Griz deliver all-around team performance on Saturday

Friday, April 19

Missoula, Mont.

Montana

Montana Open

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

Griz deliver all-around team performance on Saturday

4/20/2024 7:17:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The wind calmed down and the sun shone brightly on the Montana track and field team as it hosted the Montana Open on Saturday at Dornblaser Field. The Grizzlies made the most of a great spring day in Missoula with a complete team performance that featured PRs across the board and 10 total event wins.

The Grizzlies started with a bang on Friday as Evan Todd broke the school record in the men's javelin, and the rest of the squad built on that momentum on Saturday.

"I'm super pleased with the weekend," head coach Doug Fraley said. "Starting it off yesterday with Evan breaking the javelin record and then getting a bunch of PRs in the hammer was great, and then we came out today and the breeze laid down, temperatures got warm, and the number of PRs and season-best and event wins that we got today was outstanding from all areas.

"We're looking to be developing all areas of our track team, and I felt like we made good headway in that development today," Fraley said.

Montana had plenty of wins on the day, and got a pair of them from sophomore sprinter Lily Meskers. She picked up the double in the 100m and 200m, finishing in 12.23 seconds in the 100 and setting a new PR with a 24.50 time in the 200m.

Mikenna Ells finished second in both events and Claire Hutchison gave the Grizzlies a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 with a third-place finish in the event.

The men dominated the sprints as well with Teagun Holycross returning from injury to win the 100 with a time of 10.71 seconds. Holycross finished third in the 200, but the freshman Karsen Beitz brought home the win for Montana with a 21.79 time.

There were event wins from a couple of Grizzly veterans on the track for the men as well. Xavier Melice ran a season-best 48.07 time to win the men's 400m and move into 7^th place in the Big Sky this season.

Jaydon Green delivered as he always does at home, winning the men's 110m hurdles in a time of 14.21. The Grizzlies had a 1-2 finish in that event as well as freshman Easton Brotherson ran a 14.77 time for second. He missed all of the indoor season and part of outdoor with a hip injury, but now has a top 10 time in the conference after just two races.

Jayel Dovichak led the way in a sweep of the top four spots in the women's 100m hurdles. She was followed by Brooke Stayner, Ailsa Gilbert, and a PR from Ainsley Shipman to make it a dominant event for the Grizzlies.

The distance crew picked up some impressive wins on the day as well. Kayla Ingraham ran a PR in the 5,000m to win with a time of 17:51.24. Freshman Carson Steckelberg improved drastically on his first time in the steeplechase and won the event with a PR of 9:34.36. Iris McKean also set a new PR in the steeple with a time of 11:57.44.

The Griz had a win in the field as well. Erin Wilde continued a remarkably consistent season in the women's high jump by clearing 5-7 to win the event. It's her second event win and the fourth meet this season that she has cleared at least 5-7.

"It really felt just like a big, teamwide effort," Fraley said. "We had so many good performances, event wins, and just to see the team create a lot of energy at this home meet on a beautiful day like this with a lot of people in the stands, it was a really fun day to be the head coach here."

There were plenty of other notable performances. Emma Zimmerman had an outdoor PR in the pole vault (12-7.5) for a second place finish. Ainsley Shiopman had a long jump PR of 18-3.25 to lead the way for the Grizzlies, and she also finished second in the triple. Morgan Thomas (discus) and Cathlene Van Zyl (Shot Put) recorded top three finishes.

Carson Hegele and Kevin Swindler both cleared 16-0 in the pole vault for the first time outdoors to finish second and third in the event. Rhett Reynolds, competing in his first event after two seasons with Griz Hoops, finished second in the high jump.

Perhaps the most hotly contested event of the day was the men's long jump. Montana's Jason Upton finished second with a jump of 24-1.5. Gordon McMillion finished third at 23-6.75 and Jethro Thorne was fourth at 22-8.5 in an event that featured four of the top seven jumpers in the Big Sky.

Walker McDonald had a new PR and second-place finish in the men's discus, and there were massive roars for a freshman from Missoula, Alex Shields. Shields destroyed his previous PR by over a meter with a throw of 53-4.5 in the shot put to finish second in another competitive field.

There was plenty to like for Fraley and company, who are hitting their stride with just two weeks remaining in the regular season. Montana heads to Pocatello, Idaho for the Bengal Invitational next weekend. It will be a competitive, two-day meet that will serve as a conference championship primer for many of Montana's top athletes.

"We did a really good job building through this meet and I'm really excited to go to Pocatello for our last real regular season test," Fraley said. "We're excited and looking forward to carrying this momentum over into next week."

The meet capped off a wonderful weekend overall for Grizzly track and field. The team hosted its spring social and fundraiser on Friday night and had a great turnout in an event that makes a big difference for Fraley and his staff.

"Thank you to everyone who attended the social on Friday night," Fraley said. "It was even better than last year and just continues to build momentum for our program. I just want to thank everybody that was involved with that and the people that came for being there."

MONTANA OPEN RESULTS
100m- Lily Meskers (12.23, 1^st/17), Mikenna Ells (12.25, 2^nd), Claire Hutchison (12.54, 6^th), Audrey Smith (12.55, 7^th), Destiny Santiago (12.84*, 10^th)
200m- Lily Meskers (24.50*, 1^st/15), Mikenna Ells (24.72*, 2^nd), Claire Hutchison (25.25, 3^rd), Destiny Santiago (26.20*, 6^th)
400m- Cosley Bruno (58.02*, 3^rd/11)
800m- MacKenzie Dean (2:17.50*, 5^th/10), Mackenzie Morgan (2:18.04, 6^th)
1,500m- Jaylyn Hallgrimson (4:55.79, 10^th/22), Layne Lathrop (5:12.46, 15^th), Ella Rubel (5:26.93
5,000m- Kayla Ingraham (17:51.24*, 1^st/6), Jade Hallgrimson (18:09.07*, 2^nd)
100mH- Jayel Dovichak (14.26, 1^st/13), Brooke Stayner (14.42, 2^nd), Ailsa Gilbert (14.51, 3^rd), Ainsley Shipman (14.86*, 4^th), Whitney Morrison (15.66, 7^th)
Steeple- Iris McKean (11:57.44*, 2^nd/12)
High Jump- Erin Wilde (5-7, 1^st/11), Claire Hutchison (5-1, 6^th)
Pole Vault- Emma Zimmerman (12-7.5*, 2^nd/17), Molly Chambers (12-1.25, 4^th), Chesnee Lawrence (10-7.5, 11^th), Hannah Moses (10-7.5, 11^th)
Long Jump- Ainsley Shipman (18-3.25*, 5^th/15), Whitney Morrison (17-11.5*, 6^th), Perry Paffhausen (17-9, 8^th), Brooke Stayner (17-1.25, 10^th)
Triple Jump- Ainsley Shipman (36-4, 2^nd/8)
Discus- Morgan Thomas (135-10, 3^rd/9), Mary Mickelson (130-10, 6^th)
Shot Put- Cathlene Van Zyl (43-7.25, 3^rd/12), Scout Nadeau (43-4.5*, 4^th), Morgan Thomas (40-2.75, 7^th)

100m- Teagun Holycross (10.71, 1^st/16), Jason Upton (10.87, 4^th)
200m- Karsen Beitz (21.79, 1^st/16^th), Teagun Holycross (22.07, 3^rd)
400m- Xavier Melice (48.07, 1^st/10), Jay Beagle (48.43, 2^nd), Ty Ferguson (48.65, 3^rd), Garrett Dahlke (49.55*, 4^th)
800m- Truman Thompson (1:53.32, 2^nd/15), Casey Crouch (1:54.21*, 3^rd), Michael Jump (1:56.70*, 7^th)
1,500m- Colin Shaules (4:14.72*, 6^th/12)
5,000m- Maxwell Scott (15:14.77, 4^th), Zachary Giesch (15:49.10*, 7^th)
110mH- Jaydon Green (14.21, 1^st/9), Easton Brotherson (14.77*, 2^nd)
400mH- Adam Maxwell (55.95, 2^nd/6)
Steeple- Carson Steckelberg (9:34.36*, 1^st/11)
High Jump- Rhett Reynolds (6-2.75, 2^nd/14), Zachary Travis (6-0.75, 3^rd)
Pole Vault- Carson Hegele (16-0*, 2^nd/17), Kevin Swindler (16-0*, 3^rd), Carter Petersen (15-6, 7^th), Jackson Merrill (14-4.5, 9^th)
Long Jump- Jason Upton (24-1.5, 2^nd/19), Gordon McMillion (23-6.75, 3^rd), Jethro Thorne (22-8.5, 4^th)
Triple Jump- Dylan Zink (43-1.5, 4^th/7)
Discus- Walker McDonald (151-2, 2^nd/18), Porter Coffield (113-5*, 15^th)
Shot Put- Alex Shields (53-4.5*, 2^nd), Wade Rykal (49-0.75, 7^th), Memphis Black (43-0.5, 13^th), Porter Coffield (37-4.5*, 17^th)

*denotes PR

FRIDAY'S RESULTS