Griz garner pair of individual titles, school record on Day 3 of Championships
POCATELLO, Idaho – Montana had a memorable day at the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday, winning two individual titles and setting a school record in another event.
Tanessa Morris opened the day by repeating as champion in the women's hammer throw while Evan Todd, a Kalispell native, won the men's javelin late in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Catie Buck, who is competing in her first track & field season after beginning her collegiate career as a Griz soccer player, set a school record in the 100 meters, breaking a 33-year-old school record.
Overall, Montana earned points from nine different athletes across seven events, while qualifying seven additional athletes for Saturday's running finals.
Women's hammer throw – Tanessa Morris (196-10, 1st/22); Kaitlyn Gallo (PR 183-6, 4th); Ariel Clark (170-3, 9th)
To show just how good Tanessa Morris has been in the hammer, you just have to look to Friday's results. She won the event on Friday – by nearly 6 full feet – despite not being at her best. Her top throw of 196-10 was less than her total in all but two meets this spring, yet it was far and away good enough to win the conference meet. Morris had three throws of 193 feet or further, while second-place Vernice Keyes of Eastern Washington topped out at 191-0.
Morris, who won the hammer throw in 2021, was the heavy favorite to repeat as champion. She had a 12-foot cushion entering the meet and was coming off of a school-record-setting performance last weekend, when she reached 210-4 and was named the Big Sky Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week for the second time this spring.
Her first throw, though, hit into the net, resulting in a foul. Like she did last weekend, she threw a 'safe' throw on her second attempt, a mark of 185-1 that would have placed her fourth in the completion if she stopped there.
She wasn't done, though, reaching 193-5 on her third attempt to enter the finals round as the favorite. Impressively, Montana had one-third of the finals qualifiers, with Kaitlyn Gallo and Ariel Clark each surpassing 170 feet in the preliminary round. Clark's first throw (170-3) was her best, finishing ninth, while Gallo, competing in her first Big Sky Championship meet, PR'd by more than 10 feet to place fourth (183-6). The freshman had a fantastic day, with three of her throws surpassing 175 feet, something she had never-before done prior to Friday. Her final throw was her best and moved her from fifth to fourth place in the standings.
Morris, meanwhile, improved on her 193-5 on her third attempt, reaching 196-8 on her fourth and 196-10 on her fifth. On her final attempt, already having secured the championship title, she let loose but fouled as her body fell out of the ring.
Montana has now won four hammer titles in the past five Championship meets, with Hana Feilzer doing so in 2017 and 2019 and Morris going back-to-back in 2021 and 2022. Morris last week broke Feilzer's school-record mark, set in 2019, and will now look to follow in Feilzer's footsteps and qualify for nationals (Morris is a lock for NCAA Regionals and currently ranks 26th in the nation this season). Prior to Montana's current run of four individual titles in five Championship meets, Montana had never before won a women's hammer throw championship.
Men's javelin – Evan Todd (224-10, 1st/12); Matthew Hockett (204-7, 5th)
Evan Todd entered the meet as the favorite, throwing the Big Sky's top mark of the season at 229-2 late in March. However, since the season-opening meet nearly two months ago, Todd hasn't been close to that distance, hovering around 200 for much of the season.
On Friday, he proved that his top throw from March was not an aberration, winning the javelin at 224-10.
Weber State's Cody Canard took the lead at 218-5 on his first throw, and it looked as if he would hold on for victory. Todd was really good, with four throws between 206 and 216 feet, but not quite on par with Canard's first throw.
That changed on Todd's final throw, as he unleashed a 224-10 that proved to be the winner.
Following that throw, there was just one throw remaining in the competition, and it came from Canard. The Wildcat put up a good attempt, reaching 209-5, but it wasn't enough to surpass Todd, who won a Big Sky title as just a sophomore. Similar to the women's hammer, it marked Montana's fourth champion in the past six outdoor Championship meets.
Montana had two of the nine finals qualifiers, with Matthew Hockett scoring for the second year in a row. Hockett fouled on five of his six throws, but his one marked attempt – his first throw of 204-7 – was good enough to advance to the finals and score.
Women's 100 meters (prelims) – Catie Buck (11.80q, 5th/18); Emma Normand (11.95, 9th)
Catie Buck was recruited to Montana as a soccer player, playing four seasons for the perennial Big Sky champions. Injuries limited her time on the pitch, and after retiring from soccer, she took up the opportunity to compete for Montana's track & field team. She has been one of Montana's top sprinters all year, but jumped to another level on Friday when she broke Kris Schmitt's 1989 school record of 11.85.
Buck's time of 11.80 qualified her for Saturday's finals, where she will look to score for the first time. Emma Normand, who herself set a school record this year (indoor 60 meters) narrowly missed qualifying, finishing ninth despite running an impressive 11.95.
Women's long jump – Jansen Ziola (19-4.25, 3rd/21); Ailsa Gilbert (17-8, 14th)
Jansen Ziola has shown throughout her career that she is capable of doing a little bit of everything. That's evidenced by the fact that she's scored in seven different events throughout her career. One of her best events, though, has always been the long jump, and she proved that again on Friday, reaching the podium with a third-place finish (19-4.25).
The opportunity nearly never arrived after Ziola fouled on her first two attempts. With just one more chance to qualify for the finals, Ziola did that and more with a jump of 18-11.75. On her next two attempts, she got even better, surpassing 19 feet, including a lifetime-best jump of 19-4.25 that got her to the podium for the eighth time in her career.
But Ziola wasn't done, also qualifying for the finals of the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles.
Men's pole vault – Zane Johnson (15-9.75, 4th/15); Carson Weeden (14-10, 11th)
Zane Johnson earned a top-four finish for the second consecutive year in the pole vault, clearing 15-9.75. He didn't pass 15-3.75 until his third and final attempt, but once he cleared that mark, he found a rhythm, moving up 6 more inches to earn solid points for the Griz.
Men's shot put – Brent Yeakey (56-1, 5th/21); Noah Ramirez (53-9.25, 10th)
One of the most consistent things over the past four years has been thrower Brent Yeakey scoring in the shot put. In fact, in eight conference meets across indoor and outdoor, Yeakey has scored all eight times, including a fifth-place finish on Friday (56-1). The throw was a season best for Yeakey, who owns school records for both the indoor and outdoor shot put. Yeakey was strong all day, surpassing 54 feet on his first four throws.
Teammate Noah Ramirez also had a strong showing (53-9.25), coming up four inches shy of a lifetime best.
Looking ahead to Saturday
Saturday will mark the fourth and final day of the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which will feature eight field events and 20 running finals. Action begins at 9:30 a.m. with the men's hammer throw (broadcast on Idaho State Athletics Facebook page). A complete schedule of events can be found online. Fans can also access live video of the meet on ESPN+ and track live results through FinishedResults.
Montana's Point-Scorers (Men)
10, Evan Todd, 1st, javelin
5, Zane Johnson, 4th, pole vault
4, Matthew Hockett, 5th, javelin
4, Brent Yeakey, 5th, shot put
3, Jason Upton, 6th, long jump
2, Ellis McKean, 7th, 3,000-meter steeplechase
Montana's Point-Scorers (Women)
10, Tanessa Morris, 1st, hammer
6, Jansen Ziola, 3rd, long jump
5, Kaitlyn Gallo, 4th, hammer
2, Morgan Radtke, 7th, heptathlon
Men's Team Standings
Montana State, 60
Weber State, 58
Idaho State, 39
Northern Arizona, 38
Montana, 28
Idaho, 19
Eastern Washington, 12
Southern Utah, 8
Sacramento State, 6
Northern Colorado, 5
Women's Team Standings
Northern Arizona, 55
Montana State, 39.5
Idaho State, 32.5
Sacramento State, 31.5
Southern Utah, 27
Weber State, 25
Montana, 23
Idaho, 21.5
Eastern Washington, 18