Montana, picked 3rd in Big Sky poll, opens season at home

Friday, March 27

Missoula, Mont.

Montana

Al Manuel Invitational

Photo by: Jackson Wagner

Montana, picked 3rd in Big Sky poll, opens season at home

3/25/2026 4:04:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Live Results Meet Schedule

By: Montana Sports Information

2026 Al Manuel Invitational
March 27-28 / Dornblaser Field / Live Results / Schedule of Events

The Montana track and field program, fresh off an impressive indoor season that concluded with third place finishes for the men and women at the Big Sky Championship, will open the outdoor campaign this weekend with the Al Manuel Invitational.

The Grizzlies rewrote the indoor record book this season with 11 new event records and will now look to translate that success in the spring outdoor campaign.

"We're really excited about hosting a meet at Dornblaser this weekend," head coach Doug Fraley said. "I know that the kids are excited about competing at home for the first time this year and I'm looking forward to seeing where we're at after basically a month of recovery and re-entry into training following the indoor season."

The opening week of the season coincides with the release of the Big Sky Conference Coaches' Poll. Montana was picked to finish 3^rd in both the men's and women's poll behind favorites Northern Arizona and Montana State.

It's the first time that Montana has been picked in the top three of both polls since 2014. The Grizzlies have now finished third on the men's side in three straight Big Sky Championships across indoor and outdoor, and two straight on the women's side.

The expectations continue to rise for Fraley and his staff after the recent success for the program.

"It's great to be ranked high but you have to take that with a grain of salt because at the end of the day it doesn't mean anything," Fraley said. "We've been talking to our team during the break about reestablishing ourselves as a team from week one through the outdoor season progressing just like we did during the indoor season. You can't take anything you did indoors for granted that it's just going to be that way outdoors."

Montana impressed indoors and now get to add several events that are strengths for the program as they shift outdoors. Javelin, discus, and hammer throw all feature athletes that could be potential conference champions, All-Conference athletes, and point scorers.

While some of the throws athletes were able to compete in the weight throw indoors, several have been training for months just waiting for their chance. They will finally get it on Friday.

Kyle Iorg was All-Conference as a freshman in the men's javelin and should be one of the favorites in the event this season. He's joined by a couple of freshmen that could have monster impacts in Hunter Loesch and Cooper Henkle. Ethan Grimm is also back after a 6^th place finish in the event last year.

On the women's side, Ashley Carroll returns for a junior season after finishing 4^th as a freshman and runner-up in 2025. Bismarck State transfer Brynn Fuller has a PR of 151-8 in the event and sophomore Ella Moodry returns after a 7^th place finish last season.

"The athletes that are really chomping at the bit are the javelin throwers, hammer and discus throwers," Fraley said. "We have some really good athletes this year in those events and this is their first exposure after a long, long training period without any competitions. Those are good groups and we're looking forward to seeing where they are at this weekend."

The meet will feature Montana and Montana State at the D-I level and several of the state's NAIA programs. The javelin and hammer throw events will be held on Friday afternoon while field events begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The first race of the meet will be the women's steeplechase at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.

"It's going to be a very competitive meet," Fraley said. "Montana State is bringing a full team and all the other Montana schools have a lot of good athletes in different event areas, so this weekend will not be short on competition and it will be a really good first test for us."

After months of training indoors followed by a week off for spring break, Fraley is ready to get back into the competition mindset with his squad. This is the first of six weekends of competition in the regular season for the Grizzlies all building up to the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Portland on May 13-16.

"We're glad we're at home for the first meet of the year and really comfortable in our surroundings as we get used to being outdoors after a couple of months of indoor training," Fraley said. "Anytime you move outdoors, your radar system has to kind of click in and get used to the bigger surroundings and everything. This is a great opportunity for us to check some early boxes and find out where we're at from a competitive standpoint against all of the good competition in the state of Montana."

MONTANA MEN'S ENTRIES
100m- Malaki Simpson, Karsen Beitz, Romin Saleki, Bennett Bliven, Brody Thornsberry
200m- Karsen Beitz, Braden Ankeny, Malaki Simpson, Bennett Bliven, Brody Thornsberry, Romin Saleki, Taylor Johnson, Cadence Waller, Ben Antley
400m- Ben Antley, Taylor Johnson, Cadence Waller, Garrett Dahlke, Landon Shilhanek
800m- Truman Thompson, Henry Ballinger, Morgan Amano, Sam Jagodzinski
1,500m- Henry Ballinger, Albert Turner, Henry Sund, Will Sandnes
5,000m- Zachary Giesch, Carson Steckelberg
110mH- Evan Barnes
400mH- Adam Maxwell
Steeple- Lane Krautschun
4x100m- One squad
4x400m- Two squads
High Jump- Patrick Kremer, Sam Henderson
Pole Vault- Kevin Swindler, Carson Hegele, Michael Cullen, Carter Petersen
Long Jump- Patrick Kremer, Joseph Kitonsa
Triple Jump- Sam Henderson, Joseph Kitonsa
Shot Put- Alex Shields, Titus Jeffrey, Astin Brown
Discus- Cooper Henkle, Titus Jeffrey, Alex Shields, Astin Brown
Hammer- Donaven Humphries, Tyler Bates, Cooper Henkle, Titus Jeffrey, Alex Shields, Astin Brown
Javelin- Kyle Iorg, Hunter Loesch, Cooper Henkle, Ethan Grimm

MONTANA WOMEN'S ENTRIES
100m- Tara Ohlwiler, Callie Wilson, Mikenna Ells, Rileigh McGree, Lily Meskers, Brooke Zetooney, Jayel Dovichak, Kaydance Reiter, Isabelle Berry, Kaitlyn Dantic
200m- Callie Wilson, Tara Ohlwiler, Mikenna Ells, Lily Meskers, Brooke Zetooney, Sophia Clark, Rileigh McGree, Jayel Dovichak, Claire Hutchison, Kaydance Reiter, Ally Sempf, Kaitlyn Dantic, Isabelle Berry, Kensey Gault
400m- Sophia Clark, Claire Hutchison, Cosley Bruno, Ally Sempf
1,500m- Iris McKean, Libby Hartz, Shay Pederson, Olivia Coll, Sofia Hinderman
5,000m- Abigail Case
100mH- Jayel Dovichak, Ainsley Shipman, Isabelle Berry, Kensey Gault
4x100m- Two squads
4x400m- Two squads
High Jump- Erin Wilde, Jaidyn Pevey
Pole Vault- Shealyne McGee, Reghan Skogen, Hannah Moses, Grace MacHarg, Mae Roth
Long Jump- Ainsley Shipman, Kensey Gault, Emily Maughan
Triple Jump- Ainsley Shipman
Shot Put- Scout Nadeau, Lillian White, Avery DeVincenzi, Cathlene Van Zyl
Discus- Lillian White, Morgan Thomas, Avery DeVincenzi
Hammer- Morgan Thomas, Mary Mickelson, Scout Nadeau, Lillian White, Calista Ousley, Avery DeVincenzi
Javelin- Ashley Carroll, Brynn Fuller, Ella Moodry, Kensey Gault