By JOEL CARLSON
Montana will host the annual Griz-Cat Dual Friday and Saturday at Dornblaser Field in Missoula. The hammer throws will be contested Friday afternoon beginning at 3 p.m. The rest of the meet will take place Saturday.
The women’s long jump, shot put and javelin, and the men’s high jump will start the action on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. Running events begin at noon with the women’s steeplechase.
Montana State swept the duals a year ago in Bozeman, winning the women’s contest 99-90 and the men’s 111-72. MSU’s victory on the women’s side evened the series 16-16. Montana still holds a commanding 55-26 men’s advantage.
Despite the team losses, Montana broke three records at the 2014 dual. Keith Webber broke both the UM and meet records in the pole vault with a jump of 17-2.75, and Caitlin Caraway broke her own school mark in the hammer with a throw of 183-1.
Both Bobcat teams are coming off top-three finishes at February’s Big Sky indoor championships, and both were picked to repeat the feat next month at the outdoor championships at Cheney, Wash.
Montana, eighth on the women’s side and 10th on the men’s, finished in the bottom half of the league standings at the indoor championships and were picked for similar finishes this outdoor season. That makes Montana State the favorite in both duals Saturday, even on Montana’s home track.
“I don’t know how we’re going to stack up in the duals, because we’re certainly down in some areas,” said UM coach Brian Schweyen. “I think on the women’s side we can be competitive, but the guys’ side is going to be tough because of some of the holes we have.
“Even so, I think we’re going to have some good performances. There are some kids who are really, really coming around and doing some things in practice, so I think this could be a really good meet for us.”
Since Montana State won 10 consecutive duals between 1997 and 2006, neither women’s team has managed to win more than two straight years. On the men’s side, Montana has a slight 9-7 edge in the dual since snapping MSU’s 12-meet winning streak in 1998.
Montana traveled last week to Eugene, Ore., for the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field. The women’s team had a number of season and career bests but no new Big Sky Conference qualifiers.
The men’s team had a number of notable performances. The team had six marks that were either new qualifications or were improvements upon previous qualifications. Six of the men’s team’s nine qualifiers are underclassmen.
“When you look at what we’re redshirting on the men’s team and where we are in rebuilding, it’s pretty exciting,” said Schweyen. “We’ve got some freshmen and sophomores performing at a very high level in this conference, and that’s a great thing.”
The Hot List (Oregon Relays edition)
* Freshman Jakob Alme, at 15-1.5, broke the 15-foot mark for the first time this season. He surpassed it once during the indoor season as well.
* Freshman Sterling Reneau met the Big Sky qualifying standard of 49 seconds when he smoked a 48.69 in the 400 meters.
* Junior Lindsey Dahl pretty much matched the 139-8 she threw at Eastern Washington the week before with a javelin throw of 138-1. She ranks ninth in the Big Sky, but it’s tight. Only the top three on this week’s league performance list have surpassed 145 feet.
* Sophomore Dominique Bobo took his season best in the 200 meters from 21.88 to 21.50, and, at 49.14, he broke 50 seconds for the first time this season in the 400 meters.
* Freshman Matt Quist is ready to go big. He’s cleared 6-6.75 in the high jump the last two meets and has been close at 6-8.75.
* Freshman Claire Dalman went 11-11.75 in the pole vault four times during the indoor season. She reached that mark last weekend for the first time during the outdoor season after opening 10-4, 10-8 and 11-1.75 in less-than-ideal conditions.
* Sophomore Nate Deming, already a Big Sky qualifier, improved his qualifying performance in the javelin to 193-7. Deming is in his first year throwing the javelin.
* Junior Joe Lesar’s 800 meters time of 1:55.23 was a career best.
* Senior Shayle Dezellem ran a career-best 14.88 in the 100-meter hurdles and broke 65 seconds for the first time this season with a time of 1:04.93.
* Freshman Jensen Lillquist broke 200 feet for the second time this season in the javelin with a throw of 208-9. He ranks third in the Big Sky behind throwers who have gone 221-2 and 216-10. Both are from Montana State, which means the best in the Big Sky will be throwing early Saturday afternoon.
* At 150-4, freshman Hana Feilzer broke 150 feet for the first time in the hammer.
* Senior Drew Owens, the defending Big Sky champion, ran a season-best time of 52.26 in the 400-meter hurdles. He ranks second in the Big Sky behind Idaho State senior Logan Henderson, who’s gone 51.76.
* Freshman Madison Page went 37-5.25 in the triple jump, a career best.
* Freshman Alex Mustard raced to a season-best time of 11.06 in the 100 meters. That has him sitting just outside the Big Sky’s top 20.
* The women’s team’s star of the meet: sophomore Nicole Stroot, who competed in four events and had three career bests. She dropped her 100-meter hurdles time from 15.22 to 14.83 and her 400-meter hurdles time from 1:06.18 to 1:04.97. And she upped her long jump from 18-3.75 to 18-8. She has put in a request to return to Eugene next spring, if not sooner.
* Redshirt freshman Riley Neville went 15-1.5 in the pole vault. It was his first time over a 15-foot bar in competition since Feb. 13.
* It was a pair of season bests for freshman Alanna Vann in the 100 (12.37) and 200 meters (25.98).
* Senior David Norris dropped his season best in the 800 meters from 1:54.96 to 1:52.51. That met the Big Sky standard of 1:53.30 and was just off his career best of 1:52.15.
Upcoming
The Grizzlies will host the three-day Montana Open next Thursday through Saturday. The women’s heptathlon will be contested Thursday and Friday, and the women’s and men’s hammer throws will take place Friday afternoon. The rest of the meet will be Saturday.
Montana Sports Information