Morrison to compete at Bryan Clay Multis

The Big Sky Champion in the indoor pentathlon will be competing in her first heptathlon of the season this weekend at the Bryan Clay Multis hosted by Azusa Pacific. Whitney Morrison will be the lone Grizzly competing this week, but it will be a big step in the season for the senior.

The meet will open on Thursday with the 100-meter hurdles at noon. Morrison will then compete in the seven events across two days against top-level competition from schools across the west, and even a few as far east as Wofford.

"This is the pinnacle of the regular season as far as getting out and doing a full multi," head coach Doug Fraley said. "The Bryan Clay Multi meet has some of the very best collegiate multis in the country coming out and it is a great opportunity for Whitney, who has been doing a lot of individual events at the first two outdoor meets, to put all that together against great competition at a great venue in great Southern California weather."

Morrison has competed in seven different individual events through the first two meets this season and has seen solid marks across the board. She had a PR in the triple jump in the Al Manuel Invitational, although the event is not contested in the heptathlon.

Last week in Spokane at the Whitworth Peace Meet, Morrison had a PR time of 14.52 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. This meet will give the senior the opportunity to put it all together over the course of two days and learn a little more about what she needs over the final month of the season.

"This is really well placed in the schedule where you get an indication of where you are at and then plenty of time afterwards to evaluate and correct as you move forward to get ready for the conference meet in mid-May," Fraley said.

Morrison will be competing in Group C this weekend against athletes from Colorado, Long Beach State, Air Force, Grand Canyon, and several other notable schools. The 100-meter hurdles will open the event, followed by the high jump, shot put, and 200-meter dash on Thursday.

The event will conclude on Friday with the long jump, javelin throw, and 800-meter.

Morrison ranks in the top 10 individually in four different events through the first couple of weeks of the season. She has yet to run the 200-meter and 800-meter distances outdoors but has contested every other event in the multi.

Her strength lies in her overall athleticism, giving her a good balance through all of the events. There are no areas where Morrison typically underperforms, as she finished in the top four of every individual event at both the 2025 Big Sky indoor pentathlon and the 2024 outdoor heptathlon.

The hometown Missoula product finished 3^rd overall at last year's Big Sky Outdoor Championship to earn All-Conference honors in the heptathlon with a career best score of 5,112. She scored 4,928 points at the 2024 Bryan Clay and improved upon several marks despite snowy conditions in Bozeman at the championships.

This year, she will look to take another step forward and compete for another championship. This will be a key moment in that journey as she prepares for Sacramento and the Big Sky Championships.

"You learn a lot from every multi, and it's different than indoors because those are five events over one day, these are seven events over two days," Fraley said. "It's a different feel, it's different preparation, energy management, emotional management, all of those things. This coming right before the midpoint of the season is very valuable."

Morrison claimed the title indoors in a surprising upset. She had finished 9^th in the event in 2023 and was unable to finish in 2024. She entered as a likely All-Conference level performer but exceeded those expectations in her run to the title.

She had PRs in the high jump and shot put in Flagstaff and finished in the top four in all five events of the pentathlon. She closed it out by winning the 800-meter, the final event, in a time of 2:24.25 at 7,000-feet of elevation.

The moment brought Montana its first pentathlon title since 2019. It made it even more sweet that it came from a local product in the former Big Sky Eagle standout. It had been a long journey for Morrison, who dealt with several injuries throughout her career, but she's making the most of her final season in Missoula.

"Seeing Whitney go from being an oft injured, struggling athlete, to getting healthy and maturing as an athlete and a young lady, to eventually winning the Big Sky crown indoors was really a great thing for all of us to witness," Fraley said. "She has big goals for the outdoor season and the Big Sky Championships."

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Whitney Morrison

University of Montana Athletics