With only one week until the Big Sky Championships, Montana State Track and Field will host the Tom Gage Classic on Friday, May 6. The meet serves as a final chance to make the Big Sky Conference (BSC) qualifying marks before next week's meet, which runs May 11-14 in Sacramento, Calif. and hosted by Sacramento State. (Schedule of Events)

Several regional teams will be competing in the Tom Gage Classic including Carroll, Great Falls, Lewis and Clark, Montana, MSU-Billings and Rocky Mountain.

Montana State currently has 20 women qualified for the Big Sky meet. Heather Haug leads the way with marks in the 1,500, steeplechase and 10,000. Six other women are qualified in two events apiece. 22 Bobcat men have earned their stripes for Sacramento with the distance runners at the front of the pack. Nick Atwood, Patrick Casey and Dan Jackson are each qualified in four events. Nine other Bobcats are qualified in at least two events each.

“It is definitely crunch time for many of our student-athletes,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “It's a great opportunity for our kids to try to qualify on our home track and to be able to honor our seniors who have given our program so much.”

The meet, which will take place at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. with field events, while track events will commence at 5:00 p.m. A brief senior recognition will take place following the women's 4x400 relay.

Apart from one last opportunity to get conference qualifiers, the meet also honors Tom Gage, a long-time volunteer track official for Bobcat track and field. Gage was a walk-on at Cornell (N.Y.) where he eventually began specializing in the throws and was the 1971 AAU Champion in the shot put. He was also a member of the 1972 United State Olympic Team and placed 12^th in the hammer at the summer games. Gage eventually went on to have a track and field career in the masters where he held several records. He continued to compete until he passed away in 2010 at the age of 67. MSU will pay tribute to Gage for his great athletic spirit that has inspired so many Bobcat athletes and for all his contributions to MSU Track and Field.