Throwers start season with a bang

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of Montana

3/27/2026 8:58:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

By: Montana Sports Information

Kyle Iorg joined the 70-meter club in the men's javelin to cap off an impressive Friday for Montana track and field's throws group. The hammer and javelin throwers that have been waiting months to finally get the chance to compete took advantage of a sunny Missoula afternoon with plenty of PRs to go around.

The Grizzlies had wins from Iorg and Ashley Carroll in the javelin to start of the 2026 Al Manuel Invitational. Montana's athletes had 10 collegiate best marks in the two events with several freshmen also making impressive debuts.

"Like we said pre-meet, these hammer and javelin throwers have been chomping at the bit after basically a nine month wait and boy they really showed out today," head coach Doug Fraley said. "They showed a lot of improvement from last year for the ones that were here and we had some tremendous performances from freshmen and newcomers."

Iorg, who earned All-Conference at the Big Sky Championship last season, had the top throw entering the final of the men's javelin at 221-4. The sophomore only marked one throw in the finals, but it was a big one.

He won the competition with a throw of 230-6. While it's incredibly early in the season, the mark is the second best in the NCAA West Region this year and should guarantee him a spot at the NCAA First Round meet in Fayetteville, Ark. at the end of May.

"It feels like a nice confidence boost going into the season to be able to build some momentum and build on this good mark," Iorg said.

Iorg becomes the 4^th Grizzly in program history to reach the 70-meter mark. Evan Todd has the program record at 246-6.

"It's big to join the 70-meter club not just at Montana or in the Big Sky, but nationwide that's a real pinnacle for a male javelin thrower," Fraley said. "It was fantastic for him to come out and do that in meet number one."

Freshman Hunter Loesch pushed Iorg on the day as the men's javelin group showed its enormous potential. Loesch, from Corvallis, finished second with a throw of 226-1.

One of the top high school javelin throwers in the country last year opened his collegiate career with a mark of 215-1, which likely would have been enough to qualify for the First Round. He upped it by over 11-feet on his final throw of the day.

Freshman Cooper Henkle also cleared the 200-foot mark and finished 4^th in the event with a throw of 201-6.

"It was a great way to open the season," Iorg said. "All of my teammates, all of the javelin throwers went out there and trusted in their training. We have a lot to build on and I'm really proud of all of our performances today."

Ashley Carroll, the Big Sky runner-up last season, won the women's event with her penultimate throw of the day as the Grizzlies dominated. Carroll's new personal best of 155-2 is the best throw by a Grizzly since 2018.

Carroll qualified for regionals last season and likely will have punched her ticket again this year with her throw in the first meet of the season. She was followed closely by Grizzly newcomer Brynn Fuller.

Fuller, a transfer from Bismarck State, finished 2^nd with a new personal best throw of 150-8. Sophomore Ella Moodry rounded out the podium with a PR throw of 145-10 as the Grizzlies went 1-2-3 in the women's javelin.

The women's hammer started the day off and Montana's group recorded four personal bests. Mary Mickelson was the top Grizzly, finishing 3^rd overall with a throw of 174-0. Scout Nadeau finished 5^th with a PR of 167-9 and Morgan Thomas was right behind her at 167-0.

Donaven Humphries led the men's hammer group with a 5^th place finish after throwing a new personal best 188-5. Henkle, Tyler Bates, and Alex Shields all finished inside the top 10 in the event.

Montana picked up momentum behind the two events on Friday evening. Fraley is hoping that the rest of the squad keeps things rolling in Montana's favor on Saturday with the first field event at 10:00 a.m. and the first race scheduled for 11:15 a.m.

"It's great to get the outdoor season started on a high note with these first two events and we're looking forward to getting after it tomorrow in all areas," Fraley said.

MEN'S RESULTS
Hammer- Donaven Humphries (188-11*, 5^th), Cooper Henkle (173-6, 7^th), Tyler Bates (172-1, 8^th), Alex Shields (166-2*, 9^th), Astin Brown (132-5, 15^th), Titus Jeffrey (ND)
Javelin- Kyle Iorg (230-6*, 1^st), Hunter Loesch (226-1, 2^nd), Cooper Henkle (201-6, 4^th), Ethan Grimm (179-5, 7^th)

WOMEN'S RESULTS
Hammer- Mary Mickelson (174-0*, 3^rd), Scout Nadeau (167-9*, 5^th), Morgan Thomas (167-0*, 6^th), Lillian White (146-7, 9^th), Calista Ousley (144-4*, 10^th)
Javelin- Ashley Carroll (155-2*, 1^st), Brynn Fuller (150-8*, 2^nd), Ella Moodry (145-10*, 3^rd), Kensey Gault (72-11, 11^th)