Results

The University of Montana women’s track and field team scored 82 final-day points Saturday to climb the standings to a third-place finish at the 2010 Big Sky Conference/Weber State Credit Union Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Ogden, Utah. The Griz men’s team finished fifth.

The Montana women had 16 point-scoring performances in eight individual events Saturday to move up from their sixth-place standing entering the day.

Sacramento State won its third straight women’s outdoor title with 145 points. Northern Arizona was runner-up for the third straight year with 109 points, while the Grizzlies, who scored 103 points, had their best team finish in over two decades.

“Across the board, the women did more than we ever could have asked of them,” UM track and field program director Brian Schweyen said. “At the indoor championships we missed second place by six points, just like we did today. The difference is we left a few points out there during indoors, but today we did not leave a single point anywhere in any event.”

Sophomore Katrina Drennen and freshman Lindsey Hall both scored 16 points Saturday, while sophomore Kesslee Payne scored 15.

Drennen, who becomes an eight-time All-Big Sky Conference indoor and outdoor track performer, scored her points with runner-up finishes in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters.

Hall, who had previously scored nine points with a second-place finish in the heptathlon and an eighth-place finish in the long jump, placed in three more events Saturday. She finished third in the 100-meter hurdles and high jump and fifth in the javelin.

Hall scored a team-leading 25 points for the championships. She just missed out on scoring in all six events in which she competed, placing ninth in Saturday’s triple jump, one spot and nine and a half inches out of the points.

Despite the daunting task of running the 1,500 meters, 800 meters and 5,000 meters within a three-hour window Saturday afternoon, Payne delivered in impressive fashion with three top-five finishes. She finished third in the 1,500 meters, fourth in the 800 meters and fifth in the 5,000 meters.

“Kesslee was the most impressive athlete on the team today,” Schweyen said, “because those are races that take a lot out of you. The 800 is as tough as they come.

“But she never broke down, and she never complained.

“Katrina was solid and a big point-scorer for us once again, and for Lindsey to score 25 points as a freshman is almost unheard of. She had four days of solid competition, and that says a lot about her.”

Behind Drennen and Payne, half the team’s individual scoring performances Saturday came in the distance events.

Senior Brooke Andrus followed up her runner-up finish in the 800 meters at February’s indoor championships with a third-place finish Saturday, running a career-best 2:10.84.

Redshirt freshman Emily Eickholt, who was third in the 800 indoors, finished eighth.

In the 1,500 meters, junior Bridgette Hoenke, who was ranked 10th in the event entering the championships, came through with a seventh-place finish for the second straight year.

Also scoring Saturday were junior Jennifer Walter, who was third in the 400-meter hurdles for the second straight year, freshman Gwenn Abbott, fourth in the high jump, senior Megan Betz, sixth in the high jump, senior Kelsey Smith, sixth in the pole vault, and freshman Anika Green, sixth in the 100-meter hurdles.

All five of those athletes finished higher than their event ranking entering the championships.

The Grizzlies’ 4 x 400-meter relay team of Walter, Eickholt, senior Erin Clark and freshman Chantelle Grey placed fourth.

Weber State took home the men’s championship on its home track, scoring 176.5 points to edge three-time defending champion Northern Arizona, which scored 171 points.

The Lumberjacks claimed five of the top six spots in the day’s penultimate event, the 5,000 meters, to take a 167 to 166.5 lead over the Wildcats entering the championships-closing 4 x 400-meter relay, but Weber State ran to a first-place relay finish to NAU’s fifth-place finish to clinch the title.

It was Weber State’s 10th men’s title since 1993 but the program’s first championship since 2006, when the Lumberjacks began their three-year run.

Sacramento State was third with 130 points, while Eastern Washington was fourth with 93 points. Montana followed with 66.5 points.

The Griz had 41.5 points entering the championships’ final day, then added 25 more Saturday.

Sophomore Caleb McSurdy, who was sixth in Friday’s shot put with an 18-inch career-best throw of 53-1, finished fourth Saturday in the discus, improving his career-best by over seven feet with a throw of 161-2.25.

McSurdy, who is projected as this fall’s starting “Mike” linebacker for the Grizzly football team, had the team’s top finish Saturday. He was ranked 11th in the discus entering the championships.

“We left some points out there today, but we also picked up some points from some unexpected sources,” Schweyen said. “So overall I’m pretty pleased with how the men performed.

“We’ve got a ways to go to move up to fourth, but this is a big improvement from where we’ve been the last couple of years.

“Caleb had a great shot put Friday and then nearly an eight-foot PR in the discus today. That was big for us.

“For a football player to come out and help us just speaks volumes about him as an individual.”

A pair of sophomores had career-best finishes Saturday, with both finishing at least six spots higher than they were ranked entering the championships.

Nathan Klug, who was ranked 11th, finished fifth in the hammer with a career-best throw of 175-7.75.

Christian Segota, who was ranked 13th, placed sixth in the triple jump with a career-best mark of 46-3.

Senior Chris Hellekson was fifth in the discus; sophomores Bevan Taylor and Casey Weinman finished sixth and seventh in the 800 meters.

A group of Montana athletes will continue its season in two weekends at the NCAA West Region preliminary round in Austin, Texas. The final event performance lists for the West Region will be announced by the NCAA on Monday. Athletes ranking among the top 48 in each event will advance.

Women’s team results
1. Sacramento State (145)
2. Northern Arizona (109)
3. Montana (103)
4. Eastern Washington (102)
5. Idaho State (94)
6. Weber State (90)
7. Montana State (81)
8. Portland State (53)
9. Northern Colorado (42)

Montana’s women’s point scorers
8, Katrina Drennen, second, 1,500 meters
8, Katrina Drennen, second, 5,000 meters
8, Lindsey Hall, second, heptathlon
6, Brooke Andrus, third, 800 meters
6, Jennifer Walter, third, 400-meter hurdles
6, Nicole Ennen, third, discus
6, Kesslee Payne, third, 1,500 meters
6, Lindsey Hall, third, 100-meter hurdles
6, Lindsey Hall, third, high jump
5, Kesslee Payne, fourth, 800 meters
5, Gwenn Abbott, fourth, high jump
5, 4 x 400-meter relay, fourth (Erin Clark, Emily Eickholt, Chantelle Grey, Jennifer Walter)
4, Kesslee Payne, fifth, 5,000 meters
4, Lindsey Hall, fifth, javelin
3, Megan Betz, sixth, high jump
3, Kelsey Smith, sixth, pole vault
3, Kim Tritz, sixth, steeplechase
3, Anika Green, sixth, 100-meter hurdles
2, Bridgette Hoenke, seventh, 1,500 meters
2, Jessica Leslie, seventh, long jump
1, Megan Betz, eighth, heptathlon
1, Emily Eickholt, eighth, 800 meters
1, Lindsey Hall, eighth, long jump
1, 4 x 100-meter relay (Erin Clark, Anika Green, Melissa Jenkins, Jennifer Walter)

Men's team results
1. Weber State (176 .5)
2. Northern Arizona (171)
3. Sacramento State (130)
4. Eastern Washington (93)
5. Montana (66.5)
6. Idaho State (60)
7. Northern Colorado (46)
8. Montana State (44)
9. Portland State (30)

Montana’s men’s point scorers
10, Jason Flemmer, first, javelin
6, Richard Brumbaugh, third, javelin
5, Caleb McSurdy, fourth, discus
5, Lynn Reynolds, fourth, steeplechase
5, Justin Graff, fourth, javelin
4.5, Austin Emry, t-fourth, high jump
4, Chris Hellekson, fifth, discus
4, Evan Stokken, fifth, decathlon
4, Nathan Klug, fifth, hammer
3, Caleb McSurdy, sixth, shot put
3, Christian Segota, sixth, triple jump
3, Bevan Taylor, sixth, 800 meters
3, 4 x 100-meter relay, sixth (David Carcamo, Don Danns, Case Parker, Christian Segota)
2, Casey Weinman, seventh, 800 meters
1, Michael Blanchard, eighth, decathlon
1, Michael Blanchard, eighth, pole vault
1, Michael Fisher, eighth, 10,000 meters
1, Keith Webber, eighth, pole vault
1, 4 x 400-meter relay, eighth (Kyle Danreuther, Case Parker, Bevan Taylor, Casey Weinman)