Griz head to Arkansas for NCAA First Round Meet

Wednesday, May 27

Fayetteville, Ark.

Montana

NCAA West First Round

Scenes from Saturday at the Big Sky Championship track meet in Gresham, Ore. on May 16, 2026.

Photo by: Jackson Wagner

5/25/2026 11:35:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Performance List Meet Schedule Live Results

By: Montana Sports Information

NCAA West First Rounds
May 27-30 / Fayetteville, Ark. / Watch / Live Results / Meet Schedule

The 2026 season continues this week for the Montana track and field program as a group of 14 athletes heads to Fayetteville, Ark. for the NCAA West First Rounds. The largest group of Grizzlies to ever qualify for the regional meet will put their talents to the test against the best athletes west of the Mississippi with a chance to qualify for the National Championship on the line.

Montana has broken record after record this season and went to Gresham, Ore. for the Big Sky Championship last week. The Grizzlies finished 3^rd in both the men's and women's final standings, the second straight year that both teams have been in the top three.

They will be well represented at the regional meet with competitors on the track and in the field for both the men and the women. Montana will compete in 16 events over the four-day meet with a mix of veterans and newcomers, including four true freshmen.

"It's really exciting because we have a mixed bag of veterans that have been to this meet a few times and then some first timers," head coach Doug Fraley said. "It's exciting to have a mix of both and it's great to have so many young athletes getting exposure to the NCAA Championships early in their college careers. For a lot of our first and second-year athletes to be making that trip, that's so valuable for their careers moving forward."

The meet opens with men's events on Wednesday. The men return to action on Friday with the women competing on Thursday and Saturday.

The men's javelin group will start things off at 1:00 p.m. (MT) on Wednesday with the trio of Kyle Iorg, Hunter Loesch, and Cooper Henkle all competing. Karsen Beitz will run in the 100m at approximately 6:00 p.m. and the 200m at 7:45 p.m. as he looks to reach the finals in both with a top 24 finish in the First Round. The sprint finals will be held on Friday.

Montana's men's pole vaulters – Kevin Swindler and Carson Hegele - begin their competition at 6:00 p.m. with Alex Shields also competing in the shot put at the same time to wrap up the first day.

On Thursday, the Grizzly women's javelin duo of Brynn Fuller and Ashley Carroll will start things off at 1:00 p.m. (MT). Shealyne McGee will compete in the pole vault at 6:00 p.m. that night.

Thursday will be a busy evening on the track for the women with Callie Wilson competing in the 100m and 200m and Lily Meskers racing in the 400m. Those races start at approximately 6:00 p.m.

Since the NCAA switched to the East/West format nearly two decades ago, Montana has not advanced a short sprinter through to the regional meet on either side. That changes this year with Beitz and Wilson.

It's an accomplishment for any athlete to still be competing in late May and early June. But to have sprinters still around at this time is new ground for the Montana program.

"It's really awesome that we have short sprinters that have qualified for this meet," Fraley said. "It is so difficult with the schools that are in the region, the times are getting faster every year, and so to have an individual from each gender to qualify is a great testament to the kids that we've got, their ability, and how much they've progressed since they've been here. We're really proud of that."

Titus Jeffrey is the only scheduled athlete for Friday, throwing the discus at 12:00 p.m., and Erin Wilde is the only athlete set to compete on Saturday. Wilde will high jump at 1:00 p.m. looking for a spot at the National Championship meet.

The top 12 field athletes will advance to Eugene, Ore. in two weeks' time to compete at the National Championship. The track athletes will need to be in the top 24 to advance to the Quarterfinal Round on Friday/Saturday and then place in the top 12 from there to travel to Eugene.

Montana will have the opportunity to send some athletes through to the National Championship meet for the first time in two years, if everything plays out right. They enter with four athletes ranked inside the top 25 in the region.

"The biggest thing at the regional meet is to perform around the mark that got you there. If you do that, you will have a really good chance to finish higher than what you're seeded," Fraley said. "The thing you have to guard against is people thinking that they've got to go do something outlandish because the competition is so stiff. When you look back at the history of these meets, when people perform at the level that got them there they outperform their seeds significantly."

The conditions on the track will be slightly different from what the Grizzlies have been accustomed to competing in Montana for the season. There is plenty of precipitation in the forecast for the week with temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

When Montana last traveled there for a regional meet, there were plenty of delays due to weather. Fraley said his team knows what to expect and will be ready for any challenges the conditions may provide.

"Fayetteville is a fantastic place to go for the regional meet, the facilities are awesome," Fraley said. "Of course, it's the south so you will deal with heat, humidity, and thunderstorms, that's just part of going to the south for the regional regardless of where it's at."

Weather aside, the competition level will be elite and the facilities are top of the line, which should provide Montana's athletes with a great four days of competition.

"It's one of my favorite places to go to a track meet, period. I think it's a tremendous performance venue," Fraley said. "The best thing about the regional meet is you're there with the best of the best west of the Mississippi. Everyone is there regardless of whether it's a power conference school or smaller conferences. Everyone that is good enough is there and it's just a really exciting championship environment."

MONTANA MEN'S ENTRIES
100m- Karsen Beitz
200m- Karsen Beitz
Pole Vault- Kevin Swindler, Carson Hegele
Shot Put- Alex Shields
Discus- Titus Jeffrey
Javelin- Kyle Iorg, Hunter Loesch, Cooper Henkle

MONTANA WOMEN'S ENTRIES
100m- Callie Wilson
200m- Callie Wilson
400m- Lily Meskers
High Jump- Erin Wilde
Pole Vault- Shealyne McGee
Javelin- Brynn Fuller, Ashley Carroll