Montana State closed out the Big Sky Championships on Saturday, with an impressive 18 medals over the course of four days. The final day of competition proved to be pivotal for the Bobcats with four conference titles and 12 medals. The men finished with 11 medals, including three first place finishes, while the women tallied seven medals, with one top spot on the podium. MSU staked out five total titles at the meet. (Complete Results)
The Bobcat men finished in third place, with 116.5 points, while the women took fourth, with 73. The 2011 Big Sky Championship team titles were swept by meet host Sacramento State as the men earned 204.5 points and the women had 236.
The Bobcats opened up the final day in a similar fashion to day three when Amanda Murphy took the Big Sky title in the hammer throw. The Charlo, Mont. native hurled a distance of 182-01.00 (55.50m). This was Murphy's second medal of the meet after finishing third in the shot put on Friday.
"Overall I was a little worried coming into this weekend because of training," said Murphy. "Fortunately, I was able to add some speed to my technique and get the toss I needed to make finals and win."
One of the biggest winners at the Spanos Sports Complex was Patrick Casey. The Laurel, Mont. native, who has led the conference in the 1,500 most of the season, crossed the finish line in 3:46.13 for his first medal of day. Casey turned around and grabbed a second gold in the 800 with a new MSU program record of 1:49.61, coming into the event with the second fastest seed time.
"I felt really relaxed before both races," said Casey. "I came in looking for win and was able to stay close, making contact and eventually push past the competition to win my events."
The throws continued to be a hot spot for MSU when the men took first and third in the shot put. Morgan Norgaard, in his final Big Sky Championships, came away with the title with a distance of 56-00.00 (17.07m). Norgaard's winning throw marks a lifetime best and ranks him ninth all-time in the Bobcat record book, as well. Freshman Trevor Gilreath placed in his first outdoor championships with 53-02.75 (16.22m) when he came in third.
"I can think of no better way to close out my career," said Norgaard, who accepted his diploma just one week earlier on May 7. "During the shot, I knew I had to just put it all on the line because I had nothing to lose and to get a lifetime best at the same time is just really special."
Lena Suek took third in the discus with a personal record distance of 150-05.00 (45.86m).
After a fourth place finish in the decathlon on Thursday, Asa Staven placed in his first event of the week when he tied for second in the high jump with a height of 6-06.75 (2.00m).
Staven teamed up with Bobby Biskupiak in the Pole Vault to garner more points for the Bobcats. Biskupiak finished in second place with a height of 16-04.75 (5.00m) while Staven grabbed bronze with a personal best 15-11.00 (4.85m). Staven's performance in the pole vault marked his second medal of the weekend.
In the women's 1,500 race, Heather Haug earned her second medal of the weekend when she took third in the 1,500 with a time of 4:28.41.
In the 110 hurdles finals, freshman Slater Powell crossed the finish line in second place. His time of 14.50 marks a season best for the Corvallis, Mont. native. Katie Niemeir advanced to the finals of the 100 hurdles on Friday but finished in sixth place. However, her time of 14.09 marks a personal best and now ranks her fifth all-time in Bobcat history. Also in the 400 hurdles, Madeline Fuchs notched a personal best 1:00.58 and a fourth place finish.
"Much like yesterday, we had incredible effort from the men and women," said head coach Dale Kennedy. "We had way more ups than downs here and I'm proud of what we accomplished over these last few days."
Bobcat Track and Field will take two weeks off from competition to prepare for the NCAA West Regional Championships in Eugene, Oregon, May 26-28. The meet will be hosted by Oregon at Hayward Field.
