That gives you kind of the scope of what he did today in jumping 16-11. PR'ing twice is hard to do. Typically, you get a little excited when you PR and let a little bit of air out of the tank but he stayed focus and made it a double PR day which was very impressive."

The freshman duo of Patrick Kremer and Erin Wilde both reached new heights in the high jump. Kremer had cleared 6-5 for the opening two meets. In California, he went bigger, jumping 6-7 for a new personal best that placed him 16th overall.

Wilde improved three inches on her previous best. Her mark of 5-7.25 placed her third in the event out of 31 competitors.

They weren't the only Grizzly jumpers to have career days at Long Beach. Junior Jason Upton fouled on his first two attempts at the long jump, but made the most of his final attempt. He jumped 23-11, improving on his previous best mark by over four inches. In the long jump later in the day, Ailsa Gilbert had a season-best jump of 18-0.25.

Kylie Frohlich had a solid performance in the javelin, narrowly missing out on both the finals and a PR with a throw of 131-8. She finished 13^th overall in the event.

The final PR's of the day came from the men's sprint group. Cooper Hewett (10.57 seconds) and Teagun Holycross (10.67) both set new personal records in the 100-meter.

Montana's heptathletes were also in action at the Bryan Clay Invitational. They will wrap up the competition on Friday, and full results will be posted at the completion of the event.

Montana got off to a great start on Thursday, but they aren't done for the week. They will have athletes competing on Friday before a full slate of action on Saturday. After the success that Fraley and his team saw today, they can't wait to get back on the track.

"We're really looking forward to tomorrow's action with the few athletes that we have tomorrow and then all hands on deck Saturday," Fraley said. "The weather is supposed to be even better and warmer on Saturday, so this was a good start to our trip."

Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Results
Women's 100m – Mikenna Ells (12.24*, 40^th/90), Lily Meskers (12.32*, 47^th), Audrey Smith (12.32, 47^th)
Women's 200m – Mikenna Ells (25.04*, 22^nd/91), Lily Meskers (25.31*, 33^rd)
Women's 400m – Holly Sudol (54.80*, 2^nd/49)
Women's 800m – Katie Whitehurst (2:16.89, 7^th/21)
Women's 100m hurdles – Ailsa Gilbert (14.82, 39^th/59)
Women's 4x100m relay – One squad (46.58, 4^th/20)
Women's high jump – Erin Wilde (5-7.25*, 3^rd/31)
Women's long jump – Ailsa Gilbert (18-0.25, 25^th/60)
Women's triple jump – Ailsa Gilbert (37-1, 19^th/23)
Women's pole vault – Shealyne McGee (12-4, t-12^th/47), Aly Tekippe (11-10, t-27^th)
Women's hammer – Kaitlyn Gallo (178-11, 20^th/34)
Women's javelin – Kylie Frohlich (131-8, 13^th/29)

Men's 100m – Cooper Hewett (10.57*, 11^th/60), Teagun Holycross (10.67*, 24^th)
Men's 200m – Xavier Melice (22.02, 28^th/61),
Men's 400m – Paul Johnstone (48.46, 11^th/46), Taylor Johnson (49.63, 23^rd)
Men's 110m hurdles – Jaydon Green (14.25*, 7^th/37)
Men's 400m hurdles - Cutter Thatcher (55.66, 13^th/32)
Men's 4x100m relay – One squad (41.76, 11^th/16)
Men's high jump – Patrick Kremer (6-7*, 16^th/30)
Men's long jump – Jason Upton (23-11*, 9^th/49)
Men's pole vault – Zane Johnson (16-11*, t-8^th/40), Carson Weeden (15-11.25*, 25^th)
Men's shot put – Noah Ramirez (57-0.75*, 9^th/50)
Men's javelin – Evan Todd (214-10, 1^st/24), Matthew Hockett (198-7, 5^th), Everett Fred (191-7, 8^th)