Griz head to Big Sky Championship following record-setting regular season

Thursday, February 26

Pocatello, Idaho

Montana

Big Sky Indoor Championships

Photo by: Torrey Vail

Griz head to Big Sky Championship following record-setting regular season

2/25/2026 3:47:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Watch Live Results Meet Schedule Performance List

By: Montana Sports Information

Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championship
Pocatello, Idaho / Feb. 26-28 / Watch / Live Results / Schedule

The Montana track and field program, fresh off one of the best indoor regular season's in its history, heads to Pocatello, Idaho this week for the Big Sky Indoor Championship hosted by Idaho State.

It's been a record-setting season for the Grizzlies with 16 record breaking performances that have led to 10 new program standards. Montana has performed well at every stop of the regular season, but those were just preparations for the final test this week in Pocatello.

"We're really excited to get back over to Pocatello. We love the position that our team has put itself in throughout the regular season," head coach Doug Fraley said. "As good as that has been, it really is only the dress rehearsal. What we do at the championships this week is what really matters, but I believe that we've set things up well."

The team has built momentum this season with fast times and good marks, but the movement started several years ago when Fraley was hired as head coach. Montana's women didn't finish in the top five at the conference meet from 2018-24. The men had been in the bottom half of the league standings seven times in eight years prior to Fraley's arrival.

Last year, the men finished 3^rd and the women came in 4^th at the indoor championships in Flagstaff. They were both picked to finish in the same position in this year's Preseason Coaches' Poll.

After a successful season, Fraley and his team feel good about where they stand entering the biggest week of the indoor season.

"I think this group feels good about what their capabilities are and I think they believe in themselves," Fraley said. "I think they believe in each other so I would expect us to go and continue to do what we've done during the regular season."

Montana has the confidence of a strong regular season, but it also has the knowledge that they have been inside the building that they will compete at this weekend and found success there.

The Grizzlies' final regular season meet came two weeks ago inside the ICCU Dome. It was a dominant performance for the Grizzlies with four more records falling during the Mountain States Games.

The familiarity with the venue and the confidence that it brings should benefit the Grizzlies.

"I think it's positive that we had very good results from that venue two weeks ago," Fraley said. "It's always an advantage when you can go into the conference championship venue during the regular season and I thought we made good use of that two weeks ago."

Northern Arizona has won 13 straight titles on the men's side and five straight on the women's side. The Lumberjack men are the heavy favorites, but Montana State has the highest score in the Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI) on the women's side.

Montana sits in third in the TFRI on both sides. The men have a score of 312.74, just 11 points behind Montana State. The Grizzlies also have plenty of teams right on their tail in a crowded conference. The women have a score of 330.94.

While performance lists and projections are helpful to get an idea of how things might go, there will be three days of intense competition to sort everything out.

"A lot of things can happen over the course of a three-day track meet. It happens that way every week in our sport," Fraley said. "The teams that do well in the standings at the end of the weekend are the teams that have managed to go in and do what they've done well during the regular season."

There are several athletes in Montana's squad that enter the meet as the favorites in their respective events.

Erin Wilde enters the meet fresh off a new program record in Pocatello two weeks ago. She cleared 6-0.5, which ranks 18^th in the entire NCAA this season. Wilde has won two straight indoor crowns and hasn't lost at an indoor meet since Jan. of 2024. It's a run of 12 straight meet victories.

The senior from Whitefish is looking for her 6^th overall Big Sky title. She would be just the 7^th woman in program history to reach six combined indoor and outdoor Big Sky Championships.

The senior isn't the only title favorite on the women's side. Freshman Callie Wilson has shattered all expectations, along with a couple of records, in her first season at Montana. She will enter the weekend atop the performance list of both the 60m and 200m on the women's side.

Wilson has top 10 marks all-time in the Big Sky Conference and the Montana program record in both events. The freshman from Bonney Lake, Wash. ran a 7.35 time in the 60m and a 23.49 time in the 200m this season.

The Grizzly men also head into the meet with a title favorite after Kevin Swindler's record performance two weeks ago at the Mountain States Games. Swindler broke the Grizzly program record and then went even higher, clearing 17-6.5.

Swindler's mark is the best in the Big Sky this year and inside the top 40 nationally.

Montana also has five events each on both the men's and the women's side where they rank 2^nd or 3^rd in the performance list. The top three performers at the meet will earn All-Conference honors, giving the Grizzlies plenty of chances.

The key for Montana will be to harness the added energy of a conference championship while maintaining what has got them to this point.

"We feel like we've set ourselves up to go and be successful with what we've been doing," Fraley said. "For us, the dynamics of the track meet don't change a bit. The distances are still the same, the jumps are the same, the throws are the same. Our job is to go in and take advantage of the championship excitement while doing exactly what we've done at every track meet this year."

Montana will need to be at its best across all three days of the meet in order to have a shot at a top three finish. There will be six field medals given out on each day, but on the track you need to put together two good performances in most events.

Friday will feature prelims in the 60m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and the 60m hurdles. In order to score or compete for an All-Conference spot, you need to be in Saturday's final.

"Obviously every event is important, but really a telling tale, besides the event finals, is running events where there are preliminaries," Fraley said. "How many bullets do you have in your gun when you get to Saturday? Advancing people through the prellims is a huge factor in how well we will do at this championship. Our job is to get out there on Friday and get through the qualifying rounds because you can't do well in the finals unless you get there."

The meet opens on Thursday morning with the women's pentathlon at 10:00 a.m. The pentathlon will wrap up at 3:00 p.m. while the men will contest four events of the heptathlon.

The full meet begins at 10:00 a.m. on Friday with events running into the evening. It concludes on Saturday with the first event once again starting at 10:00 a.m. and the final relays at 2:30 p.m.

"We're looking forward to getting back there and throwing our hat in the ring," Fraley said. "Our kids are going to compete with the Griz spirit that they always do and this is a great opportunity for us to continue our progress as a program."

MONTANA WOMEN'S ENTRIES
60m- Callie Wilson, Tara Ohlwiler, Brooke Zetooney, Rileigh McGree
200m- Callie Wilson, Mikenna Ells, Lily Meskers, Tara Ohlwiler, Brooke Zetooney, Rileigh McGree
400m- Mikenna Ells, Lily Meskers, Sophia Clark
Mile- Iris McKean, Libby Hartz
3,000m- Kayla Ingraham
60mH- Jayel Dovichak, Isabelle Berry, Ainsley Shipman
4x400m- One squad
DMR- One squad
High Jump- Erin Wilde, Brooke Stayner, Jaidyn Pevey
Pole Vault- Reghan Skogen, Hannah Moses, Kate Suemnick, Grace MacHarg
Long Jump- Ainsley Shipman
Triple Jump- Ainsley Shipman
Shot Put- Scout Nadeau, Lillian White
Weight Throw- Scout Nadeau, Morgan Thomas, Calista Ousley, Lillian White
Pentathlon- Brooke Stayner, Kensey Gault

MONTANA MEN'S ENTRIES
60m- Karsen Beitz, Malaki Simpson, Bennett Bliven
200m- Karsen Beitz, Braden Ankeny, Bennett Bliven, Malaki Simpson
400m- Cadence Waller, Taylor Johnson, Ben Antley, Braden Ankeny
800m- Truman Thompson, Henry Ballinger
Mile- Morgan Amano
3,000m- Luke Mest
5,000m- Luke Mest
60mH- Evan Barnes, Easton Brotherson
4x400m- One squad
DMR- One squad
High Jump- Sam Henderson, Patrick Kremer
Pole Vault- Kevin Swindler, Carson Hegele, Michael Cullen, Corbin Luce
Long Jump- Patrick Kremer
Triple Jump- Sam Henderson, Joseph Kitonsa
Shot Put- Titus Jeffrey, Astin Brown, Donaven Humphries
Weight Throw- Cooper Henkle, Donaven Humphries, Titus Jeffrey, Astin Brown
Heptathlon- Oliver Simianer

MONTANA SCHOOL RECORDS SET IN 2026
The Grizzly track & field team has set 10 indoor records this season. The records are listed below.

Callie Wilson (7.35, 60m)
Callie Wilson (23.49, 200m)
Mikenna Ells (53.76, 400m)
Jayel Dovichak (8.39, 60mH)
Erin Wilde (6-0.5, High Jump)
Karsen Beitz (6.72, 60m)
Karsen Beitz (21.35, 200m)
Kevin Swindler (17-6.5, Pole Vault)
Cooper Henkle (62-11.25, Weight Throw)
Antley, Johnson, Waller, Ankeny (3:12.18, 4x400m)

GRIZZLY ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Montana has had two Big Sky Conference Athletes of the Week this season on the women's side, Erin Wilde and Callie Wilson. It's the first time since 2019 that the Grizzlies have had multiple athletes receive the weekly honor on the women's side.

Wilde was named the Indoor Field Athlete of the Week on Jan. 19 following her winning performance at the Spokane Indoor Challenge. Wilde cleared 5-10.75 to win her 10th consecutive indoor title.

The jump was the second best in program history, trailing only a mark of 6-0 from Wilde during her junior season. The senior has five Big Sky Championships and has won 22 total meets in her illustrious career.

Wilson earned the weekly honor on Feb. 9 after setting a program record in the 60m with a time of 7.35 to win the Carignan Classic. It's the 3^rd fastest time in the event in Big Sky Conference history.

The freshman from Bonney Lake, Wash. now has Montana's program records in the 60m and 200m and is in the top three in Big Sky history in both events.