Montana manages weather, wraps up Bengal Invitational

Friday, April 26

Pocatello, Idaho

Montana

Bengal Invitational

Scenes from the Montana Open Invitational on April 20, 2024, at Dornblaser Track in Missoula, Montana.

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

Montana manages weather, wraps up Bengal Invitational

4/27/2024 3:39:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana battled the conditions on a cold, wet day in Pocatello on Saturday as they wrapped up the Bengal Invitational in less than ideal weather conditions. The Grizzlies still made the most of the day, winning seven events and finishing top three in plenty more.

They wrap the weekend with a pair of school records on Friday from Jaydon Green and Zane Johnson highlighting the action, but plenty to like for head coach Doug Fraley and company as they prepare for the Big Sky Championships in two weeks.

"I thought it was a good, solid effort. We ended up holding a couple of kids out from a couple of finals because I felt like they had hit their race count for the weekend. But I feel like we came back in the areas we ran and did real well for it being a quick turnaround. You want to see what people can do on that quick turnaround because it's the way the schedule works exactly in two weeks, so all-in-all I'm pretty pleased by that."

Erin Wilde had her best jump of the season on Saturday, clearing 5-8.75 to win the women's high jump competition by multiple bars. It's the fifth straight meet that Wilde has cleared at least 5-7 as she is consistently putting up impressive marks, and is a good jump or two away from breaking the 30-year old school record of 5-10.

Wilde extends her own lead in the Big Sky this season, and is now tied for 34^th in the West Region.

"The highlight of the day was Erin jumping 1.75 (meters) and getting the win," Fraley said. "That moves her well into the regional standings right now, so we're happy with her performance."

The day began with Montana victories in both of the short relays. The men kicked things off with a 40.79 time for a win and the women followed it up with a 46.82 second victory.

One day removed from breaking his own school record, Jaydon Green dominated in the men's 110-meter hurdles, winning by nearly a full second. He ran a 14.12, just .03 off the school record. Green now owns the eight fastest times in program history.

Freshman Easton Brotherson finished as the runner up in the event, breaking 15 seconds for the third time this season with a 14.99 time.

The Grizzlies got another win on the track from sophomore Taylor Johnson. He broke 48 seconds for the first time in his career in the men's 400, finishing in 47.92. It's the best time by a Grizzly this season and moves him into 8^th in the Big Sky season-long performance list.

"Taylor breaking 48 for the first time and winning was a definite highlight," Fraley said.

Mikenna Ells finished second in the women's 400m with a time of 56.07.

The Grizzlies had some nice finishes in the 800 with Katie Whitehurst, Mackenzie Morgan and MacKenzie Dean finishing 2-3-4 on the women's side. Freshman Henry Ballinger finished as the overall runner-up in the men's 800, but topped the field of collegiate runners with a time of 1:52.11.

The distance crews for Montana dominated in the men's and women's 5,000-meter race. Maxwell Scott and Lane Cole went 1-2 for the men with Scott finishing in 15:00.68 and Cole running a new PR time of 15:05.14.

The women also swept the top two spots with Kayla Ingraham winning with a 17:55.58 time and Jade Hallgrimson finishing just behind her with a PR time of 17:56.31 for a second place spot.

"It was really good for those kids, Kayla and Jade both coming in under 18 minutes at high altitude," Fraley said. "They did a really good job."

The men's 4x400m relay team concluded the day on the track with a second place finish, running a 3:12.90 time that moves them into third place in the Big Sky this season.

"We hadn't really run a men's 4x400 yet this outdoor season so we had to do it today to get a good lane for conference," Fraley said. "We subbed in Garret Dahlke for (Melice) and still ran 3:12.90, which moved us way up into the sweet spot for conference. I thought those guys took care of business when they needed to on that."

Dylan Zink finished second in the men's triple jump field with a season-best mark of 43-11.75. Patrick Kremer was third in the men's high jump, clearing 6-4. Ainsley Shipman had a top three finish in the women's triple jump with a mark of 36-9.

"All-in-all, it was a good, solid weekend for our group," Fraley said. "Two school records, some event wins, and just a lot of good solid performances team-wide in all the event areas. It's what we needed to get out of this meet in preparation for the big show in two weeks."

The Grizzlies now return home for the Tom Gage Classic on May 4. The meet will conclude the regular season for Montana before they head to Bozeman on May 8-11 for the Big Sky Outdoor Championships.

Men's Results
100m- Karsen Beitz (10.66, 3^rd), Jason Upton (10.71, 5^th)
400m- Taylor Johnson (47.92*, 1^st), Ty Ferguson (48.38*, 3^rd), Jay Beagle (48.56, 4^th)
800m- Henry Ballinger (1:52.11, 2^nd), Casey Crouch (1:53.92, 7^th), Michael Jump (1:57.38, 14^th), Truman Thompson (1:58.08, 17^th), Colin Shaules (2:02.36, 20^th)
5,000m- Maxwell Scott (15:00.68, 1^st), Lane Cole (15:05.14*, 2^nd), Zachary Giesch (15:47.80*, 7^th),
110mH- Jaydon Green (14.12, 1^st), Easton Brotherson (14.99, 2^nd)
400mH- Adam Maxwell (55.76, 4^th)
Steeple- Carson Steckelberg (9:43.86, 3^rd)
4x100m- Holycross, Upton, Melice, Beitz (40.79, 1^st)
4x400m- Beagle, Ferguson, Dahlke, Johnson (3:12.90, 2^nd)
High Jump- Patrick Kremer (6-4, 3^rd), Rhett Reynolds (6-2, 5^th), Zachary Travis (6-2, 7^th), Adam Maxwell (6-0, 8^th)
Triple Jump- Dylan Zink (43-11.75, 2^nd)
Discus- Walker McDonald (153-10, 5^th), Porter Coffield (115-3*, 20^th)
Shot Put- Alex Shields (51-3.5, 7^th), Wade Rykal (47-3.5, 10^th), Memphis Black (41-5.75, 15^th), Porter Coffield (35-4.75, 25^th)

Women's Results
100m- Lily Meskers (12.23, 4^th), Audrey Smith (12.41, 6^th)
200m- Lily Meskers (24.76, 2^nd)
400m- Mikenna Ells (56.07, 2^nd), Cosley Bruno (58.20, 5^th)
800m- Katie Whitehurst (2:13.83, 2^nd), Mackenzie Morgan (2:17.24, 3^rd), MacKenzie Dean (2:19.59, 4^th), Jaylyn Hallgrimson (2:23.73*, 9^th), Layne Lathrop (2:27.83, 12^th)
5,000m- Kayla Ingraham (17:55.58, 1^st), Jade Hallgrimson (17:56.31*, 2^nd)
100mH- Jayel Dovichak (14.11, 3^rd), Brooke Stayner (14.26, 4^th), Whitney Morrison (14.66, 5^th), Ailsa Gilbert (14.73, 6^th)
Steeple- Iris McKean (12:05.83, 5^th)
4x100m- Meskers, Ells, Hutchison, Smith (46.82, 1^st)
High Jump- Erin Wilde (5-8.75, 1^st), Whitney Morrison (5-1.25, 5^th), Brooke Stayner (5-1.25, 6^th), Claire Hutchison (4-11.5, 7^th)
Triple Jump- Ainsley Shipman (36-9, 3^rd), Ailsa Gilbert (36-1.25, 4^th)
Discus- Morgan Thomas (140-0, 4^th), Mary Mickelson (131-2, 7^th), Cathlene Van Zyl (120-4, 13^th)
Shot Put- Cathlene Van Zyl (42-2, 6^th), Scout Nadeau (40-4.75, 8^th), Morgan Thomas (38-7.75, 10^th), Whitney Morrison (35-7.75, 17^th), Brooke Stayner (26-3.75, 27^th)