Morrison in the hunt as Griz multis perform well on day one

Whitney Morrison is in second place in the Big Sky Conference heptathlon after day one of competition in Sacramento, Calif. The Grizzly senior, and indoor pentathlon champion, has 3,182 points after day one to trail Idaho State's Kylee Dimick by 141 points.

Morrison's balance across all events is what led her to the win indoors, and it was on display again Wednesday as she finished in the top four of every event she competed in. Freshman Kensey Gault also had a good overall day and sits in 5^th place with 2,884 points.

The Grizzlies also have men competing in the decathlon for the first time since Brendan Thurber-Blaser won the event in 2019. Porter Coffield is in 7^th after day one with 3,345 points and freshman Oliver Simianer is in 9^th with 3,131 points.

It was a dream start for Morrison, who entered the meet atop the Big Sky performance list with her score of 5,327 earlier this year. She improved upon her start from the Bryan Clay Multis by running a time of 14.15 in the hurdles, the best mark of her career. She finished second to Sacramento State's Eliana Coburn, who sits in 3^rd place after day one, and defeated Dimick by .09 in the event.

Dimick's strength is the high jump, and she proved it with a big win in the event. Dimick cleared 5-9.25, while Morrison finished in 4^th with a jump of 5-4.5. Dimick's 928 points in the high jump moved her past Morrison, who dropped to third after two events.

Morrison had a throw of 36-0.25 in the shot put to finish 2^nd in the event to Dimick, who moved 167 points clear in first place after the event.

The track has been a strength for Morrison this year and was again on Wednesday as she made up ground with an event win in the women's 200m. Morrison trailed coming into the final 50 meters, but kicked strong to overtake three Idaho State athletes and win the event with a PR time of 25.43.

Morrison made up 26 points on Dimick, who finished 5^th, in the process. She now trails by 141 entering the final day. Eliana Coburn is eight points behind in third place with a big gap separating the top three from the rest of the field.

What a finish in the 200m for Whitney Morrison! The indoor pentathlon champion is in second place after day one of the heptathlon in Sacramento! #GrizTF | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/7vckvWDXsD
— Montana Griz TF & XC (@MontanaGrizTFXC) May 14, 2025

The final three events on Thursday – long jump, javelin, and the 800m – all favor Morrison in the performance lists. She will need to have a great day in all three events to become Montana's first heptathlon champion in six years.

It's the best first day of Morrison's career. She's 10 points ahead of where she was at earlier this season in California through four events.

"It was a really solid day for Whitney," head coach Doug Fraley said. "It's a first day PR for her and it sets her up to be in really good position tomorrow with three of her really strong events. She's well set up to make a run toward the title tomorrow."

Gault had a very good overall day, finishing in the top eight in every event in a 14-woman field. Her best performance of the day came in the 200m where she won her section and finished 2^nd overall, trailing only Morrison, with a time of 25.60.

Gault was 6^th in the shot put with a throw of 33-8.75, 7^th in the high jump by clearing 5-1, and 8^th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.13.

"Kensey is coming off an injury which kept her from training for a majority of the outdoor season. She did a great job today competing," Fraley said. "She's rusty on some stuff, but really competed hard and has put herself into a good position going into day two."

Coffield got off to an excellent start in the decathlon, hitting PR after PR through the early part of the day.

Coffield ran a lifetime best 100m time to start the day, finishing 6^th in 11.40 seconds. Simianer was 9^th in the event in 11.57 seconds.

They next went to the long jump, where Coffield once again hit a big mark, using his final attempt to go 21-1.5 to finish 8^th. He dropped two spots in the table to 8th after the event, but avoided a larger slip with a PR.

Coffield then made up a lot of ground in the shot put. He PR'd by over three inches, finishing 3^rd in the event with a throw of 41-10.75. He made it four straight personal bests by clearing 5-11.25 in the high jump.

3⃣ events.
3⃣ PRs.

What a start for Porter Coffield 🔥 He is 4th in the decathlon through the first three. #GrizTF | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/t7otA3TNmt
— Montana Griz TF & XC (@MontanaGrizTFXC) May 14, 2025

He ran out of gas at the end of the day in the 400m, finishing 11^th in a time of 55.02, but sits in 7^th in the multi table with five events remaining.

The freshman Simianer will head into the final day in 9^th place with 3,131 points. Simianer finished in 9^th in the 100m with a time of 11.57, 13^th in the shot put, and 8^th in the high jump.

The freshman's best performances came in the long jump and the 400m. Simianer had a PR in the long jump with a mark of 21-4, which was the 5^th best jump of the competition. He closed the day strong in the 400m with a time of 52.65.

"It was a solid day for the guys being the first decathlon ever for both of them," Fraley said. "They have kept themselves in the hunt for points, so we will see if they can come out tomorrow and produce good results in those five events and see where it all piles up. But I thought it was very positive for two first time guys the way they competed on day one."

The multis will resume on Thursday morning with the men's 110-meter hurdles at 11:00 a.m. (MT) and the women's long jump at 11:30 a.m.

WOMEN'S HEPTATHLON RESULTS
Overall- Whitney Morrison (3,182, 2^nd), Kensey Gault (2,884, 5^th)
100mH- Morrison (14.15*, 2^nd), Gault (15.13, 8^th)
High Jump- Morrison (5-4.5, 4^th), Gault (5-1, 7^th)
Shot Put- Morrison (36-0.25, 2^nd), Gault (33-8.75, 6^th)
200m- Morrison (25.43*, 1^st), Gault (25.60, 2^nd)

MEN'S DECATHLON RESULTS
Overall- Porter Coffield (3,345, 7^th), Oliver Simianer (3,131, 9^th)
100m- Coffield (11.40*, 6^th), Simianer (11.57, 9^th)
Long Jump- Simianer (21-4*, 5^th), Coffield (21-1.5*, 8^th)
Shot Put- Coffield (41-10.75*, 3^rd), Simianer (28-11, 13^th)
High Jump- Coffield (5-11.25*, 4^th), Simianer (5-8.75, 8^th)
400m- Simianer (52.65, 6^th), Coffield (55.02, 11^th)

University of Montana Athletics

Morrison in the hunt as Griz multis perform well on day one

Players Mentioned

Porter Coffield

Kensey Gault

Whitney Morrison

Oliver Simianer

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