Stayner scores for Griz in gritty heptathlon performance

It was far from easy for Montana's multi athletes on Wednesday and Thursday at the Big Sky Conference Championship in Gresham, Ore. Brooke Stayner and Kensey Gault battled the conditions as wind and rain brought challenges, and the duo also had to manage injuries all weekend, but they gutted through it all and the Grizzlies put points on the board heading into Friday.

Stayner finished in 6^th place to score three points for her team while Gault came up just short with 9^th place finish. They scored 4,579 and 4,490 points, respectively.

"I have to hand it to those young ladies, they really competed hard considering they're both coming off stress reactions and the minimal amount of training they've been able to do," head coach Doug Fraley said. "I thought they handled the weather well, they competed hard, and I'm very proud of them."

The duo were hanging right on the scoring bubble after competing through a rainy day one. Stayner finished inside the top seven in her first three events, running a 15.07 in the 100-meter hurdles to open and jumping 5-0.5 in the high jump. She had a throw of 33-10.25 to finish the field events on day one.

Stayner's leg injury has hampered her all year as the redshirt-junior has not competed in a race all outdoor season. She fought through it to finish in 26.70 seconds in the 200m, dropping to 7^th place in the multi table after day one.

Gault's top event on day one was the shot put where she finished with the 4^th best throw at 36-0. She entered the final day in 8^th place with 2,740 points.

Stayner, jumping off the opposite foot that she typically does, still managed a leap of 16-5.25 in the long jump to hang in the scoring bubble. Stayner then went to the javelin and recorded a throw of 97-6 to finish in 7^th in the event.

Entering the 800-meter run, Stayner sat in 8^th place with 3,818 points. She gutted through the pain and finished 2^nd in the final event of the multi with a time of 2:24.70 to move up and score three points for the Grizzlies with a 6^th place finish.

"Brooke has accomplished a lot of things both athletically and academically in her time at UM, but I have never been prouder of anything that she has done than this performance," Fraley said. "For her to come in really on no training and to be able to get 6^th place and manage her injury and her emotions going through such a difficult time, that was a really fantastic job for her in this competition."

Gault was also fighting through the pain and came incredibly close to scoring for the Grizzlies. The sophomore had the 3^rd best time in the 800m, finishing in 2:25.19, to bring her heptathlon total up to 4,490 points.

She finished in 9^th place, just 16 points out of scoring range and 18 points away from 7^th place.

The full meet will start on Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. (MT) with the men's javelin and women's high jump. It will be a full day of action carrying all the way into the evening with eight field finals and prelims in most running events.

The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live results available through AthleticLive.

MONTANA WOMEN'S RESULTS
Heptathlon- Brooke Stayner (4,579, 6^th), Kensey Gault (4,490, 9^th)
100mH- Stayner (15.07, 7^th), Gault (15.94, 15^th)
High Jump- Stayner (5-0.5, 6^th), Gault (4-10.25, 12^th)
Shot Put- Gault (36-0, 4^th), Stayner (33-10.25, 7^th)
200m- Gault (25.67, 5^th), Stayner (26.70, 12^th)
Long Jump- Gault (16-8, 11^th), Stayner (16-5.25, 12^th)
Javelin- Stayner (97-6, 7^th), Gault (87-9, 11^th)
800m- Stayner (2:24.70, 2^nd), Gault (2:25.19, 3^rd)

University of Montana Athletics

Stayner scores for Griz in gritty heptathlon performance

Related News

Players Mentioned

Kensey Gault

Brooke Stayner

Related Videos