Griz track and field heads to Big Sky Indoor Championship

Thursday, February 22

Spokane, Wash.

Montana

Big Sky Indoor Championships

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

Photo by: Torrey Vail

Griz track and field heads to Big Sky Indoor Championship

2/21/2024 3:46:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Performance List Live Results Watch

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana track and field team has put together an impressive indoor season so far in 2024, routinely improving upon their marks from meet to meet. Now, the Grizzlies head to the Big Sky Championships to compete against a loaded conference looking to put together their best performance yet.

The meet begins Thursday with the multis and continues through Saturday evening. It is being held at The Podium Powered by STCU. The meet will have live results and will be streamed on ESPN+.

The goal all season for Montana has been to look internally and focus on results. Now, they shift the attention to the team score and will look to get as many athletes as they can onto the podium and into scoring positions.

"We go through the regular season really focused on improving our marks week to week and meet to meet. Then we get to the championship meet and distances, time, height, it doesn't matter," head coach Doug Fraley said. "It's where you place. It's one of the unique things about our sport. We're excited about it."

The Grizzlies were picked to finish eighth in both the men's and the women's preseason Coaches Polls. Last season, Fraley's first as head coach, Montana ended up eighth on the women's side and tied for seventh on the men's side.

They will look to exceed those expectations, and should have a good chance to do so based on the regular season performance lists. Montana, across the board in nearly every event, has at least one athlete that will enter with the potential to score.

For Fraley, it's about getting to the meet and maintaining the routine that got you there. The intensity and adrenaline that come with competing in a championship environment should only heighten performances.

"We're approaching it and going through the same preparation that we would for any other meet," Fraley said. "Our hope is that the championship environment will bring out the best in our athletes while they're doing what they've done throughout the regular season. That little extra bit of excitement should give you an edge for really good performances."

The Grizzlies head to Spokane with 32 total athletes ranking inside the top 10 in the conference's performance lists. There are only a handful of events where Montana doesn't have someone in the scoring range, but they make up for that with a few strong events.

The women's pentathlon could see multiple scorers, as could the 800m, weight throw, and pole vault on the women's side. The men have multiple athletes seeded in the top eight of the long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vault.

The high jump should be an event of particular note to Montana, as they have title contenders on both sides. Erin Wilde won the women's outdoor championship in 2023 and is seeded second with a 5-7.25 season best. She's won two meets and finished runner-up twice this season.

On the men's side, Patrick Kremer is seeded second and Zachary Travis is tied for third. The duo have been strong all season, combining for three meet victories.

There are seven other athletes that will enter the meet in the top five of the league's performance lists. Ariel Clark is fifth in the weight throw with a mark of 58-1. She's won four meets this year. Jayel Dovichak is fourth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.60 seconds. Katie Whitehurst had a new PR of 2:11.88 in the 800m to move into fifth place.

The men have Jason Upton entering the long jump competition as the third see with his mark of 24-3.75. He's also competing in the 60m where he tied the school record last meet with a 6.84 finish. Porter Coffield is fourth in the nine-man heptathlon field with his score of 4,525 from earlier in the year.

There's a pair of Grizzlies in the men's pole vault that enter as top five seeds. Zane Johnson is fourth with a jump of 16-8, and he has consistently performed this year by going above 16-6 in three different meets this year. Freshman Kevin Swindler hit 16-6.75 in his first meet and is seeded fifth.

"We've got some people in good positions to potentially compete for podium spots if they have a really good meet, and that's always exciting," Fraley said. "The Big Sky Conference is a good track league that's getting better every year, so to have people in a position to potentially get in the top five or make the podium is a big deal."

The meet will feature the No. 1 team in the country in the Northern Arizona men. In the final poll of the regular season, the Lumberjacks sat atop the country and will enter as the heavy favorites. They've won 11 straight Big Sky indoor titles. The NAU women dropped from the national rankings this week but are seeking their fourth straight title.

They lead a highly competitive field as the Big Sky continues to improve as a whole in the track and field world. Montana are looking to move up with the rest. They will have a chance to run against some of the top relay teams as both the men's and women's 1,600-meter relay teams qualified in the top four, which puts them in the final heat.

"That's something we strived for the whole indoor season was to put ourselves in a position to be in the fast heat in those 4x400 relays, simply because you know you will be in a race that's really, really fast," Fraley said. "The opportunity to compete against the top three teams in the league head-to-head is a big advantage for our group."

You can study the seedings plenty, but the meet will come down to who can perform at their best when the starting gun is shot or the bar is set. Montana is familiar with The Podium, making two trips to the venue during the regular season.

When they arrive there this weekend, they will look to put together more PR performances and quality marks. Fraley is confident that if his team goes out and performs the way they can, the team standings will show just how much progress the Grizzlies have made so far in 2024.

"As an overall unit our goal is to beat as many people in other jerseys as we can," Fraley said. "At the end of that, they will add up the points and we'll see where we are at. But really our main focus as a team is; it doesn't matter if you're ranked 20^th or 5^th, try to beat everyone you can and hold your seed or improve your seed. If our team goes out and does that, we will have a good finish."

Men's Entries
60m- Jason Upton, Teagun Holycross, Karsen Beitz, Cooper Hewett
200m- Karsen Beitz, Teagun Holycross, Cooper Hewett
400m- Taylor Johnson, Ty Ferguson, Jay Beagle, Xavier Melice
800m- Henry Ballinger, Casey Crouch
Mile- Lane Cole, Cooper Morris, Truman Thompson
High Jump- Patrick Kremer, Zachary Travis, Adam Maxwell
Pole Vault- Zane Johnson, Kevin Swindler, Carson Weeden, Carson Hegele, Jackson Merrill
Long Jump- Jason Upton, Gordon McMillion, Jethro Thorne
Triple Jump- Jason Upton, Zane Johnson, Dylan Zink
Weight Throw- Walker McDonald
Heptathlon- Porter Coffield

Women's Entries
60m- Tara Ohlwiler, Audrey Smith, Claire Hutchison, Rileigh McGree
200m- Tara Ohlwiler, Claire Hutchison, Audrey Smith
400m- Mikenna Ells, Lily Meskers
800m- Katie Whitehurst, Mackenzie Morgan
3,000m- Iris McKean, Kayla Ingraham
60mH- Jayel Dovichak, Brooke Stayner, Whitney Morrison, Ailsa Gilbert
High Jump- Erin Wilde, Brooke Stayner, Whitney Morrison
Pole Vault- Shealyne McGee, Emma Zimmerman, Molly Chambers, Chesnee Lawrence
Long Jump- Ainsley Shipman, Ailsa Gilbert, Rileigh McGree, Perry Paffhausen
Triple Jump- Ainsley Shipman, Ailsa Gilbert
Shot Put- Ariel Clark, Cathlene Van Zyl
Weight Throw- Ariel Clark, Savana Ramirez
Pentathlon- Whitney Morrison, Brooke Stayner