Morrison earns All-Conference honors, Stayner finishes fourth

Whitney Morrison has overcome plenty in her Grizzly career. Injuries and setbacks over the past few years have kept her from reaching her full potential in previous season. Now that she's healthy, a little rain and snow was the last thing that was going to get in Morrison's way.

The Missoula product capped off an impressive two-day heptathlon on Thursday and earned All-Conference honors with a new PR of 5,112.

"It's really relieving, honestly," Morrison said. "My whole career has just been filled with injuries, so it's really nice to see all of the hard work and everything come together now."

Gallery: (5-9-2024) TF: Big Sky Heptathlon (5.9.24)

Morrison finished third overall in the event. Montana's Brooke Stayner finished fourth with a new PR of 4,866 to give Montana 11 team points through the multis, which leads the Big Sky Championship.

There were no expectations of personal bests entering the event, as snow piled up on the track and continued to come down in Bozeman on Wednesday. In winter conditions, with wind and temperatures in the 30s, the two persevered.

Morrison finished in the top four of all seven events, showing her all-around athleticism over the two-day competition. Stayner won the 800 and finished top three in two other events.

"I'm really proud of both Whitney and Brooke," head coach Doug Fraley said. "The conditions that they had for day one were just atrocious, and for them to come out and compete the way that they did is a testament to their Griz spirit and competitiveness. For them to come back today and have PR second days on a much better weather day was fantastic, we're really proud of them and the job that Coach Hall has done."

The Grizzlies got off to a great start in the awful conditions on Wednesday. After a long delay to get the track cleared of snow, Stayner and Morrison began their weeks with the 100-meter hurdles.

Morrison won her heat in the event with a time of 14.54 seconds. Stayner, in the final heat, ran a 14.36 time to finish second overall in the event with 928 points. Morrison went into the second event in fourth place with 903 points.

In the high jump, leaping onto a pad that was more like a frozen puddle, the duo again exceeded expectations. Both Morrison and Stayner cleared 5-2.25, which matched a PR for Stayner and was within an inch of a PR for Morrison. They finished the event tied for third, each picking up 712 points.

In the shot put, Morrison's first throw proved to be her best at a distance of 35-4.5. It was the best throw of the event until Sacramento State's Eliana Coburn launched a 39-5.75 mark on her final toss. Morrison still placed second and gained 581 points. Stayner's mark of 30-0.75 netted her 475 points.

In Wednesday's final event, Morrison ran a great 200-meter race to set a new PR with a time of 25.70. The 824 points gained from the event brought her day one total to 3,020 points, putting her in third place overall.

Stayner ran a 26.30 in the 200, the fifth-fastest time in the field and entered Thursday's action in sixth with 2,886 points.

The weather could have held them down, but Morrison and Stayner both fought through to put themselves in a great position heading into day two. They did it by working together and staying in the moment.

"It helps having the best teammate to train with and the best coach, too, because they are there to support me the whole time," Morrison said. "We really balance each other out, which is nice."

The action on Thursday saw much improved weather, although rain still came and went throughout the competition. They opened with the long jump, and both Grizzlies hit it big on their second attempt.

Stayner jumped 17-1.25, which was the fifth-best mark in the event. Morrison went for a big PR, clearing 18 feet for the first time with a mark of 18-0.25. It was the second-best jump in the event, and kept her in third place with two events remaining.

Morrison followed it up with another second-place performance in the javelin. She had three consistent throws with the best topping out at 121-4. It gave her a big cushion on fourth place and pulled her close to second entering the 800.

The javelin had given Stayner problems in the past, but she was able to fire out a massive PR of 109-8 on her first attempt to finish sixth in the event. She slid to fifth place overall, but trailed by just a single point going into her strength in the 800.

Both Grizzlies handled their business in the 800. They got out in the lead early alongside MSU's Shelby Schweyen, and the three of them separated from the pack. Schweyen led for nearly 600 meters, but Stayner made a move on the final turn and held on down the stretch to win the 800 in a time of 2:20.21.

It capped off a fantastic second day, something she had struggled with in the past, for Stayner.

"The second day for Brooke hasn't been the strongest in the past but she's really coming together in the long jump and had a huge PR in the javelin," Fraley said. "It's going to be fun moving forward because Brooke is going to be able to look at the second day as events that she can excel at instead of worrying about them being weak points. When it all comes together for Brooke in the future, it's going to be really exciting."

Morrison couldn't quite catch Schweyen on the back stretch or in the final standings, but did more than enough to PR and earn All-Conference honors. After throwing shot put and javelin left handed in Greeley at last year's Big Sky Championships, crossing that final finish line healthy was a sweet reward for the months of hard work and recovery.

"I think just staying level-headed and knowing that we're Montana tough, so we can do anything, no matter the conditions," Morrison said of the key to her event. "Just trying to remind ourselves that we've worked toward this the whole season and we've been training hard and we do deserve it."

The struggles have been evident in the past for the Missoula Big Sky product. There have been some difficult times for Morrison. At the Indoor Big Sky Championships, she went down on a hurdle in the opening event and didn't complete her pentathlon.

In Bozeman, she overcame snow, sleet, sun, and everything else that mother nature could throw at her to carry on a long tradition of Grizzly multis. It's the second straight season Montana has had an All-Conference finish in the event.

"It's really fun watching Whitney come together as a collegiate athlete," Fraley said. "She's had so many injuries and things that have held her back the last few years. To see her right physically and competing at the level she's at is really fun. Any time you make the podium in the conference meet it's a special thing."

The full championship meet will open on Friday morning with the men's javelin at 12:30 p.m. There will be eight field finals and prelims for most track events on Friday, and the meet will conclude on Saturday.

Heptathlon Results
Overall- Morrison (5,112*, 3^rd), Stayner (4,866*, 4^th)
100mH- Stayner (14.36, 928), Morrison (14.54, 903)
High Jump- Stayner (5-2.25, 712), Morrison (5-2.25, 712)
Shot Put- Morrison (35-4.5, 581), Stayner (30-0.75, 475)
200m- Morrison (25.70*, 824), Stayner (26.30, 771)
Long Jump- Morrison (18-0.25*, 697), Stayner (17-1.25, 617)
Javelin- Morrison (121-4, 609), Stayner (109-8*, 542)
800m- Stayner (2:20.21, 821), Morrison (2:22.78, 786)

Women's Team Scores (through Thursday)
1. Montana – 11
2. Idaho – 10
3. Montana State – 8
4. Idaho State – 4
5. Sacramento State – 3
5. Weber State - 3

University of Montana Athletics

Morrison earns All-Conference honors, Stayner finishes fourth

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