Upton ties school record as Griz impress in Spokane

Friday, February 9

Spokane, Wash.

Montana

Whitworth Invite

Photo by: Torrey Vail

Upton ties school record as Griz impress in Spokane

2/10/2024 7:43:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana track and field competed in its final regular season indoor meet this weekend in Spokane and accomplished what they set out to do in the first meet of February. After taking last week off and seeing plenty of Big Sky competitors register big weekends, Montana needed to improve upon season marks in Spokane.

They did just that, recording 30 new PRs behind some fantastic improvements across the board. The women had 18 athletes record a personal best in an event while the men had 12.

"I feel like our group accepted the challenge of getting better this weekend," head coach Doug Fraley said. "They really came out and performed at a high level and it was a really good last tune up for us before we come back here in two weeks for the Big Sky meet."

The highlight of all of the success came from Jason Upton, who matched a 26-year old school record in the men's 60m.

Upton ran a time of 6.84 in qualifying to tie Todd Hering's school record set in 1998.

It was part of a fantastic overall meet for Upton, who won the men's long jump with a mark of 23-7.5 and also recorded a PR time in the 200m with a 22.06.

"That's as good of a 60-meter sprinter as we've had at Montana," Fraley said of Upton's performance. "For him to win the long jump, then tie the school record in the 60 and come back with a 200 PR, that is a really good weekend for him."

The women had a trio of event winners from athletes that have established themselves as Big Sky contenders this season. Erin Wilde won the high jump for the second time this season by clearing 5-7. She's been in the top three in all five meets this year.

Ariel Clark continued a dominant indoor season in the weight throw with her fifth event win. She topped the 27-athlete field with a throw of 56-10.75.

The duo have been solid all season long, which is encouraging as they get ready for the conference meet.

"Ariel and Erin did exactly what they've done all indoor season. They are so consistent right now and that gives them a chance to go into the Big Sky confident in the level they can perform at," Fraley said. "That is usually where big things come from, once you establish a high level of consistency it's usually where the big throws or big jumps come from."

Katie Whitehurst picked up her second 800-meter win of the season with a new PR of 2:11.88 seconds. She's improved every meet this season, starting at 2:15.18 the last time the Grizzlies were in Spokane on Jan. 13.

"Katie has been working very methodically through this indoor season. She's running what I consider much-improved race strategies and putting herself in good position," Fraley said. "Today was an opportunity with a fast pace going out to run a good time, and she and Mackenzie Morgan both PR'd by like two seconds so that was outstanding."

The Grizzlies also won the 4x400m relay on both the men's and the women's side. The women finished nearly five seconds ahead of the closest competition with a time of 3:51.11, while the men were three seconds clear of second with a time of 3:14.78.

Tara Ohlwiler had a fantastic day in the short sprints for Montana. The freshman set a new PR in the prelims of the 60m with a time of 7.66 to qualify for the finals. She then improved upon that time, running a 7.61 to finish third. It came within 0.05 seconds of the school record of 7.56 set by Emma Normand in 2022.

Ohlwiler's success continued on in the 200m, where she ran a 25.05 personal best time to finish third in that event as well.

The sprints in general were much improved on the women's side, as Claire Hutchison set PRs in the 60m and 200m while Audrey Smith, Cosley Bruno, and Jayel Dovichak all had lifetime bests in their respective events as well.

Dovichak had a PR in the 200m, but she impressed in her best event of the 60-meter hurdles. Another freshman that has put together an impressive debut season, Dovichak ran an 8.60 to finish in third in the event.

Ohlwiler and Dovichak have made an instant impact in their first season as Grizzlies.

"I was very impressed. They are two young ladies who have come in and really bought in to our program and progressed through the indoor season very maturely for freshmen," Fraley said. "I'm excited for their progress and really glad they are both at the University of Montana."

Freshman Karsen Beitz, also set new PRs in both sprint events to finish in seventh in the 60m and sixth in the 200m with a time of 21.68.

The jumps were strong on both sides once again. Wilde won the high jump, and Brooke Stayner and Whitney Morrison both set new personal bests in the event as well. In pole vault, Shealyne McGee finished third at 12-8.25 and Emma Zimmerman matched the height for a new PR.

Freshman Zachary Travis was the runner-up in the men's high jump with a season-best jump of 6-8. Patrick Kremer cleared the same height but finished fourth overall on misses.

Zane Johnson again performed well to lead a deep pole vault crew on the men's side, finishing second with a clearance of 16-7.5. Carson Weeden recorded a PR for the second straight meet and finished third at 16-3.5.

Henry Ballinger finished as the runner-up in the men's 800m with a new season best of 1:52.66. On the women's side Mackenzie Morgan ran a great 800 as well, making it two Grizzlies in the top three of that event with her PR of 2:13.58.

Mikenna Ells was second for the women in the 400m with a 55.49 second PR. Cathlene Van Zyle finished second in the women's shot put with a toss of 41-4.5, while Clark backed up her weight throw victory with a third-place finish in the shot.

Montana will now have a week off before they return to Spokane for the Big Sky Indoor Championships. The event begins on Feb. 22 with the multi-events and runs through Feb. 24.

"It's always good to get the event wins and as many PRs as we had. We got them from a lot of event areas, so we feel good about that," Fraley said. "We feel like mission accomplished this weekend and now we've got two weeks to get ready for the big one."

Women's Results
60m finals- Tara Ohlwiler (7.61*, 3^rd/8), Audrey Smith (7.79, 5^th)
60m prelims- Tara Ohlwiler (7.66*), Mikenna Ells (7.75), Audrey Smith (7.75*), Claire Hutchison (7.78*), Cosley Bruno (7.93)
60m qualifying- Lily Meskers (7.75*), Audrey Smith (7.76*), Claire Hutchison (7.90), Jayel Dovichak (7.92), Cosley Bruno (7.95), Ainsley Shipman (8.31)
200m- Tara Ohlwiler (25.05*, 3^rd/65), Claire Hutchison (25.45*, 8^th), Jayel Dovichak (25.63*, 10^th), Cosley Bruno (25.65*, 11^th), Audrey Smith (25.88, 15^th), Rileigh McGree (26.06, 19^th)
400m- Mikenna Ells (55.49*, 2^nd/53), Lily Meskers (56.91, 5^th)
800m- Katie Whitehurst (2:11.88*, 1^st/42), Mackenzie Morgan (2:13.58*, 3^rd)
Mile- Iris McKean (5:12.02*, 8^th/59)
3,000m- Kayla Ingraham (10:29.79, 8^th/35)
4x400m- Bruno, Meskers, Hutchison, Ells (3:51.11, 1^st/13)
60mH finals- Jayel Dovichak (8.60*, 2^nd/8), Brooke Stayner (8.96, 6^th), Whitney Morrison (9.04, 8^th)
60mH qualifying- Jayel Dovichak (8.80), Whitney Morrison (9.00*), Brooke Stayner (9.02), Ailsa Gilbert (9.18), Kara Mattson (9.62)
Long Jump- Ailsa Gilbert (17-3.5, 4^th/33), Brooke Stayner (16-10, 7^th), Perry Paffhausen (16-10, 7^th), Rileigh McGree (16-9.75, 9^th), Whitney Morrison (16-7, 10^th), Ainsley Shipman (16-5.75, 11^th), Kara Mattson (15-8.25, 17^th)
Triple Jump- Ainsley Shipman (Foul), Ailsa Gilbert (Foul)
High Jump- Erin Wilde (5-7, 1^st/28), Brooke Stayner (5-3.75*, 4^th), Whitney Morrison (5-1.75*, 12^th)
Pole Vault- Shealyne McGee (12-8.25, 3^rd/20), Emma Zimmerman (12-8.25*, 4^th), Molly Chambers (11-8.5, 6^th), Chesnee Lawrence (11-8.5*, 7^th), Hannah Moses (11-2.5, 9^th)
Shot Put- Cathlene Van Zyl (41-4.5, 2^nd/32), Ariel Clark (41-2.5, 3^rd), Whitney Morrison (35-8.5, 14^th), Brooke Stayner (28-5.5, 30^th)
Weight Throw- Ariel Clark (56-10.75, 1^st/27), Cathlene Van Zyl (40-11, 15^th)

Men's Results
60m finals- Jason Upton (6.89, 6^th/8), Karsen Beitz (6.93, 7^th)
60m prelims- Jason Upton (6.84*), Karsen Beitz (6.89*)
60m qualifying- Cutter Thatcher (7.21), Gordon McMillion (7.29)
200m- Karsen Beitz (21.68*, 6^th/63), Jason Upton (22.06*, 9^th)
400m- Taylor Johnson (48.46, 6^th/47), Ty Ferguson (48.48*, 7^th), Jay Beagle (48.49*, 8^th), Xavier Melice (48.83, 9^th)
800m- Henry Ballinger (1:52.66*, 2^nd/45), Casey Crouch (1:54.43, 6^th), Truman Thompson (1:55.06, 10^th), Cooper Morris (1:58.42*, 22^nd)
Mile- Lane Cole (4:19.11, 6^th/45)
3,000m- Maxwell Scott (8:48.66, 12^th/62)
4x400m- Beagle, Ferguson, Ballinger, Johnson (3:14.78, 1^st/13)
Long Jump- Jason Upton (23-7.5, 1^st/34), Gordon McMillion (22-10.75*, 3^rd), Jethro Thorne (21-9.5, 7^th)
Triple Jump- Dylan Zink (43-4.5, 7^th/20)
High Jump- Zachary Travis (6-8*, 2^nd/18), Patrick Kremer (6-8, 4^th), Adam Maxwell (6-4, 7^th), Porter Coffield (6-0*, 13^th)
Pole Vault- Zane Johnson (16-7.5, 2^nd/28), Carson Weeden (16-3.5*, 3^rd), Carson Hegele (15-3.75, 8^th), Kevin Swindler (15-3.75, 9^th), Carter Petersen (14-9.75, 12^th), Jackson Merrill (14-9.75, 15^th)
Shot Put- Porter Coffield (34-7.5, 33^rd/45)
Weight Throw- Walker McDonald (55-3.5, 4^th/35)