Written by Jon Match
The Idaho State Bengal track and field teams competed in the Montana State Performance meet Friday afternoon in Bozeman. The Bengals came away with men's and women's team victories over the University of Montana in dual scoring.
"Well, this was our first experience with two coaches virtually coaching and not able to make the trip," said Director of Track and Field Hillary Merkley. "I'm proud of the team for being resilient in the face of less-than-ideal circumstances. It was good for the team to be able to get a practice run at Montana State because they will host the indoor championships."
Women's Meet
Madi Kenyon picked up her first win of the season in the 800m winning the race in 2:20.18 just behind her PR. Presley Timmons came in just behind Kenyon with a time of 2:21.56.
The Bengals took two, three and four in the mile. Kenyon came back to finish 2nd with a time of 5:05.81. Molly Olsen came in third and Katie Weedn rounded out the Bengal group.
Weedn came back strong in the women's 3000m, winning the race with a new PR of 10:23.07. That mark places Weedn at 7th in the Big Sky Conference. Bengal newcomer Cassandra Vasquez came in just behind Weedn with a PR run of 10:28.64.
Kyndal Martin set a new PR in the 60m hurdles finals running the event in 8.85 seconds to finish 3rd. The mark moves her to 5th in the Big Sky Conference standings.
For the second meet in a row, the Bengal 4x400 team secured the win. The team of Brianna Hagler, Timmons, Payton Durocher and Martin finished the relay with a time of 4:06.29.
In the field events, Kapri Sylvester took second in the high jump with a jump of 1.69m (5' 6.5"). Kylee Dimick came in third also jumping 1.69m (5' 6.5").
Elliotte Stockham picked up her first win in the Orange and Black in the women's pole vault. The Bengal freshman set a new PR in the event with a winning vault of 3.70m (12' 1.5"). Brooke Anger followed in second place with a vault of 3.55m (11' 7.75").
Ashley VanVleet-Sturgis took second in the long jump, setting a mark of 5.47m (17' 11.50").
Katelyn Dickmore set a new PR in the shot put as she took third place. The Bengal threw a new best 12.51m (41' 0.5").
Rounding out the field events, Sarah Wilensky finished second in the weight throw with a mark of 15.59 (51' 1.75").
Men's Meet
Moving over to the men's meet, Kodee Vining finished just off his season best in the 60m finishing 3rd with a time of 7.04 seconds. Vining came back to finish second in the 200m with a time of 22.23 seconds.
ISU freshman Brett Bronson continued to make a name for himself in the conference, finishing 3rd in the 400m with a time of 50.71 seconds.
For the second week in a row, Collin Dylla won the men's 800m. Dylla beat out the runners from Montana and Montana State with a time of 1:55.65. Not satisfied with one win, Dylla came back to win the mile race with a time of 4:13.32. Adjusted for altitude, the mark places him at seventh in a very strong conference mile race group.
Ethan Garrett moved into the top-15 in the conference in the 60m hurdles, taking first-place with a PR time of 8.69 seconds.
The Idaho State 4x400 team of Vining, Dylla, Zachary Cox and Brett Bronson beat out UM and MSU to take first in the event with a time of 3:27.61.
In the field events, the Idaho State men swept the high jump podium. Michael Shulikov won the meet with a jump of 1.98m (6' 6") tying his personal best. Garrett came in second and Kegan Arrington rounded out the trio.
Tyler Valenzuela set a new personal best in the pole vault, finishing second with a vault of 4.95m (16' 2.75"). Valenzuela is now ranked 3rd in the conference in the event.
Zack Ramos won the shot put for the second week in a row. The Idaho State thrower set a new PR of 16.64m (54' 7.25"). He is now ranked 3rd in the conference in the event just a tenth shy of second place. Keegan Luker also set a new PR in the event, finishing second just behind Ramos with a throw of 16.21m (53' 2.25") with that mark, Luker is now ranked 6th in the conference standings.
Looking Ahead
The Bengals are back home next weekend as they host the 2022 Stacy Dragila Invitational. The meet begins Friday, Jan. 28 and runs through Saturday, Jan. 29.
Follow along at ISUBengals.com to keep up to date with the action and don't forget to follow along with the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
