By JOEL CARLSON for GoGriz.com
Montana redshirt senior Lindsey Hall was named the Big Sky Conference Field Athlete of the Week Tuesday following her record-setting performance in the multi-events last week at the Montana State Invitational at Bozeman.
Hall, who earned Big Sky athlete of the week honors for the sixth time in her career — two times indoor, now four times outdoor — scored 5,424 points Thursday and Friday to win the heptathlon and add 64 points to her own school record.
The performance was the ninth-best score in Big Sky Conference history and ranks No. 9 on the latest national list.
It’s only two weeks into the outdoor season, so there are more school records to chase, more Big Sky Conference titles to pursue and an impending clash at the Big Sky championships with Southern Utah’s Shaye Maurer-Springall, who ranks seventh nationally in the heptathlon.
And all of those are challenges for the competitor in Hall to embrace and enjoy, but this year she has matured not only as an athlete but in her understanding of why she is competing.
“All those are aspects I love and respect about having this final opportunity to compete at the collegiate level, but the thing that is driving me most this year is the growing recognition that I have this gift, and that I’ve been given this gift by God. And I want to use it in a way that honors the gift,” said the devout Hall.
“That’s my biggest motivator. That’s what keeps my head level between meets and during meets and after meets. That’s the biggest change I’ve experienced this year.”
Montana multi-events coach Adam Bork, too, is doing his best to appreciate the gift that Hall’s talent provides the Griz track and field program before it’s gone. But he finds himself caught between worlds. How best to enjoy the gift of Hall while at the same time pushing her to be just thismuch better?
“It can be hard,” he said. “She is so talented, and people like her are so rare and come through here so infrequently, that it’s hard to enjoy it all of the time. While you have her, you want to maximize everything she does, so you’re always looking at her potential and how close she is to that potential.
“When she does have a meet like she did last weekend, it’s great to stand there and watch how much she’s progressed, how consistent she’s become and how much she’s matured as an athlete. And it’s really fun to watch her have that success and know it’s just the beginning of the season.”
Montana will compete Saturday at the Griz-Eagle Dual in Cheney, Wash., then Hall and her teammates will be off to California for the Mt. SAC Relays and Long Beach State Invitational April 16-19.
Hall will compete in the heptathlon at Azusa Pacific in Azusa, Calif., as part of the Mt. SAC Relays.
Montana Sports Information
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