Freshmen impress in debuts at Bobcat Preview

Thursday, December 5

Bozeman, Mont.

Montana

Bobcat Preview

Photos from the Spokane Indoor Challenge on Jan. 13, 2024.

Photo by: Torrey Vail

12/5/2024 9:02:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana track and field team opened up the indoor season Thursday evening in Bozeman at the Bobcat Preview meet. It was a day full of debuts for a young Grizzly squad as several freshmen shined in the first action of the season.

The Griz had four event wins on the men's side and three on the women's side competing against Montana State and a number of NAIA schools from the state of Montana.

But in a preseason style meet it was all about the good first impressions from the younger athletes.

"I think that was the best thing about this meet today," Fraley said of the freshmen performances. "We had really good performances from our veterans. Shea in the pole vault, Erin in the high jump, our multis did some good things in their individual events today, but really the highlight for our staff is how well some of the true freshmen competed."

In her first collegiate race, freshman Brooke Zetooney finished 3^rd out of 20 competitors in the women's 60m. Zetooney ran a time of 7.62, which came with .06 seconds of the school record set in 2022 by Emma Normand.

Freshman Caiden Sekuterski won his first-ever collegiate meet in the men's long jump. Sekuterski went 22-8 to top the field of 13 competitors, outpacing the nearest Grizzly by almost a foot.

The Griz had a freshman winner in the women's 60-meter hurdles also as Kensey Gault took the top spot with a time of 8.80 seconds.

The men's sprint group was paced by freshmen as well. Malaki Simpson was the top Grizzly in the 60m with a time of 6.90 seconds, and he was also the second-best Grizzly and third overall in the 300m.

Fellow freshman Braden Ankeny was second overall and the top Grizzly in the 300m with a time of 35.42.

"It means a lot. As coaches, we're evaluating and most freshmen have a lot of things to work on and improve," Fraley said. "The first indication that you want to see with newcomers is that they get better when the lights are on, and I felt like across the board in all of the events today where we had freshmen, they were very good."

Erin Wilde picked up right where she left off last spring, winning the women's high jump with a mark of 5-7. Wilde won three times last indoor season, including at the Big Sky Championships.

On the men's side, Zachary Travis won the Bobcat Preview for the second straight season in the high jump. Travis jumped 6-5.5 last year to claim the title, and improved on that with a 6-6.75 clearance on Thursday. Patrick Kremer was second in the event with a clearance of 6-4.75.

The throws crew had a good showing on the men's side as well. Donaven Humphries had a throw of 57-0 to place third in the event. It's further than any throw by a Grizzly male last season in the event. Humphries was also second in the shot put.

Sophomore Alex Shields won the shot put with a throw of 55-9.25.

Easton Brotherson picked up a win in the men's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.35 seconds.

The women's throws group had a pair of top three finishes. Savana Ramirez was second in the weight throw with a mark of 55-1.5. Cathlene Van Zyl was second in the shot put with a throw of 43-7.

Overall, Fraley liked the starting point for his squad. The Grizzlies now get over a month off before beginning the grind of the indoor season in late January.

"The great thing about a preseason meet like this is that everybody knows where they are at at this point," Fraley said. "It's a track meet, there's going to be some ups and some downs when there are this many people competing. But this gives us the data to know where we are at in each area and each group.

For the kids that competed it's a reality check and for some it's good, and for some it's a wake-up call, and that's why we do this preseason meet up here."

MEN'S RESULTS
60m- Malaki Simpson (6.90, 3^rd/36), Karsen Beitz (6.96, 6^th), Brody Thornsberry (6.98, 8^th), Evan Barnes (7.07, 14^th), Taylor Johnson (7.17, 20^th), Jay Beagle (7.20, 21^st), Ty Ferguson (7.31, 26^th), Gordon McMillion (7.31, 28^th)
300m- Braden Ankeny (35.42, 2^nd/12), Malaki Simpson (35.51, 3^rd), Karsen Beitz (35.71, 5^th), Taylor Johnson (36.18, 7^th), Ty Ferguson (36.58, 8^th), Adam Maxwell (37.27, 10^th), Easton Brotherson (37.28, 11^th)
600m- Michael Jump (1:23.76, 3^rd/4)
60mH- Easton Brotherson (8.35, 1^st/11), Evan Barnes (8.64, 4^th)
High jump- Zachary Travis (6-6.75, 1^st/12), Patrick Kremer (6-4.75, 2^nd), Adam Maxwell (6-2.75, 6^th)
Pole vault- Carson Weeden (15-7, 5^th/16), Kevin Swindler (15-1, 6^th), Carter Petersen (15-1, 8^th), Carson Hegele (14-7.25, 11^th)
Long jump- Caiden Sekuterski (22-8, 1^st/13), Gordon McMillion (21-11, 3^rd), Brody Thornsberry (21-5.25, 4^th)
Triple jump- Dylan Zink (42-2.75, 3^rd/6)
Weight throw- Donaven Humphries (57-0, 3^rd/14), Tyler Bates (53-7.5, 7^th), Wade Rykal (48-4*, 12^th), Alex Shields (46-2.5, 13^th)
Shot put- Alex Shields (55-9.25*, 1^st/14), Donaven Humphries (55-7.5, 2^nd), Wade Rykal (50-0*, 7^th)

WOMEN'S RESULTS
60m- Brooke Zetooney (7.62, 3^rd/20), Lily Meskers (7.67*, 6^th), Rileigh McGree (7.73*, 7^th), Tara Ohlwiler (7.74, 8^th), Claire Hutchison (7.80, 10^th), Audrey Smith (7.99, 14^th), Destiny Santiago (8.09, 15^th)
300m- Lily Meskers (39.44, 1^st), Claire Hutchison (41.27, 5^th), Whitney Morrison (42.07, 7^th), Kensey Gault (42.17, 8^th), Tara Ohlwiler (42.23, 9^th), Jayel Dovichak (42.27, 10^th), Audrey Smith (43.81, 12^th), Destiny Santiago (44.31, 14^th), Isabelle Berry (45.17, 16^th)
600m- Brooke Stayner (1:38.12, 3^rd/7), Katie Whitehurst (1:39.59, 5^th), Mackenzie Morgan (1:40.32, 6^th)
60mH- Kensey Gault (8.80, 1^st/24), Ainsley Shipman (8.85, 2^nd), Brooke Stayner (8.87*, 3^rd), Jayel Dovichak (8.89, 4^th), Whitney Morrison (9.02, 6^th), Isabelle Berry (9.29, 15^th),
High jump- Erin Wilde (5-7, 1^st/8)
Pole vault- Shealyne McGee (12-10, 5^th/17), Samantha Serex (12-0, 6^th), Hannah Moses (12-0*, 8^th), Molly Chambers (11-6.25, 9^th), Emma Weeden (11-6.25, 11^th), Chesnee Lawrence (11-0.25, 13^th), Ani Smith (10-6.25*, 15^th)
Long jump- Ainsley Shipman (17-9.5, 4^th), Whitney Morrison (17-9.5*, 5^th), Rileigh McGree (17-5.5, 6^th), Perry Paffhausen (17-1.5, 7^th), Kensey Gault (16-7.75, 9^th), Brooke Stayner (16-7.25, 10^th), Emily Maughan (16-4.5, 11^th)
Weight throw- Savana Ramirez (55-1.5, 2^nd), Scout Nadeau (49-4.5*, 6^th), Morgan Thomas (45-1.75, 10^th), Mary Mickelson (45-1.5*, 11^th)
Shot put- Cathlene Van Zyl (43-7*, 2^nd/13), Scout Nadeau (41-11.25*, 4^th), Morgan Thomas (41-4.5*, 5^th)

*denotes PR