It certainly was a season of success for the Bobcat Indoor Track and Field team. Records were set, medals were won and now MSU has a slew of accolades to add to the list. The Big Sky Conference (BSC) released the All-Conference selections and Montana State landed 13 student-athletes in 12 events. All-Conference nods are given to athletes finishing in the top-three at the Big Sky Championships.
The Bobcat women had four athletes earn recognition for their performances at the Big Sky Indoor Championships back on Feb. 25-26 in Pocatello, Idaho, where they finished in sixth place of nine teams.
Camille Marchand finishes her third indoor season as the runner-up in both the 60 Meter and 200 Meter Dashes. Stacey Irvine, who took second in the Pole Vault, also earned Big Sky Honors. Both Marchand and Irvine were All-Big Sky in 2010.
Also in the field events, Jessie Greany, the silver medal winner in the High Jump, earned an All-Big Sky nod with her height of 1.67m (5-05.75).
Rounding out the list for the women is Sarah McGree in the Pentathlon, who took second in the multi event. McGree finished with 3,731 points, a personal best that ranks her third all-time in the Bobcat record books.
Despite falling short at the Big Sky Championships with a third place finish, the Montana State men landed nine on the All-Conference list. Patrick Casey, Dan Jackson and David Phillips, each earned two All-BSC honors.
Casey, who is currently ranked first in the nation in the Mile, finished first at the BSC Championships and was the anchor on the gold medal-winning Bobcat Distance Medley Relay. The Laurel, Mont. native earns his second consecutive all-conference nod in the Mile after winning in 2010. He was also a 2010 All-BSC selection in the 800.
Phillips also came away from Pocatello with two gold medals. The Deer Lodge, Mont. native took first in both the Shot Put and the Weight Throw. Phillips currently ranks second in Bobcat history in the Weight Throw.
Phillips is joined by Morgan Norgaard in the Shot Put for All-BSC honors as he took second in the event. This is Norgaard's first Big Sky nod.
Jackson's second place finish in the 3,000 was not only an All-BSC performance but also an all-time best for the Bozeman native. This is Jackson's first individual all-conference honor.
The Distance Medley Relay of Nick Melone, Jackson, Forrest Jarvi and Casey were also named All-Big Sky after their first place finish at the meet. Jackson and Jarvi receive the same accolade in 2010. The DMR currently ranks second on the all-time performance list for Montana State, just 20 tenths of a second off the record of 9:50.42 set back in 1995.
Slater Powell and Jeff Mohl completed the men's honor roll for the Bobcats. Powell took second in the 60 Meter Hurdles. Mohl, who competed in four events at the meet, finished the Heptathlon in third place with 5,263 points. Mohl currently ranks second on the all-time record list for MSU behind senior Asa Staven.
“We really have a great group of kids this season,” said head coach
Dale Kennedy. “This is probably one of the larger groups of All-Big Sky that we've had and that speaks volumes to what they've accomplished.”
All but one on MSU track closed out the indoor season at the Big Sky Championships in February. Casey will compete at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships March 11-12 in College Station, Texas. Casey finished third in 2010.
