Griz break five program records, three stadium records

Friday, March 27

Missoula, Mont.

Montana

Al Manuel Invitational

Photo by: Coral Scoles-Coburn/University of Montana

Griz break five program records, three stadium records

3/28/2026 9:13:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana track and field team picked up right where it left off at the end of the indoor season on Saturday as the team set five new program records, including three that were Dornblaser Field records, in an impressive start to the outdoor season.

The Grizzly men also won the Griz-Cat Dual for the second time in the last four years by a final score of 99.67-93.33. The MSU women won 100-75. The Cats were picked second in the Big Sky in both preseason polls with Montana third.

Montana picked up 13 event wins on an action-packed Saturday afternoon.

"I thought we got off to a fantastic start. You never really know after a month off how the team will respond after peaking for the indoor championships, but I really thought it was a fantastic weekend in all event areas," head coach Doug Fraley said. "It was so good to see as many personal bests, wins against very good competition, five school records, three stadium records, I just thought it was a fantastic start to the outdoor campaign."

The biggest roars of the day came from the men's shot put. Missoulian Alex Shields, a graduate of Hellgate HS, missed the indoor season with a health issue. He had not been lifting or throwing regularly throughout the fall and winter.

He was cleared to resume competition for the outdoor season, but the coaching staff still debated letting him rest and redshirt this year. They decided to let him go out on Saturday, and the move paid off.

Shields broke the Montana school record with his first throw of the day in the men's shot put. It would be the worst of his five measured throws as he saved his best attempt for last to win the event.

"Alex is such a motivation to our entire program," Fraley said. "He's a local guy that came in and has done nothing but improve and work his way up the ladder by tremendous effort and leadership. There is nothing better than watching a great person get rewarded because of their efforts and today is a perfect example of that. To me, that was the highlight of our weekend."

Shields trailed Montana State's Easton Hatleberg going into his final throw. He uncorked his best attempt of the event, throwing it 59-8.5 to win by over four inches and shatter the previous program record from 2019.

"This is something that I've been working for and if you would have told me I was going to do that at the first meet, especially with my injury history, I just didn't think that was going to happen," Shields said. "It was a really good feeling."

It's a huge step for someone that entered the outdoor season not knowing if he would be able to throw. It's been a long journey for Shields to get back to full health

"I've been taking care of my body, prioritizing nutrition and just feeling good," Shields said. "I haven't been lifting a lot, but a good amount, and just trying to get my mind ready."

Freshman Astin Brown finished 3rd in the event with a throw of 57-10.25 and got the energy going early in the event and Titus Jeffrey finished 5^th with a throw of 54-4.5. Shields shouted out every single one of throws group teammates by name when talking about his success on Saturday.

The men's and women's 4x100-meter relay teams got the record breaking going early with times of 40.23 and 44.78 to win both races. The women broke a Dornblaser Field record that had stood since 2019 in the process.

The women have Tara Ohlwiler, the defending 100m and 200m Big Sky Champion, running the opening leg with freshman Callie Wilson, this season's 60m and 200m indoor Big Sky Champion, running the anchor.

The men's team ran with two true freshmen, Romin Saleki and Ben Bliven, with Brody Thornsberry in the lineup and Big Sky Indoor champion Karsen Beitz running the closing leg. Fraley wasn't sure how fast the team would go being so new to collegiate competition and to running as a unit.

"That was a bit of a surprise," Fraley said. "I wasn't sure how fast we'd run with that group being so young and having one alternate in there, but those guys really came out and ran a great race to break the school record from a couple years ago at the conference championships."

Wilson anchored the women's record breaking relay team and then showed off the individual speed in the women's 100m. Wilson broke the Dornblaser Field record set by Weber State's Emily Morgan in the 2019 Big Sky Championships with a time of 11.49.

Her time is also a Montana program record as she beat her teammate Tara Ohlwiler's best mark of 11.53 from last season.

"To start off anchoring the 4x100 to a school record and stadium record was great and then she just continued doing what she's been doing throughout the indoor season which is run a really fast time to break the school 100 record," Fraley said.

In her first ever outdoor meet at Montana, Wilson put on a show for the Grizzly fans in attendance.

"I feel excited. It's been a bit of a chill week, I was a little sore so I didn't do any speed training this week, so to come out and run what I did in the 4x100 I'm really excited for what the rest of the season is going to look like," Wilson said. "I opened with like a 12.4 last year, so opening with an 11.4 this year means I'm going to drop something crazy."

Wilson wasn't the only Grizzly to break a women's stadium record. Erin Wilde has long been the standard for high jump in the Big Sky Conference but she reached a new and impressive height on Saturday.

Wilde, a six-time Big Sky champion in the event, cleared 6-0 for the first time outdoors to break her own program record and become the first woman to ever break the 6-0 mark at Dornblaser Field.

"She made it look easy today," Fraley said. "She's been working on getting more power in place so she can jump higher and I thought that today was as good as she's ever looked."

For Wilde, the height is something that she's had her sights set on for a while. She has cleared 6-0 multiple times indoors, including at the 2025 Big Sky Indoor Championships. She checked that box on Saturday.

"I wanted to get that outdoor mark for so long, ever since indoor conference last year, so it just feels amazing," Wilde said. "I kept really calm which was nice. Having Jaidyn (Pevey) there really helped me with both of us just kind of dancing and having fun. Overall just doing it for fun is a big thing for me so having her as a teammate is huge."

The men had five wins on the track and Karsen Beitz played a part in three of them. He anchored the record relay team and then picked up a pair of individual wins in the men's 100m and 200m.

Beitz ran lifetime bests in both events, winning the short sprint in a time of 10.44 in a highly competitive field and following it up later with a time of 20.93 in the 200m to hold off teammate Braden Ankeny.

"The double by Karsen running a lifetime best in the 100 and then coming back and running a lifetime best in the 200 after anchoring the record-setting relay team, that's a big day for that young man," Fraley said. "It's fun to see him start gaining confidence in his abilities after such a successful indoor season and carry that to the outdoor season."

Morgan Amano won the men's 800m from behind, flying down the final straightaway for the win in a time of 1:50.82, which was a lifetime best

The men's final win on the track also sealed the dual victory as the teams were nearly dead even entering the 4x400m relay. Montana's team of Ben Antley, Braden Ankeny, Cadence Waller, and Taylor Johnson coasted to a four second win to bring the title home for Montana.

The field events made a big contribution as well two event wins and eight top three finishes on the men's side to contribute to the point total. Freshman Sam Henderson won the triple jump with a mark of 48-8 to go with Shields' win in the shot put.

The Grizzlies went over a decade without a dual win over MSU. They've now taken the title twice in the last four years on the men's side.

"I've said it since I got here that Montana State was the measuring stick for us because of the success they've had as a program for a long time," Fraley said. "For us to be able to beat those guys in a dual meet is a tremendous accomplishment for our men's team. It's objective proof that our program is getting better and we're starting to achieve the goals we've set program-wide. For us, beating the Cats is something we never take lightly because of how good they are."

Wilde and Wilson were joined in the winners circle on the women's side by Ainsley Shipman and Lillian White.

Shipman had the top triple jump of the day on the women's side with a mark of 38-6.25, and she also finished 3^rd in the long jump 18-5.75. White won the women's discus with a throw of 154-10 in her first meet as a Grizzly.

Montana has had many entire seasons pass without five school records falling. They were able to knock off five records on Saturday alone in just the first meet of the outdoor season. The Grizzlies should only get better from here.

"We've worked really hard at recruiting higher level athletes in the last couple of years and it's definitely starting to show," Fraley said. "When you get better athletes in the program and they buy in and start achieving things, it's very contagious. That is obvious in our program right now and I'm pleased with the level we are gradually climbing to."

Montana will return to action next Friday in Spokane at the Whitworth Peace Meet on April 3.

"Our message is always the same," Fraley said. "Whether you had a great meet or a poor meet or anything in between, come to work on Monday ready to go and ready to improve because that's the next test and it's the next step in the progression toward the outdoor championships."

GRIZ-CAT DUAL - MEN'S SCORES
1. Montana (99.67)
2. Montana State (93.33)

GRIZ-CAT DUAL - WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Montana State (100)
2. Montana (75)

MONTANA MEN'S RESULTS
100m- Karsen Beitz (10.44*, 1^st), Romin Saleki (10.70, 5^th), Brody Thornsberry (10.78, 6^th)
200m- Karsen Beitz (20.93*, 1^st), Braden Ankeny (20.99*, 2^nd), Brody Thornsberry (21.78, 4^th), Ben Antley (22.28, 8^th)
400m- Cadence Waller (47.02*, 2^nd), Taylor Johnson (47.39*, 3^rd), Ben Antley (48.09, 4^th), Braden Ankeny (48.26, 5^th), Garrett Dahlke (49.20, 6^th), Landon Shilhanek (49.71, 7^th)
800m- Morgan Amano (1:50.82*, 1^st), Truman Thompson (1:51.82, 3^rd), Sam Jagodzinski (2:03.15, 15^th)
1,500m- Henry Ballinger (3:55.17, 3^rd), Albert Turner (3:56.99, 5^th), Henry Sund (3:58.18*, 6^th), Will Sandnes (4:03.09, 9^th), Colin Shaules (4:04.95, 10^th)
5,000m- Zachary Giesch (14:42.38*, 4^th), Carson Steckelberg (15:05.49*, 6^th)
110mH- Evan Barnes (15.10*, 4^th)
400mH- Adam Maxwell (55.26, 6^th)
Steeple- Lane Krautschun (9:34.22, 8^th)
4x100m- Saleki, Thornsberry, Bliven, Beitz (40.23^, 1^st)
4x400m- Antley, Ankeny, Waller, Johnson (3:12.50, 1^st)
High Jump- Patrick Kremer (6-4.75, t2^nd), Sam Henderson (6-4.75, t2^nd)
Pole Vault- Kevin Swindler (16-3.5, 2^nd), Carson Hegele (16-3.5, 3^rd), Michael Cullen (15-3.75, 5^th), Carter Petersen (NH)
Long Jump- Patrick Kremer (22-8, 3^rd), Joseph Kitonsa (20-11.75, 6^th)
Triple Jump- Sam Henderson (48-8, 1^st), Joseph Kitonsa (46-5.5, 2^nd)
Shot Put- Alex Shields (59-8.5, 1^st), Astin Brown (57-10.25, 3^rd), Titus Jeffrey (54-4.5, 5^th)
Discus- Titus Jeffrey (171-0*, 2^nd), Cooper Henkle (163-11, 5^th), Alex Shields (142-3, 7^th), Astin Brown (138-11*, 10th)

MONTANA WOMEN'S RESULTS
100m- Callie Wilson (11.49^$, 1^st), Brooke Zetooney (11.81*, 3^rd), Tara Ohlwiler (11.84, 4^th), Rileigh McGree (11.87, 5^th), Mikenna Ells (11.90*, 6^th), Lily Meskers (12.07, 8^th), Jayel Dovichak (12.29, 9^th), Isabelle Berry (12.33, 10^th), Kaydance Reiter (12.49, 13^th), Kaitlyn Dantic (12.68, 15^th)
200m- Brooke Zetooney (23.91*, 2^nd), Tara Ohlwiler (24.10, 3^rd), Mikenna Ells (24.16, 4^th), Lily Meskers (24.45, 6^th), Rileigh McGree (24.47*, 7^th), Ally Sempf (24.55*, 8^th), Sophia Clark (24.70, 9^th), Isabelle Berry (24.93*, 10^th), Claire Hutchison (25.03, 11^th), Kaydance Reiter (25.09, 12^th), Jayel Dovichak (25.11, 13^th), Kensey Gault (25.65, 14^th), Kaitlyn Dantic (26.02, 15^th)
400m- Sophia Clark (54.61*, 2^nd), Claire Hutchison (55.62*, 3^rd), Ally Sempf (56.40, 4^th), Cosley Bruno (57.44, 5^th)
1,500m- Iris McKean (4:47.65, 9^th), Olivia Coll (4:48.39*, 11^th), Libby Hartz (4:48.86*, 12^th)
100mH- Jayel Dovichak (14.00, 3^rd), Ainsley Shipman (14.05*, 4^th), Isabelle Berry (14.28*, 5^th), Kensey Gault (16.40, 11^th)
4x100m- Ohlwiler, Ells, Meskers, Wilson (44.78*$, 1^st), Zetooney, McGree, Hutchison, Clark (45.60, 3^rd)
4x400m- Hutchison, Sempf, Dantic, Zetooney (3:46.59, 1^st)
High Jump- Erin Wilde (6-0^$, 1^st), Jaidyn Pevey (5-3, 2^nd)
Pole Vault- Shealyne McGee (12-7.5, 2^nd), Reghan Skogen (12-1.5, 5^th), Mae Roth (11-7.75, 6^th), Grace MacHarg (11-1.75, 7^th)
Long Jump- Ainsley Shipman (18-5.75, 3^rd), Emily Maughan (17-10.75, 7^th), Kensey Gault (17-1.5, 8^th)
Triple Jump- Ainsley Shipman (38-6.25, 1^st)
Shot Put- Scout Nadeau (45-11.75, 3^rd), Avery DeVincenzi (44-2*, 5^th), Lillian White (43-6.5, 6^th), Cathlene Van Zyl (43-4.5, 7^th)
Discus- Lillian White (154-10*, 1^st), Morgan Thomas (141-1, 3^rd), Avery DeVincenzi (128-4, 5^th)

^Montana School Record
$ Dornblaser Field Record
*PR