MT Tech Sports Information
MISSOULA, Mont. – The Montana Tech track & field teams opened the 2023 outdoor season over the weekend. The Orediggers participated at the Al Manuel Invitational hosted by the University of Montana at Dornblaser Field.
The event featured both NCAA Division I institutions from Montana with host Montana and Montana State in attendance. Only the Bobcat throwers made it to Missoula due to weather.
All the Frontier Conference schools except Rocky Mountain competed at the meet. Both the Oredigger men’s and women’s teams were the top NAIA schools in team points.
“This was a very cold meet, but I was proud of how our athletes went out and competed with good attitudes,” said head coach Zach Kughn.
“The outdoor season is short, so while this may not have provided the conditions for great marks, it’s still good for us to get going on our outdoor season. Our athletes haven’t been on an outdoor track since Halloween.”
The Tech women scored 115 points in front of Carroll College with 84. Providence had 50 points and Montana Western posted 24.
The Oredigger men had a greater margin with 164 team points followed by Carroll with 64. Montana Western finished with 30 and Providence with nine.
“It was great for our javelin, hammer, and discus athletes to get outdoor experience and many of them had huge PR’s.”
Jenna Jordan finished in third place in the javelin hitting the NAIA B standard qualifying for the national championship. Jordan threw 39.64 meters finishing just behind Providence’s Mckenzie Clark who took second in the event.
Jadyn Vermillion took third in the long jump and Abby Clark jumped into the fourth place spot. Vermillion had a mark of 5.27 meters and Clark was just behind at 5.25 meters. Clark also finished fifth in the 200 meter with a time of 26.84 seconds.
Carlin Manning won the 3000 meter steeple with a time of 12:12.92.
Kamryn Comba and Hadassah Wilson finished in second and third place in the 400 meter. Comba posted a time of 1:01.05 and Wilson 1:01.07.
The Orediggers were the only competitors in the hurdle races with Olleca Severson and Jacklyn Waller going one-two in both the 100 and 400 meter hurdle events.
The Oredigger men were also the only runners participating in the hurdles. Morgan McClernan and Holt Downey went one-two in the 110 and 400 meter hurdles. McClernan posted a time of 58.55 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles. Eli Byrd finished in
third in the 400. MC
Edwin Kipainoi was one of three Oredigger men earning the top place in their events. Kipainoi finished first in the 5000 meter run with a time of 15:06.67 seconds.
Ian Barville took first in the 3000 meter steeple. Morgan finished with a time of 9:58.61. Ben Zerr took second finishing with a time of 10:05.93.
Tucker Christiansen finished fourth in the 400 meter run with a time of 50.91 seconds.
Drake Schlachter took first in the long jump with a mark of 6.76 meters. Schlachter also finished sixth in the 100 meters with a time of 11.30 seconds.
Payton Chase finished in second in the high jump tying the mark of Montana’s Patrick Kremer at 1.96 meters, but Kremer had fewer misses.
“Altogether, the team scores show how well rounded and deep we are. We are trending in the right direction and just need to stay healthy as we head toward the conference championship in a month.”
