Griz track & field has strong performances in first outdoor meet

Friday, March 28

Missoula, Mont.

Montana

Al Manuel Invitational/Griz-Cat Dual

Scenes from day one of the Al Manual Invitational (3.28.25)

Photo by: Taylor Decker/ University of Montana

Griz track & field has strong performances in first outdoor meet

3/29/2025 7:12:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana track and field team opened the outdoor season with plenty of highlights during the Al Manuel Invitational/Griz-Cat Dual at home over the weekend. The first meet of the year at Dornblaser Field saw mostly good weather as the Grizzlies, Bobcats, and several other Montana colleges competed on Friday and Saturday.

Montana had four wins on the men's side and three on the women's side as several athletes had fantastic opening weeks to the outdoor season for third-year head coach Doug Fraley's team.

"We had some good stuff this weekend and some pretty high level performances," Fraley said. "And obviously a lot that we're going to need to improve on as we go through the outdoor season. But overall a solid start and the great thing about getting your first outdoor meet under your belt is every kid on our roster knows where they are at and what their baseline is. It's a new season, and next week is another opportunity."

Montana fell in the Griz-Cat Dual 113-73 on the men's side and 119.5-69.5 on the women's side. The Bobcat men won the Big Sky Championship last year, and both the men and women were picked second in the league this year.

It's a tough measuring stick during the opening weekend for the Grizzlies, but gives them an idea of where they stand among the league's elite.

One area where Montana typically ranks atop the Big Sky is the men's javelin, and this year is no exception. Matthew Hockett, who redshirted last year to focus on school as teammate Evan Todd won the Big Sky, returned to action on Friday evening.

In Hockett's first meet since 2023, he won by a landslide with a career-best throw of 223-2. It's been a long wait for the senior, but was well worth it as he opened his final season as a Grizzly in style.

"Just so pleased for Matt, a guy we redshirted last year because he was in year three of pharmacy school which is so demanding," Fraley said. "To see the diligence that he's had all fall and winter waiting for a track meet in March, he has been so steady as well as a great mentor to the young throwers. I was really happy to see him pop one off."

Last season, a throw of 211-1 qualified you for the NCAA Regional meet. Hockett's first meet should guarantee him a spot in College Station, Texas in May, but he will have his sights on even more as the season goes along.

"He really took care of regional qualifying in his first meet, and I look forward to watching him really get going as the season progresses and he gets to meets with some big competition," Fraley said. "I think he's got an opportunity to have a hell of a season."

Erin Wilde is certainly in that top class as well, and she backed it up yet again on Saturday. The junior high jumper won the event by nearly seven inches, clearing 5-10 in her first outdoor meet on a chilly, windy day in Missoula.

Wilde missed her own outdoor school record by just a half-inch. The two-time defending outdoor champion in the event, and four-time overall Big Sky Champion, opened last season at 5-3.75. The baseline that she established on Saturday puts her well on track to three-peat.

She wasn't the only Grizzly high jumper to claim victory on Saturday. Patrick Kremer won the men's high jump with a mark of 6-8.75. Like Wilde, Kremer won by a significant margin in the Griz-Cat Dual, beating the closest competition by over five inches.

"Erin had a mark that will typically get you into the regional meet in the first meet of the year, which is outstanding," Fraley said. "Patrick is continuing to jump at a high level attempting what would have been close to a regional bar at the end of his meet today, so great to see two really good high jumpers start off and continue what they did during the indoor season."

Montana's big highlight on the track came from Tara Ohlwiler. The sprinter set a school record indoors in the 60-meter, and she got off to a great start outdoors in both the 100 and 200-meter.

Ohlwiler finished second in the 100, but threatened the Montana school record with a time of 11.86. She won the 200 with a time of 24.64. Both are PR's for the sophomore that missed much of last year's outdoor campaign with an injury.

"Tara had a really good start to her outdoor season after being hurt and not able to compete much last outdoor season," Fraley said. "She was really eager to take what she had been doing during the indoor season and convert that to a longer distance in the 100, and I thought she ran two really good races."

Freshman Braden Ankeny picked up a win for the Grizzlies in the 400m with a time of 47.71. Fellow freshman Caiden Sekuterski won the men's triple jump with a mark of 46-6.75 and finished second in the long jump at 23-2.75.

The women's pole vault was a crowded competition at the top with five athletes all clearing the 12-6.75 bar. Samantha Serex claimed the top spot on fewer misses to get five points in the dual for the Griz. Shealyne McGee ended up in third after tiebreakers. The duo both broke the indoor school record this year and should be poised for great outdoor seasons.

There were other areas where Montana fell a bit short of expectations, but overall Fraley was excited to get the season going and establish a baseline for a large group of athletes.

"Just excited to get some traction in the outdoor season and get another meet next weekend, give kids some more opportunities," Fraley said. "We had a lot of kids today that didn't do as well as they were expecting to, but the message is that it's a new season and you have to establish your prowess and build that through the course of the next two months.

"It's not where you start off at the end of March, but it's getting better week in and week out leading to the important stuff in May."

Montana will be on the road next week, competing in the Whitworth Peace Meet on Friday, April 4. They will have two weeks in California before returning to Dornblaser Field on April 25-26 for the Montana Open.

MEN'S RESULTS
100m- Malaki Simpson (10.59, 3^rd), Karsen Beitz (10.65, 5^th), Cooper Hewett (10.68, 7^th), Brody Thornsberry (10.89, 9^th)
200m- Karsen Beitz (21.76, 2^nd), Brody Thornsberry (22.50, 4^th), Cody Lease (22.59, 5^th), Gordon McMillion (23.50, 7^th)
400m- Braden Ankeny (47.71, 1^st), Ty Ferguson (48.54, 2^nd), Taylor Johnson (48.89, 3^rd), Garrett Dahlke (49.86, 5^th), Logan Tate (52.91, 7^th)
800m- Morgan Amano (1:55.06, 3^rd), Michael Jump (1:58.41, 5^th)
1,500m- Lane Cole (3:53.33, 3^rd), Truman Thompson (3:56.46, 4^th), Keagen Crosby (4:00.11, 5^th), Colin Shaules (4:02.78*, 6^th)
5,000m- Zachary Giesch (15:11.14*, 5^th), Luke Mest (15:11.86, 6^th)
110mH- Oliver Simianer (15.85, 2^nd), Carter Petersen (16.33, 3^rd)
400mH- Adam Maxwell (56.45, 3^rd), Oliver Simianer (56.67, 4^th), Cutter Thatcher (57.39, 5^th)
4x100m- Simpson, Ankeny, Beitz, Hewett (40.62, 2^nd), Beagle, Ferguson, Johnson, Thornsberry (41.64, 3^rd)
High jump- Patrick Kremer (6-8.75, 1^st), Zachary Travis (6-3.5, 3^rd), Adam Maxwell (6-1.5, 4^th), Oliver Simianer (5-11.5, 5^th)
Pole vault- Carson Weeden (16-6.75*, 2^nd), Kevin Swindler (15-9, 3^rd), Corbin Luce (15-9, 3^rd), Carson Hegele (15-3, 6^th), Carter Petersen (15-3, 6^th), Oliver Simianer (12-9.5, 8^th)
Long jump- Caiden Sekuterski (23-2.75, 2^nd), Patrick Kremer (23-0.75, 3^rd), Gordon McMillion (22-2.5, 5^th), Brody Thornsberry (22-1.75, 6^th)
Triple jump- Caiden Sekuterski (46-6.75, 1^st)
Discus- Tyler Bates (147-2, 4^th), Donaven Humphries (146-5, 5^th), Memphis Black (137-10*, 6^th)
Hammer- Donaven Humphries (183-4, 2^nd), Tyler Bates (179-3, 3^rd), Wade Rykal (160-8, 7^th), Alex Shields (155-8, 8^th), Memphis Black (150-5*, 9^th)
Shot put- Alex Shields (53-9.25, 3^rd), Wade Rykal (51-11.75, 5^th), Donaven Humphries (50-11.5, 6^th)
Javelin- Matthew Hockett (223-2*, 1^st), Kyle Iorg (198-0, 2^nd), Ethan Grimm (192-8, 4^th)

WOMEN'S RESULTS
100m- Tara Ohlwiler (11.86*, 2^nd), Lily Meskers (12.02*, 3^rd), Claire Hutchison (12.29, 5^th), Audrey Smith (12.68, 8^th), Destiny Santiago (12.76*, 9^th)
200m- Tara Ohlwiler (24.64*, 1^st), Lily Meskers (24.92, 2^nd), Claire Hutchison (25.52, 4^th), Isabelle Berry (26.14, 6^th), Audrey Smith (26.23, 7^th), Destiny Santiago (26.91, 10^th)
400m- Sophia Clark (56.30, 3^rd), Cosley Bruno (59.11, 5^th)
800m- Mackenzie Morgan (2:17.76, 4^th), Libby Hartz (2:20.29, 7^th)
1,500m- Heidi Olson (4:57.70, 7^th), Olivia Coll (4:57.78, 8^th), Lucy Thompson (5:16.36, 9^th), Sofia Hinderman (5:16.97, 10^th)
5,000m- Iris McKean (18:14.48, 6^th), Kayla Ingraham (18:18.59, 7^th), Abigail Kotran (18:23.53, 8^th), Shay Pederson (18:30.09, 9^th), Ashtyn Wagner (20:16.81, 10^th)
100mH- Jayel Dovichak (14.30, 2^nd), Ainsley Shipman (14.58, 4^th), Isabelle Berry (15.36, 5^th)
400mH- Whitney Morrison (1:02.24, 4^th), Jayel Dovichak (1:05.47, 5^th)
4x100m- Smith, Hutchison, Clark, Santiago (47.71, 3^rd), Meskers, Ells, McGree, Ohlwiler (DNF)
High jump- Erin Wilde (5-10, 1^st), Whitney Morrison (5-3.75, 2^nd), Maddie Kremer (5-1.75, 4^th), Josie Blazina (4-11.75, 5^th), Halle Walker (4-9.75, 7^th)
Pole vault- Samantha Serex (12-6.75, 1^st), Shealyne McGee (12-6.75, 3^rd), Emma Zimmerman-Weeden (12-0.75, 6^th), Molly Chambers (12-0.75, 7^th), Hannah Moses (11-6.5, 8^th)
Long jump- Ainsley Shipman (18-10.5, 2^nd), Perry Paffhausen (18-1.75, 3^rd), Whitney Morrison (17-10.75, 6^th), Emily Maughan (17-2, 7^th)
Triple jump- Ainsley Shipman (38-4, 3^rd), Whitney Morrison (38-2.25, 4^th)
Discus- Mary Mickelson (133-6, 4^th), Morgan Thomas (130-4, 5^th), Cathlene Van Zyl (119-7, 6^th)
Hammer- Savana Ramirez (176-0, 2^nd), Morgan Thomas (154-4*, 5^th), Scout Nadeau (151-3*, 6^th), Mary Mickelson (150-3, 7^th), Cathlene Van Zyl (120-9, 9^th)
Shot put- Scout Nadeau (44-2.75, 3^rd), Morgan Thomas (41-3, 4^th), Calista Ousley (39-8.5, 5^th), Kensey Gault (33-6.5, 6^th)
Javelin- Ella Moodry (137-3, 2^nd), Ashley Carroll (131-1, 3^rd), Whitney Morrison (123-10, 5^th)

*PR