Montana set for Big Sky Championships after stellar season

Wednesday, May 14

Sacramento, Calif.

Montana

Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

Montana set for Big Sky Championships after stellar season

5/13/2025 2:11:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Watch Live Results Meet Schedule Performance List

By: Montana Sports Information

BIG SKY CONFERENCE OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 14-17 / Sacramento, Calif.
WATCH / LIVE RESULTS / MEET SCHEDULE

Montana surprised many around the Big Sky Conference this February in Flagstaff, Ariz. when the Grizzlies greatly exceeded their preseason expectations with a 3^rd place finish for the men and a 4^th place finish for the women.

It was the best men's finish since 2014, and the best finish for the women since 2017.

The Grizzlies won't be able to surprise anyone this week when they head to Sacramento, Calif. to participate in the Big Sky Conference outdoor championships. Montana was picked 3^rd and 4^th, and should be in contention for a podium team finish on both sides under third-year head coach Doug Fraley.

"We're really excited to get down there and get things started," Fraley said. "I feel like our preparation as we've worked through the outdoor season has been really good and a lot of our athletes are hitting stride at the right time. We feel good about where we're at and now it's time to go to Sacramento and get the championship started."

The meet will begin with the multi-events on Wednesday and Thursday. The Grizzlies will have two women in the heptathlon and two men in the decathlon. The rest of the athletes will open up competition at 1:00 p.m. (MT) on Friday.

Montana is hoping to build off the momentum that they built indoor and compete for top three positioning again in Sacramento. Based on the performance list of entries, the Grizzlies should be right in the thick of it.

The women are projected, on paper at least, for over 90 points and the men over 80 points based on the entry lists. There will be plenty of shake-ups over the four days, but the potential for a big performance is there. The Griz women haven't reached 90 points since 2017, and the men haven't had over 80 since 2019.

They will go to Sacramento with plenty of momentum after a big performance two weeks ago at the Bengal Invitational. The Grizzlies broke three school records in Pocatello, and had several other athletes climb towards the top of the league performance lists.

"That's the way we want to dial it up, and a lot of kids really stepped up at the Bengal Invitational and got season or lifetime bests," Fraley said. "I think league-wide you saw that happen with a lot of teams, so it's going to be a fantastic meet out in Sacramento. There are a lot of athletes hitting their stride at the right time and it's going to be a real dogfight in the team race."

Northern Arizona will enter as the heavy favorites on both sides, followed by Montana State. The Grizzly men are ranked 3^rd in the league according to the USTFCCCA Conference TFRI, narrowly edging out Weber State. The women are ranked 5^th, with only 28 points separating Montana (683.84) from 3^rd place Idaho State (711.97).

The competition, combined with both a good venue and the warm, sunny Sacramento weather should make for ideal performance conditions.

"I expect this to bring the best out of our kids. This is a venue that has hosted a lot of big championships over the years, you've got really consistent weather this time of year in Sacramento, and so you don't have to worry about some variables that you do on other years in the Big Sky," Fraley said. "We're really looking forward to the opportunity, the challenge, and some great conditions for our athletes over four days of competitions."

There are several Grizzlies that will be in contention for individual Big Sky Championships in Sacramento. No title conversation can start for the Griz anywhere but in the women's high jump, where junior Erin Wilde is seeking an unprecedented fifth straight Big Sky Championship.

Wilde won her first medal in Greeley, Colo. as a freshman back in 2023. Since then, she has claimed gold at the 2024 indoor and outdoor meets along with this winter's indoor championships in Flagstaff.

The Whitefish product would be the third women's high jumper in Big Sky history to win three straight outdoor titles. She upset Lucy Corbett in 2023, ending Corbett's streak of five straight Big Sky titles. Since 2019, Corbett and Wilde are the only two women to win the high jump.

Wilde is ranked 2^nd in the league entering the meet with her season-best mark of 5-10. Idaho State's Kylee Dimick has the best jump in the regular season at 5-11.5.

Montana has a couple of athletes ranked atop the league's standings entering the meet, and the pair has drastically different experience at the Big Sky Championships. Whitney Morrison will be competing in her 8^th championship meet, while Kyle Iorg enters his first.

Morrison is looking to sweep the multi-events this season after winning the indoor pentathlon championship at the end of February. The local Missoulian is aiming to become the first Grizzly since Erika McLeod in 2019 to win the heptathlon.

At the Bryan Clay Multis earlier this year, Morrison scored 5,327 points, which stands as the best score in the Big Sky this season by nearly 300 points. It's also the best score by a Grizzly since McLeod in 2019.

Iorg enters his first-ever Big Sky Championship meet with the best throw of the year in men's javelin. Iorg has steadily progressed as a freshman and reached the top of the league standings in his last meet of the year, winning the Bengal Invitational with a throw of 226-10.

He has a narrow lead on two others, including his own teammate Matthew Hockett. Hockett, a senior team captain, is competing in his fourth Big Sky Championship meet having scored in all the previous three.

Hockett's best throw this season came in the home opener with a mark of 223-2. The duo should both be in the title conversation on Friday, and another freshman – Ethan Grimm – could have a top five finish. The Griz javelin throwers rank 10^th in the country in the USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings.

The Grizzly vertical jumps group will have several contenders on both sides in addition to Wilde. In the men's high jump, Patrick Kremer goes into the meet ranked 2^nd in the Big Sky with a jump of 6-10.5 at the Bengal Invitational on May 2.

Kremer is a three-time All-Conference performer in the event between indoor and outdoor meets, including a runner-up finish during the 2025 Indoor Championships.

The pole vault is also a strength for Montana on both sides. Samantha Serex has broken Montana's indoor and outdoor school records this year and finished as runner-up at the Indoor Championship this year.

Serex enters the meet ranked 3^rd in the Big Sky with a season-best mark of 13-7.25. Shealyne McGee is ranked 6^th in the league at 13-2.25, while three other Grizzly women crack the top 10 in the event. The vault group is ranked 17^th in the country.

On the men's side, Carson Weeden heads to Sacramento ranked 2^nd with a mark of 17-0.25. He should have plenty of company in the closing few bars of the event as Kevin Swindler (16-8.25) ranks 3^rd and the duo of Corbin Luce and Carson Hegele (16-4.5) are tied for 5^th in the league standings. The men's pole vaulters are ranked 17^th in the #EventSquad rankings.

Montana will also be in title contention on the track. Sophomore Tara Ohlwiler poses the best threat to the league as the program's school record holder in the 100m. Ohlwiler broke the record at home in the Montana Open at the end of April and then reset her own record at the Bengal Invitational.

She enters the championship meet ranked 2^nd in the league standings behind Montana State's Jaeden Wolff, but she defeated Wolff in the last event of the year by over a tenth of a second.

There are a few more Grizzlies that are longer shots for titles but should be in the All-Conference discussion. Montana has nine women ranked 3^rd through 5^th in the league's performance list, and eight men in the same range.

Lily Meskers could have the chance to score multiple times for the Grizzly women. She enters the meet 4^th in the women's 400m and 5^th in the 200m and will be a key member of both relay teams. The women have already set the 4x400m relay school record this season and could break the 4x100m record in Sacramento.

Jayel Dovichak is ranked 4^th in the 100-meter hurdles, and the Grizzlies also have three female throwers in the top five. Scout Nadeau (shot put), Savana Ramirez (hammer), and Ashley Carroll (javelin) will all be in contention for all-conference honors.

The men's sprint races will be must-see events with some loaded fields, which includes Grizzly freshman Malaki Simpson. The Columbia Falls product ran the 4^th best time in the men's 100m in his last race at the Bengal Invitational and enters with momentum.

The biggest mover for the Griz in the league performance lists recently was sophomore Truman Thompson. Last week at the Tom Gage Classic, Thompson ran an altitude-adjusted time of 1:50.03 in the 800m to move into 4^th place in the loaded league rankings.

Zachary Travis is ranked 4^th in the men's high jump looking for his first points at an outdoor championship meet, and Donaven Humphries is ranked 5^th in the men's hammer in his first year in Missoula.

"We have a lot of opportunities for scoring and podium positions, and some potential event wins," Fraley said. "The great thing about our sport is that you have to show up on the day and get it done. We're excited about the opportunities that we have, but the bottom line is that it doesn't matter what it says on paper, there are really good fields in every event so it will be the people that are clicking on the day are going to be the ones going away with medals."

The Grizzlies will also need some athletes that aren't currently slated to get points to move into the top eight if they want to exceed their lofty expectations. The men were picked 3^rd in the preseason polls, and the women 4^th. It will take the whole team performing well to reach those positions.

Montana currently has 30 women and 24 men ranked inside the top 10 in the conference, giving them plenty of scoring chances.

Fraley's teams have historically performed well at the Big Sky Conference Championships. Both the men and women have outperformed preseason expectations at every single outdoor conference meet under Fraley, and his teams have only moved down twice in 10 total championship meets.

The lights may be brighter at a meet like this, but Fraley hopes that his team will bring the same work ethic that led them to this point to their respective events in Sacramento.

"We need to bring the same attitude that we brought during the regular season. When you go to a championship meet you want to be able to use that championship energy while doing exactly what you've done to get there," Fraley said. "You don't need to change your outlook on how you prepare or how you go about your business to get ready.
"There is more excitement and stimulus going into a championship meet than a regular season meet," Fraley said. "So, our athletes' job is to harness that and put it into the same structure that they've used all year and that they did at the Indoor Championships to have a successful outcome."

MONTANA MEN'S ENTRIES
100m- Malaki Simpson, Karsen Beitz, Cooper Hewett, Brody Thornsberry
200m- Braden Ankeny, Karsen Beitz, Malaki Simpson
400m- Braden Ankeny, Ty Ferguson, Jay Beagle, Taylor Johnson
800m- Truman Thompson, Keagen Crosby
1,500m- Lane Cole
5,000m- Lane Cole
110mH- Oliver Simianer
400mH- Adam Maxwell
4x100m- Simpson, Ankeny, Beitz, Thornsberry
4x400m- Beagle, Johnson, Ferguson, Ankeny
Pole Vault- Carson Weeden, Kevin Swindler, Carson Hegele, Corbin Luce
High Jump- Patrick Kremer, Zachary Travis, Adam Maxwell
Long Jump- Caiden Sekuterski, Patrick Kremer, Gordon McMillion, Brody Thornsberry
Triple Jump- Caiden Sekuterski
Discus- Donaven Humphries
Hammer- Donaven Humphries, Wade Rykal
Shot Put- Alex Shields, Wade Rykal, Donaven Humphries
Javelin- Kyle Iorg, Matthew Hockett, Ethan Grimm
Decathlon- Porter Coffield, Oliver Simianer

MONTANA WOMEN'S ENTRIES
100m- Tara Ohlwiler, Rileigh McGree, Brooke Zetooney
200m- Tara Ohlwiler, Lily Meskers, Brooke Zetooney
400m- Lily Meskers, Mikenna Ells, Sophia Clark, Claire Hutchison
100mH- Jayel Dovichak, Ainsley Shipman, Isabelle Berry
4x100m- Meskers, McGree, Hutchison, Ohlwiler
4x400m- Clark, Ells, Ohlwiler, Meskers
Pole Vault- Samantha Serex, Shealyne McGee, Molly Chambers, Emma Zimmerman-Weeden, Hannah Moses
High Jump- Erin Wilde, Whitney Morrison, Maddie Kremer
Long Jump- Whitney Morrison, Ainsley Shipman
Triple Jump- Whitney Morrison, Ainsley Shipman
Discus- Morgan Thomas, Mary Mickelson, Cathlene Van Zyl
Hammer- Savana Ramirez, Morgan Thomas, Mary Mickelson, Scout Nadeau
Shot Put- Scout Nadeau, Cathlene Van Zyl, Morgan Thomas
Javelin- Ashley Carroll, Ella Moodry
Heptathlon- Whitney Morrison, Kensey Gault