Montana State’s men’s and women’s teams each finished second at the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship Saturday, and Bobcat senior Duncan Hamilton capped the Big Sky Conference portion of his brilliant career in fitting fashion by earning Most Valuable Men’s Athlete honors at his final league meet.
“It was kind of a wild meet with so many things happening, so many things that didn’t go well then other things went really well,” said Montana State’s Director of Track and Field Lyle Weese said. “The team really kept battling, we got some really important performances late, and I’m really proud that both teams finished second. It was a team effort all the way across the board.”
Hamilton led the way, as he has for much of his Bobcat career. His 24 points stood as the most of any individual in the men’s competition, which landed him Most Valuable Athlete honors. His broad smile while accepting the award put on full display the premium he’s always placed on team performance. “Duncan was incredible,” Weese said. “Adding a second and a third to his championship (Friday) is impressive. This award is very important to him because it means he scored points for the team.”
Both of Hamilton’s Saturday races provided dramatic moments. Hamilton was nearly tripped by one Northern Arizona runner and traded bumps with another during the physical 1500, taking a late lead that he was unable to hold. In the 5,000 he stayed with Young, the eventual champion, until about the 500 meter mark.
Saturday’s distance races also provided memorable moments for other Bobcats. Junior Camila Noe, fresh off Friday’s 10,000 meter championship, finished second in Saturday’s 5,000 meters by replicating her strong closing 600 meters from the night before. Junior Ben Perrin’s strong kick boosted him to third in the 5,000, while freshman Sam Ells (seventh) and sophomore Rob McManus (eighth) also contributed to the strong distance performance. Alex Moore also finished seventh in the women’s 5,000.
After scoring just two points in the distance events at the 2022 Big Sky Outdoor Championships, Montana State’s women scored 36 points this weekend. “That was a huge turnaround, and the women’s distance squad is a group is really on the rise,” Weese said. “It was a great performance by our distance crew all weekend. Ben and Camila ran the 10,000 Friday so I think there was some fatigue there, but they scored important points.”
The race for second place in both competitions provided dramatic scenes, as well.
“We were in fourth place going into the 5,000,” Weese said of the men’s team standings, “and they put up 17 points there. We knew we needed at least a couple of points in the men’s 4 x 400 relay and they finished sixth. The points we scored in the 5k and discus right toward the end of the day pushed the women into second place, too. It was an exciting finish.”
Tristen Sedgwick finished third in the women’s discus, a performance Weese lauded for both its importance to the team and to Sedgwick. “She ended up with a 13-foot (personal best), and that was when the race for second was really close. Leah Klein finished sixth, and those points really helped us.”
Senior Lucy Corbett, a returning All-America and Big Sky Champion, posted a 5’ 9.25” to tie for the highest jump, but finished second on number of misses. Anna Trudnowski (sixth) and Lina-Sophie Hommel (seventh) both scored points in the high jump. “Women’s high jump was a big event for us,” Weese said. “Lucy finished second and Anna and Lina both scored points, so that really helped us.”
Saturday started with a bang when the women’s 4 x 100 m team set a school record. Freshmen Caroline Hawkes, Peyton Garrison, Jaeden Wolff and junior Macy White combined for a 45.19 to finish second. In all, 17 different Bobcat women and 14 men scored points on the weekend. Hamilton, Noe, Macy White and Taylor Brisendine each scored in multiple events.
Northern Arizona easily won the men’s and women’s Big Sky Outdoor Championships, the third straight season the Lumberjacks swept both competitions. The Bobcat women ended up out-distancing Weber State by 26 points, but the men’s team clipped Idaho by 3.5 points. MSU’s women finish as runners-up for the second straight season and for the third time in the last eight, while the men’s second-place finish is its third straight.
