(Editor's note: Montana State Athletics press release)
BOZEMAN -- Montana State's track and field program claimed several top-10 program marks en route to completing sweeps in head-to-head matchups versus Idaho State and Montana on Friday, Jan. 24, at the MSU Dual Meet Invitational in Worthington Arena.
The Bobcat men's squad topped both Idaho State (84-64) and Montana (88-59) in the dual score format meet. MSU women's team also defeated Montana (86.50-59.50) and Idaho State (85-58) in the clash.
MSU's men showed off their depth with several strong events.
Duncan Hamilton led a Bobcat contingent that took the top seven spots in the men's mile. His time of 4:09.34, which adjusted due to track size and altitude, narrowly got him under the four-minute barrier. His converted time of 4:00.89 is the fourth fastest in program history and is currently the 15th fastest in Division I. He led a pack that included Levi Taylor, Cameron Carroll, Cooper West, Isaac Schmidt, Gannon Chamberlain and Riley Collins that all earned season-best marks.
The Bobcats had the top three finishers in the men's 200 and 3,000.
Will Prettyman took first in the 200 with a time of 22.18 seconds. He was followed by Drake Schneider (22.36) and Casey Gunlikson (22.62). Prettyman and Schneider's times were the sixth and ninth fastest, respectively, on MSU's all-time top 10 chart in the event.
Collin Buck's personal-best time of 8:27.11 narrowly put him outside of MSU's top 10 in the 3,000 as he placed first overall. The mark also placed him 12th on the NCAA Division I performance list at this time. He was followed by Ben Perrin (8:36.13) and West (8:52.51) who took the next two spots.
Noah Martin finished first in the men's high jump with a new collegiate best. He became Montana State's first jumper to clear seven feet in 24 years when Mark Koefelda did it in 1995. Martin first cleared 7-00.50 (2.14m) on his opening attempt at the height, then repeated the feat at 7-01.50 (2.17m). He moved to 14th on the Division I performance list with his jump and third all-time in the program's record book. He also placed first Friday in the pole vault by clearing 15-01.00 (4.60m).
Derrick Olsen improved from ninth to sixth on MSU's all-time 60 hurdles list by taking first in the event by crossing in at 8.10 seconds.
The Bobcat men's squad had several top-three individual showings. Prettyman and Gunlikson took the second and third spots in the 60, while Schneider added a third-place finish in the 400. Noah Majerus (800), Caleb Neth (long jump), Lucas Jepsen (triple jump) and Alec Nehring (shot put) added runner-up showings in an event. Josh Mertz placed third in both the shot put and weight throw, with his shot put mark of 52-02.75 (15.92m) coming in as a lifetime best.
Montana State's women's team had a variety of individuals earn first-place finishes.
Maddie Brockel placed first in both the 60 and 200, with her time of 25.91 in the 200 serving as a season best. Twila Reovan claimed first in both the long jump and triple jump. McKenna Ramsay took first in the 400 with a season-best time of 57.23. Gillian Maness paced the 3,000 and crossed the line in 10:08.53. Leah Klein took first in the shot put (46-00.50) and second in the weight throw (53-01.75). MSU's 4x400 relay of Brockel, Natalie Perkins, Ramsay and Trish Carlson took first in a season-best time of 3:56.57.
The Bobcat women showed their most depth in the long jump. Reovan paced a group that took the top five spots in the event which included Alex Hellenberg, A'lena Chaney, Evelyn Adams and Hannah Hicks.
Amber Prevedello joined MSU's top 10 in the pole vault at ninth with a personal-best effort. She cleared 12-06 (3.81m) in the event for second overall Friday. Maisee Brown placed fourth with her collegiate-best height of 11-06.25 (3.51m).
Carlson (mile), Delaney Smith (60 hurdles) and Madison Marks (200) each had runner-up finishes. Zoe Johnson completed a personal-best clearance of 5-04.25 (1.63m) in the high jump to take fifth in the event for the Bobcats.
Montana State track and field takes next weekend off from competition. The Bobcats return to Worthington Arena on Friday, Feb. 7, when they host the MSU Indoor Open.
