Griz return home for Montana Open

Friday, April 19

Missoula, Mont.

Montana

Montana Open

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

4/17/2024 11:36:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Performance List Live Results Schedule

By: Montana Sports Information

The Grizzly track and field team returns home this weekend to host the Montana Open on Friday and Saturday. It's the second of three home meets this season for Montana, which is entering the home stretch of the season with just four weeks to go until the Big Sky Championships.

The meet begins on Friday at 11:30 a.m. with the women's hammer throw. The men's hammer and both javelin competitions will follow. The rest of the events begin Saturday at 11:00 a.m. with track events starting at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday.

After a successful trip to California last weekend, this meet provides Montana a good chance to get all of its athletes in action. The Grizzlies will compete against Montana State as well as a number of NAIA teams, including Carroll, Tech, Western, Providence and Rocky. CSU-Pueblo, a D-II school coached by Matt Morris, a UM grad whose son Cooper is redshirting at UM this year, will also compete.

"It's good to come back from a week like California where we only took the top end of our roster and then have a home meet because that way we can get all of the kids that didn't travel back in action," head coach Doug Fraley said. "It's an excellent opportunity for those kids that are still working their way up the roster to get out and do some events and really solidify spots for Pocatello next week, and ultimately the Big Sky meet."

Montana travels to Idaho State next weekend for the Bengal Invitational before closing out the regular season with the Tom Gage Classic on May 4 in Missoula.

The Grizzlies brought 16 male and 16 female athletes to California last week. The final travel roster for the Big Sky Championship will include 28 total from each gender, meaning there are plenty of championship-level athletes excited to get back into action this weekend.

This meet will be a chance for those Grizzlies on the bubble to prove that they deserve a spot on the travel roster to Bozeman on May 8.

"We've got a lot of important people on our team that will be competing this weekend that didn't get to make it to California," Fraley said. "There's a lot of people that will be going to the conference meet, so we're excited to see them in action."

There were several big-time performances by Grizzlies in California on both sides as Montana aimed for regional positioning. The highlight was the performance of Evan Todd, who earned the Big Sky Field Athlete of the Week honor following a career-best javelin mark of 232-3. He missed out on a UM school record by mere inches and is ranked 13^th in the West Qualifying region.

Zane Johnson also made his case for a regional spot in the pole vault. Johnson, who qualified last season as well, set a new season-best with a mark of 16-11 that moved him into 2^nd place in the Big Sky and 28^th in the West. Johnson, like Todd, is closing in on a Montana school record. The current mark is 17-2.75 set by Keith Webber in 2014.

Jaydon Green already owns the school record in the 110-meter hurdles but moved into a regional qualifying position with a 14.12 time in California.

On the women's side, Erin Wilde continued her impressive and consistent season with a few big marks in the high jump. She leads the Big Sky and is 43^rd in the West with her season-best mark of 5-8.

The big mover on the women's side was Whitney Morrison, who completed a lifetime-best heptathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Morrison scored 4,928 in the multi, setting several new individual event PRs in the process. Her score would have been good for an All-Conference spot in 2023, and currently leads the Big Sky this season.

Ariel Clark also had a good week, setting a new PR in the hammer with a throw of 189-7. Clark moved up to 3^rd in the Big Sky and 43^rd in the West with the throw.

The trip included multiple meets and fierce competition over a short time span, so some of the top athletes on Montana's roster may use the week to rest and recover.

"Some of the kids that competed real hard out in California this week don't really need to compete, so we're taking it on a case-by-base basis of who will compete and in what events," Fraley said.

It just opens up even more opportunities for the rest of the Grizzlies to put on a show. There are plenty of Montana athletes that weren't in California that are still in the point-scoring range in the league's performance lists.

If they can have a big performance at home in front of a great crowd at Dornblaser Field, it will hopefully give them some nice momentum heading into the final three weeks.

"As we continue to evaluate the roster from top-to-bottom, these meets are important not only because we get to compete in front of our fans, but also for kids trying to prove themselves for the homestretch here in the season," Fraley said.

Montana will also be hosting its annual Spring Social and Fundraiser on Friday at 7 p.m. The deadline to purchase tickets to the event, which will include beer and wine tastings, appetizers, and a large silent auction, is Wednesday, April 17 at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets to the event, which is 21+, can be purchased HERE.

"We're excited to be able to tie the fundraiser in with a home meet," Fraley said. "We expect a lot of people to be coming to town to watch the meet and last year was such a great success, so we're hoping to build on that this year."

Montana Men's Entries
100m- Jason Upton
200m- Xavier Melice, Karsen Beitz, Cody Lease, Jay Beagle, Ty Ferguson, Gordon McMillion
400m- Xavier Melice, Jay Beagle, Ty Ferguson, Garrett Dahlke
800m- Henry Ballinger, Casey Crouch, Truman Thompson, Michael Jump
1,500m- Brady Woods, Colin Shaules
5,000m- Maxwell Scott, Zachary Giesch
110mH- Jaydon Green, Easton Brotherson
400mH- Adam Maxwell
Steeple- Carson Steckelberg
4x400m- One squad
High Jump- Patrick Kremer, Zachary Travis, Rhett Reynolds
Pole Vault- Zane Johnson, Kevin Swindler, Carson Hegele, Carter Petersen, Jackson Merrill
Long Jump- Jason Upton, Jethro Thorne, Gordon McMillion, Patrick Kremer
Triple Jump- Dylan Zink
Shot Put- Wade Rykal, Alex Shields, Memphis Black, Porter Coffield
Discus- Walker McDonald, Porter Coffield
Hammer- Walker McDonald, Wade Rykal, Alex Shields, Memphis Black
Javelin- Evan Todd, Everett Fred, Porter Coffield

Montana Women's Entries
100m- Mikenna Ells, Lily Meskers, Audrey Smith, Claire Hutchison, Destiny Santiago
200m- Lily Meskers, Mikenna Ells, Claire Hutchison, Audrey Smith, Jayel Dovichak, Destiny Santiago
400m- Cosley Bruno
800m- Mackenzie Morgan, MacKenzie Dean
1,500m- Jaylyn Hallgrimson, Kayla Ingraham, Layne Lathrop, Ella Rubel, Jade Hallgrimson
5,000m- Kayla Ingraham, Iris McKean, Jade Hallgrimson
100mH- Brooke Stayner, Ailsa Gilbert, Jayel Dovichak, Whitney Morrison, Ainsley Shipman
Steeple- Iris McKean
High Jump- Erin Wilde, Claire Hutchison
Pole Vault- Samantha Serex, Emma Zimmerman, Molly Chambers, Chesnee Lawrence, Hannah Moses
Long Jump- Perry Paffhausen, Ainsley Shipman, Brooke Stayner, Whitney Morrison
Triple Jump- Ailsa Gilbert, Ainsley Shipman
Shot Put- Cathlene Van Zyl, Scout Nadeau, Morgan Thomas
Discus- Morgan Thomas, Mary Mickelson
Hammer- Ariel Clark, Morgan Thomas, Scout Nadeau, Mary Mickelson, Molly O'Dell
Javelin- Lea Moose, Ashley Carroll, Tatum MnNamara, Brooke Stayner