(Editor's note: MSUB Athletics release)
BILLINGS - Seven more athletes signed with the Montana State University Billings cross country and track programs, as announced by head track and field coach Jonathan Woehl.
The group of signees include six men and one woman. Four athletes hail from Montana and two are transfers – Benton Carlson (Dawson Community College) and Isaac Perkins (Chadron State College). Out-of-state commits Cort Sandefur (Wasilla, Alaska) and Mya Richardson (Twin Falls, Idaho) are coming to MSUB on the heels of winning state titles during their senior seasons.
Of the latest signees, six will compete in track and field, while Wyatt May, a Bozeman High School graduate, will compete for MSUB’s cross country and track teams.
As it stands, the Yellowjackets will welcome 18 newcomers to the track and field program next year. Both teams are expected to bring back over 90% of their point-scorers from the 2022 indoor and outdoor track seasons.
Cameron Bear
Hometown: Billings, Montana
Previous School: Billings West High School
Event: Sprints/Throws
A 2021 graduate from Billings West High School, Cameron Bear returns to MSUB and the sport of track and field after spending a year as a student at Montana State University. During his only year of high school track for Billings West, Bear was a varsity letterwinner for the sprints squad.
Bear’s primary focus was in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, yet he made significant progress in the 400 meters towards the end of the season. He also competed in the long jump and the javelin.
Woehl on Bear: “Cameron is motivated to make an impact on our team and I’m excited about getting to coach him.”
Bear on choosing MSUB: “I chose MSUB because one of my sisters graduated from here, and after spending a year in Bozeman, I realized I wanted a smaller school. MSUB was also one of the colleges who still wanted me to compete in track after a year of no competition.”
Benton Carlson
Hometown: Billings, Montana
Previous School: Skyview High School/Dawson Community College
Event: Sprints/Throws
Benton Carlson comes to MSUB after throwing for one season at Dawson Community College, where he was the team’s leader in the shot put and the javelin. The Billings native set his javelin PR at MSUB’s home opener with a 37.50m (123-0) throw to place fifth at the meet. Later that season at the Dickinson State University Last Chance Meet, he threw a collegiate-best 12.53m (41-1.5) in the shot put, which would have been the third best mark on MSUB’s throws squad last season. Additionally, Carlson competed in three indoor meets for the Buccaneers; he primarily focused on the shot put.
Prior to competing at Dawson Community College, Carlson threw for four years at Skyview High School, where he qualified for the divisionals meet in as a sophomore and as a senior. He competed in all three throws, but also ran the 100- and 200-meter dashes as a freshman.
Outside of track and field, Carlson was a cheer captain at Dawson Community College. In the classroom, Carlson has kept a 3.5 grade point average or higher throughout high school and college.
Woehl on Carlson: “Benton is a great student, and he has improved a lot over the past spring in shot put. He’ll be a great addition to our throws crew and track and field team.”
Carlson on choosing MSUB: “MSUB is close to home and being part of a D2 sports team is one step closer to my goal of becoming a better thrower. I have practiced with Nels Flanagan already and have already learned so much. I am excited for a great indoor and outdoor season!”
Wyatt May
Hometown: Bozeman, Montana
Previous School: Bozeman High School
Event: XC/Distance
A basketball star-turned distance runner, Wyatt May follows in his older sister Mariah’s footsteps by signing with MSUB. The elder May was a thrower on the MSUB women’s track and field team during the 2019-20 season. May will compete for both MSUB’s cross country and track and field programs this fall.
As a senior in track, May placed 17th in a highly competitive 3,200 meter run final at the MHSA Class AA State Track & Field Championships. Earlier that season, he placed sixth at the Midland Roundtable Top 10 meet with a 4:39.30. Throughout his career, May competed in every distance from the 100 meters up to the 3,200 meters before he focused on the distance events as an upperclassman.
In cross country, May was Bozeman’s fifth runner at the 2021 MHSA Class AA State Cross Country Championships, at which he helped the Hawks place fourth as a team. That race doubled as his best finish at the state meet, which was 30th out of 110 runners. Earlier that year, May ran his personal-best 5K time of 16:45.4 at the Butte High Invitational, where he placed 21st.
May was also a three-year varsity basketball player for Bozeman High School, which reached the Class AA title game this past spring. As a freshman in 2019, May and the Hawks won a Class AA state championship.
Woehl on May: “I’m glad that Wyatt is following in his sister’s footsteps and coming to MSUB. I enjoyed having Mariah on the team and I know the same will be true of Wyatt. He’s motivated and knows how to work hard, so he’ll fit right in with our distance runners.”
May on choosing MSUB: “I chose MSUB because my sister went there and said amazing things about the coaching staff and how it treats the athletes. It sounded like a program I wanted to be part of. MSUB has a lot of different majors, which is nice because I’m not quite sure what I want to major in yet. I decided I wanted to be a collegiate athlete pretty late in my running career, but I knew I was going to work hard to get to that level. MSUB showed interest early on and believed that I can grow to be one of the best. That kind of trust is hard to find, and in all my conversations with Coach Woehl and Coach Bjerke, they were nothing but excited to have me join the team.”
Shel Osborne
Hometown: Laurel, Montana
Previous School: Laurel High School
Event: Throws
Coming to MSUB from nearby Laurel, Mont., Shel Osborne will help bolster the men’s throws squad after throwing high school personal bests in the shot put (49-9) and the discus (131-3) as a senior this past spring. As a senior, Osborne won an Eastern A Divisional shot put title en route to placing seventh at the MHSA Class A State Track & Field Championships, plus he placed 12th in the discus at state. His efforts helped the Locomotives take fourth place as a team at the state meet.
In 2019, Osborne was the only freshman qualify for the Class A state meet meet in the shot put.
Outside of track and field, Osborne played four years of varsity football and basketball for Laurel High School. He was a three-time all-state linebacker in football, and a four-year academic all-state award winner in both football and basketball. In football, he helped Laurel win a Class A state title in 2020 and this past year he helped the Locomotives reach the Class A state title game. Osborne has served as a team captain in both football and basketball.
Woehl on Osborne: “Shel is an outstanding student and a heck of an athlete. He improved a ton over this past spring and am looking forward to having him work with Coach Nels Flanagan and Coach Taylor Stringari.”
Osborne on choosing MSUB: “The family atmosphere of MSUB inspired me to be a Yellowjacket.”
Isaac Perkins
Hometown: Rapid City, South Dakota
Previous School: Rapid City Stevens High School/Chadron State College
Event: Throws
A transfer from fellow Division II school Chadron State College, Perkins comes to MSUB after redshirting for the Eagles last season. He will have four years of eligibility remaining for the Yellowjackets in both indoor and outdoor track and field.
Prior to his collegiate career, Perkins was a three-time all-state thrower at Rapid City Stevens High School. As a senior in 2021, Perkins placed fourth in the shot put and 12th in the discus at the SDHSAA Class AA State Track & Field Meet. Both finishes were improvements over his sophomore season in 2019, in which Perkins placed ninth in the shot and 14th in the discus. His junior track season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
His high school personal bests include 52-5 in the shot put, 138-9 in the discus and 126-5 in the javelin.
Woehl on Perkins: “I’m very excited to have Isaac joining us. He’s been a camper at our winter throws camp in the past, and I am glad it’s worked out for him to transfer to MSUB. Like a lot of our newcomers, I think he will contribute immediately.”
Mya Richardson
Hometown: Twin Falls, Idaho
Previous School: Twin Falls High School
Event: Sprints
A highly decorated sprinter from Twin Falls, Idaho, Mya Richardson comes to MSUB after four successful varsity track seasons at Twin Falls High School, which ranked third in the 4x100, fourth in the 4x400 and sixth in the 4x200 meter relays across the entire state.
She capped off her high school track career by helping the Bruins win 4A state titles in the 4x100 and the 4x400 relays, plus a state-runner up finish in the 4x200 relay. Additionally, she had a podium finish in the 100-meter dash at the state meet; she placed fifth with a 12.84, which was an improvement after placing 14th as a junior and 10th as a freshman in the same event. Earlier that season, Richardson opened the season with eight-straight top-two finishes in the 100 meters, including a personal-best time of 12.68 to win a District 4 title. She helped Twin Falls High School sweep the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 meter relays at the district meet.
As a junior, Richardson ran the lead leg on Twin Falls’ state runner-up 4x400 meter relay team and helped the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relays place third at the state meet. Richardson won district titles in all three relays plus the 100-meter dash. During her freshman year, Richardson placed 10th in the 100-meter dash at the state meet, plus helped the 4x100 place fourth and the sprint medley relay team take seventh at the state meet. Her 2020 track season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Richardson was also a four-year varsity letterwinner in cross country. She ran her lifetime-best 5K time of 20:25.34 at the 2018 IHSAA 4A XC Championships as a freshman, which helped the Bruins place third as a team.
Woehl on Richardson: “Mya is an outstanding sprinter and I’m looking forward to coaching her. She is a great fit with our sprint crew and she will certainly help lower our marks in the relays.”
Cort Sandefur
Hometown: Wasilla, Alaska
Previous School: Redington High School
Event: Throws
A three-year varsity thrower for the Redington High School Huskies, Cort Sandefur comes to MSUB from Wasilla, Alaska where he put together an excellent high school throwing career. He graduated from Redington with the school record in both the shot put and the discus, plus he helped the Huskies place sixth at the ASAA Division 2 State Championships and the Region 3 - D2 Track and Field Championships.
Sandefur capped off his high school career with a ASAA Division 2 State shot put title and his second-straight runner-up finish in the discus. Prior to the state meet, Sandefur won five throwing events during his senior season, including a regional shot put title. As a junior, Sandefur won a regional title in the discus and was the ASAA Division 2 state runner-up in the event, plus he placed sixth in the shot put at state. In addition to throwing, Sandefur competed in the high jump.
Aside from track, Sandefur played four years of varsity basketball for Redington High School. He won all-state sportsmanship awards in both basketball and track.
Woehl on Sandefur: “Cort had a great senior year where he put in a ton of extra effort in and out of the classroom. He’s very coachable and he has a ton of room to continue improving.”
Sandefur on choosing MSUB: “I chose MSUB because it is one of the only schools with a diesel tech major and a track team.”
