The Montana State Track and Field opened up their first day of competition at the NCAA West Preliminary Round on Thursday in Eugene, Ore. Six of the nine qualified Bobcats competed in the opening day at Hayward Field in hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. In order to advance to the national championships, athletes must finished in the top 12 in their event.
In the women's javelin, the first event of the three-day meet, Hannah Counter finished in 34th place with a distance of 136-01 (41.49m).
Rounding out Thursday's field events were Trevor Gilreath and Morgan Norgaard in the shot put. Gilreath took 40th place with a distance of 51-05.00 (15.67m). Norgaard finished in 42nd with a throw of 50-07.25 (15.42m) to close out his collegiate outdoor career.
Patrick Casey finished among the top-24 in the 1,500 to advance to the finals, which will take place on Saturday, May 28. Casey's time of 3:44.55 gives him the top seed for Saturday's race. Should he finish within the top 12 in the field, he will advance to the NCAA Championship being held June 8-11.
Heather Haug's 1,500 clocked in at 4:25.74 good enough for 28th place.
“While some of the performances didn't go exactly how we hoped today, many good things happened here,” said head Coach Dale Kennedy. “This meet is always a great experience for our athletes.”
On Friday, Amanda Murphy and David Phillips will compete in the hammer throw. Stacey Irvine will look to extend her senior season in pole vault.
