Griz track and field opens outdoor season in Sacramento

Friday, March 15

Sacramento, Calif.

Montana

Hornet Invitational

Scenes from the final day of the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Greeley (5.13.23)

Griz track and field opens outdoor season in Sacramento

3/14/2024 9:41:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana track and field team will open the outdoor season this weekend in Sacramento as they get a jump-start to the season at the Hornet Invitational. It will be one of the earliest starts to the outdoor season in program history.

The Griz finished up the indoor season at the Big Sky Championships in Spokane on the last week of February. Montana progressed well throughout the winter, and are hoping to keep that momentum rolling in California.

"There is an adjustment that takes place after you have a big build up for the indoor championships," head coach Doug Fraley said. "We think this is a good opportunity for our kids to get out to California, potentially get some good weather, and bridge that gap between the two seasons."

Montana's season typically opens with the Al Manuel Invitational in Missoula on the final weekend of March. In Fraley's first season as head coach, he followed the same pattern that the program had historically followed.

But the time off in between the seasons felt long, particularly for some of the athletes that aren't able to compete in their strongest events – or at all – during the indoor season.

"Last year we had a pretty big gap in between the end of indoor season and our first meet," Fraley said. "One of the things that me and my staff talked about was creating an earlier opportunity to break up that month, so we decided we would venture out to Sacramento to get some of our kids into a situation with good weather to be able to start the outdoor season."

The Montana men finished in fifth place at the Indoor Championships, outperforming the preseason expectations and getting their highest finish at the conference meet since 2017. They now get to add events like the javelin, where Evan Todd is the two-time defending conference champion in a deep event for the Grizzlies.

The outdoor season also includes the 400-meter hurdles, another strength for the Grizzly men, along with the hammer throw.

Another key addition will be the return of conference champion Jaydon Green. Green did not have any indoor eligibility remaining this season, but the defending 110-meter hurdle champion and holder of multiple school records will be back in the fold outdoors.

"We're looking forward to the outdoor season. Coming off a successful indoor championships, we feel like we've got some momentum," Fraley said. "This meet in Sacramento is really a good opportunity for those events that are not held indoors like the javelin, 400-hurdles, hammer throw, some of those events where we're going to be strong this year, to give those athletes an opportunity to get a meet under their belt before we come back to Montana and start our regional competitions."

It's similar on the women's side, where Montana has been strong in several of the outdoor-only events. The Griz will hope for not only good weather in California, but also good competition.

"They typically have well attended meets," Fraley said. "Obviously it will be good to compete against Sacramento State, which is a team in our league, but there's also so many schools out in California that you will typically get really good competition at a meet like this."

The Grizzlies will compete across six weekends in the regular season before the Big Sky Championships in May. They will host three of the meets, starting with the Al Manuel Invitational on March 22-23. They will host the Montana Open in late April, and the Tom Gage Classic on the first week of May.

"Home meets are great because it gives every athlete on our roster a chance to compete," Fraley said. "A lot of parents come out and support our team. I was really pleased with the home attendance at our meets last year. I think the dual meet, even though it's in Bozeman, will be the same."

Montana Women's Entries
100m- Tara Ohlwiler, Mikenna Ells, Lily Meskers
200m- Mikenna Ells, Tara Ohlwiler, Claire Hutchison, Lily Meskers, Whitney Morrison
400m- Whitney Morrison
800m- Katie Whitehurst, Mackenzie Morgan
100mH- Jayel Dovichak, Brooke Stayner, Ailsa Gilbert, Whitney Morrison
400mH- Jayel Dovichak
4x100m- One squad
4x400m- One squad
High Jump- Erin Wilde, Claire Hutchison, Brooke Stayner, Whitney Morrison
Pole Vault- Emma Zimmerman, Molly Chambers
Long Jump- Ailsa Gilbert, Whitney Morrison
Discus- Cathlene Van Zyl
Hammer- Savana Ramirez, Cathlene Van Zyl
Javelin- Lea Moose, Brooke Stayner

Montana Men's Entries
100m- Cooper Hewett, Karsen Beitz
200m- Cooper Hewett, Karsen Beitz, Paul Johnstone, Taylor Johnson, Xavier Melice, Jason Upton
400m- Taylor Johnson, Xavier Melice, Paul Johnstone
110mH- Jaydon Green
400mH- Adam Maxwell
4x100m- One squad
4x400m- One squad
High Jump- Patrick Kremer, Zachary Travis, Adam Maxwell
Pole Vault- Zane Johnson
Long Jump- Jason Upton, Jethro Thorne, Gordon McMillion, Patrick Kremer
Discus- Walker McDonald
Hammer- Walker McDonald
Javelin- Evan Todd, Everett Fred