SPOKANE, Wash. — Montana State’s track and field teams kicked it into high gear with some inspired performances on Saturday, leading to both the men and women taking home second place at the 2024 Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at The Podium in Spokane, Washington.
The Bobcat women secured their fourth straight runner-up finish at a conference competition, having now grabbed silver at each of the last two indoor championships and each of the last two outdoor championships.
The Bobcat men returned to second place on the podium at the Big Sky indoor meet for the first time since 2019. The Montana State men’s team total of 119 points is the most for the team since 2013.
It marks the second time in program history and the first time since 2019 that the men and women have both finished at least second in the same indoor championship meet. The 226 combined points for the two teams is the most since 2004 (235), and is the second-highest total in school history.
Northern Arizona, ranked No. 1 nationally on the men’s side and No. 31 nationally on the women’s side according to the USTFCCCA Ratings Index, secured team titles. The Lumberjack men won for the 11th straight year, while the women won for the fourth consecutive year.
Montana State’s women tallied 107 points, trailing Northern Arizona (204 points). In a sign of just how impressive the Bobcats total was, third place Idaho State finished with 69 points and fourth place Idaho finished with 64 points.
On the men’s side, the 119 points marked the most for the Cats since 2013, trailing only the top-ranked team in the nation Northern Arizona, who finished with 190 points.
Idaho took third with 69 points and Weber State finished fourth with 65.5 points.
Eleven Bobcats found their way individually onto the podium, in addition to all four relay teams across the distance medley relay and 4×400 meter relays earning silver medals on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Jett Grundy’s title in the men’s 400 meters made it four Bobcat champions at the Big Sky championship meet, as the Australian freshman joined Shelby Schweyen (pentathlon), Nicola Paletti (heptathlon), and Colby Wilson (pole vault) as gold medal-winners.
Grundy came into Saturday with a target on his back, having led the Big Sky in the event for most of the season. With everything on the line, the native of Queensland backed it up, powering ahead for the second MSU men’s 400 meter crown in the last three years, joining Drake Schneider who won in 2022. Dan Johnson went back-to-back in the event in 2007 and 2008.
Grundy went on to run the anchor leg of the men’s 4×400 meter relay team that earned silver, with the freshman passing his Montana counterpart on the final stretch to leapfrog a spot on the podium.
Grundy was named Big Sky Freshman of the Year, contributing ten points with his win in the 400 meters and eight more courtesy of the relay runner-up finish.
Eight more individuals earned All-Big Sky honors on Saturday alone, which are given out to the top three performers in each event.
In one of the more exciting races of the day, senior Ben Perrin and junior Rob McManus gritted out an incredible close to the men’s 3,000 meters, making up ground and passing opponents to place second and third, respectively, to break up a Northern Arizona contingent that had led most of the race.
Perrin, a Kalispell native, ended his meet with a bronze medal in the 5,000 meters and a silver medal in the 3,000 meters.
McManus, a product of Cashmere, Washington, earned a bronze medal in the 3,000 meters and placed fourth in the men’s mile earlier on Saturday, competing in his home state.
Caroline Hawkes walked away from Saturday’s competitions with a pair of silver medals, turning in an eye-popping time of 53.58 in the women’s 400 meter final to take second place and move up to No. 2 time in program history.
Later, Hawkes ran the anchor leg for a Bobcat 4×400 meter relay team that broke their own school record for the third time this season.
Madison Smith, Peyton Garrison, Giulia Gandolfi, and Hawkes tore up the track to the tune of a mark of 3:38.69, which would have been the new Big Sky Championship meet record had Northern Arizona not edged them out in a photo finish with a time of 3:38.59.
The relay put a cherry on the top of what was a dominant meet for the women’s 400 sprint group. All four members of the relay qualified individually for Saturday’s 400 meter final and scored points.
Hawkes took the silver medal, while Garrison placed fourth, Smith fifth, and Gandolfi eighth—earning 20 points in the event for the Bobcat women. All four ran personal-best times in Saturday’s final, with Smith moving up to eighth in MSU history and Garrison moving up to ninth.
Garrison also contributed points from the women’s 200 meters, placing fifth barely ahead of teammate Jaeden Wolff, who took sixth
Wolff, a sophomore from Billings, earned a silver medal in the 60 meters, blazing a time of 7.50 flat but narrowly getting edged by Northern Arizona’s Madeline Wilson
In the men’s triple jump, Destiny Nkeonye and Ian Fosdick added 14 points, with Nkeonye taking silver on a personal-best jump of 48-01.75 and Fosdick earning bronze with a mark of 47-11.25.
The final event of the day proved to be a fitting capper, as the Bobcat men’s 4×400 meter relay team of Michael Swan, Sean Jackson, Tyler Gilman, and Jett Grundy ran a thrilling race to earn silver medals with a mark of 3:12.38, the second-fastest time in school history.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
-Shelby Schweyen, champion (pentathlon)
-Nicola Paletti, champion (heptathlon)
-Colby Wilson, champion (pole vault)
-Jett Grundy, champion (400 meters)
-Ben Perrin, runner-up (3,000 meters)
-Ben Perrin, third place (5,000 meters)
-Jaeden Wolff, runner-up (60 meters)
-Caroline Hawkes, runner-up (400 meters)
-Destiny Nkeonye, runner-up (triple jump)
-Ian Fosdick, third place (triple jump)
-Rob McManus, third place (3,000 meters)
-Maisee Brown, third place (pole vault)
-Ava Weems, Jadyn VanDyken, Mya Dube, Kendra Lusk, runner-up (distance medley relay)
-Sam Ells, Sean Jackson, Levi Taylor, Rob McManus, runner-up (distance medley relay)
-Peyton Garrison, Madison Smith, Giulia Gandolfi, Caroline Hawkes, runner-up (4×400 meter relay)
-Michael Swan, Sean Jackson, Tyler Gilman, Jett Grundy, runner-up (4×400 meter relay)
THE RUNDOWN
Talon Holmquist placed fourth and Elijah Jackman placed sixth to contribute points from the men’s shot put. Both recorded personal-bests in Saturday’s final, which featured a competitive and energy-filled showdown that went back-and-forth
In addition to Brown’s win in the women’s pole vault, Libby Hansen placed sixth and Tatum Richards placed seventh to put three in the top-seven of the event for the Cats
Rob McManus started his big day with a fourth place finish in a top-heavy men’s mile. Laurel native Levi Taylor came in right on his teammate’s heels with a fifth place result
Montana State was well-represented in the women’s 800 meters, as Jada Zorn (4th), Annie Kaul (5th), and Kalei Moravitz (7th) all scored points for the Cats
There was similar balance for the women’s distance group in the 3,000 meters, as Grace Gilbreth, Kyla Christopher-Moody, Mya Dube, Kendra Lusk, and Ava Weems went 5-9 to form a strong point pack
Spokane native Noah Barbery placed sixth in the men’s 60 meters
Taylor Brisendine placed eighth in the triple jump and Ava Weems placed eighth in the mile
UP NEXT
Montana State turns its attention to outdoor season, which kicks off in Missoula at the Al Manuel Invitational on March 22-23.
The Bobcats will host the 2024 Big Sky Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex in Bozeman on May 8-11.
