The Montana track and field program will compete in the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championship in Portland from May 13 to May 16. The meet begins with the women’s heptathlon on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by full competition starting Friday morning.
This event is significant as Montana has had a strong season, breaking 14 school records across both men’s and women’s events. The team aims to build on this momentum during the championship, which will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Bob Akamian and Chris Clayton providing commentary.
“We’re excited and glad that this week is finally here,” head coach Doug Fraley said. “It seems like it’s a long way away and then all of a sudden it’s the week of. We’re excited about that, we feel like we’ve created a lot of momentum through the regular season, but as I always say, that’s just a dress rehearsal. Now it’s time for the show.”
Montana was selected to finish third in the league’s Coaches’ Poll after achieving third place last year outdoors and again indoors this winter. Several athletes enter with top times or marks in their events; however, Fraley emphasized that rankings are only meaningful if athletes execute during competition. “It’s great to have highly ranked athletes. It’s a testament to the level of kids that we’ve brought into the program and a testament to their ability to improve over the course of their college careers,” Fraley said. “At the end of the day, it means nothing because you have to go and execute on the day. If you’re a favorite, that means there’s a lot of people trying to beat you.”
The Grizzlies have multiple entrants ranked inside or near scoring positions for various events on both men’s and women’s sides. Fraley said outperforming these rankings will be crucial: “We have a lot of people that are in the mid-scoring to just outside of scoring range in the rankings,” he said.
Brooke Stayner and Kensey Gault will participate in heptathlon events after strong performances indoors earlier this year; Erin Wilde seeks her seventh high jump title; while several other athletes aim for top finishes across disciplines such as javelin, pole vault, sprints, hurdles, jumps, throws, relays—and more.
Looking ahead at team prospects amid stiff competition from Northern Arizona University (NAU) as well as Montana State—both recent title contenders—Fraley concluded: “I think the big thing is that we’re going to have to go and compete well and have a good meet… we’re really going to have to compete well to hold serve.”
