Bobcat athletics flex their muscles in Hollywood

ANGELS — Seeking warm weather and fast weather, Montana State's track and field teams took advantage of a weekend in Southern California to score high marks in three meets during the first two days of their three-year stay. days in Los Angeles.

A big Saturday awaits us again, with sprints, jumps, throws and distance in action in Azusa and Long Beach.

The Bobcats solidified their national reputation as the “Steeple U” on Thursday, living up to their reputation as the USTFCCCA's top men's steeplechase unit in NCAA Division I.

Rob McManus, a junior from Cashmere, Wash., clocked 8:29.58 at the Bryan Clay Invitational to finish fifth overall and record the third-fastest time in NCAA Division I this year. This mark was not only the third-fastest time in school history, but it also qualified McManus for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in June, pushing him under the qualifying time of 8:30, 00 of two hundredths of a second.

Levi Taylor was just behind his running mate, finishing seventh overall in 8:30.04, narrowly missing the Olympic trials standard by four-hundredths of a second. Taylor, a senior from Laurel, Montana, now holds the fourth-fastest time in NCAA Division I this season.

“With Rob running under the Olympic Trials mark, he officially has the criteria to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials, so that’s really exciting,” said Dale Kennedy, director of athletics. Lyle Weese said. “Levi ran just off that but he will probably run faster this year, even if he doesn't this brand should get him in because they take more than those who get the standard.”

Harvey Cramb (33rd), Sam them (40th), and Owen Smith (48th) all finished in the top 50 of the event on Thursday.

“They were really exciting races,” Weese said of Thursday’s steeplechase heats. “We tend to run really well towards the end of the year at regionals, NCAA championships – so seeing Rob and Levi running so well is definitely very exciting.”

Friday, at the invitation of second-year student Bryan Clay Jada Zorn ran a personal best time of 2:10.10 in the 800 meters, the sixth-fastest time in school history and the second-fastest time by a Bobcat since 2017.

Later in the evening, the distance duo of Grace Gilbreth And Kendra Lusk completed two lightning-fast 5,000-meter races, earning a spot in the program's all-time top five.

Gilbreth, a Bozeman High product, crossed the finish line in 16:29.44, the fourth-fastest time in MSU history, while Lusk, a native of Spring Creek, Nev., finished in 16:30.26 , the fifth fastest time ever achieved by a Bobcat. .

On the men's side, less than 24 hours after running one of the fastest 3,000-meter steeples in the country this spring, Levi Taylor turned around and ran the best 5,000 meter race of his life, crossing the finish line in 13:56.96. This mark places the Laurel native 7th in program history, just behind his head coach, Lyle Weesewho ran 13:50.33 in 2003.

In a race that started at 10:15 p.m. PT/11:15 p.m. MT, Kalispell native Ben Perrin produced one of the most impressive races of his illustrious career, finishing fourth in an ultra-talented heat in the men's 5,000 meters. Perrin's time of 13:30.73 was just two hundredths of a second shy of the school record of 13:30.50 set by Perrin's former teammate, Duncan Hamiltonin 2022.

Perrin's mark is now the ninth-fastest time in NCAA Division I this season and would have been the No. 1 mark heading into the weekend.

After Perrin, Kyla Christopher Moody got another chance in the women's 5,000 meters and did not disappoint, breaking her personal best by 22 seconds and moving into second place all-time in MSU history with a seventh-place finish in the final heat. The graduate transfer mark of 16:08.18 is lower than only Camila Noah for the best run ever by a Bobcat in the event.

Friday in Long Beach, at the Beach Invitational, Peyton Garrison placed third in her 200 meter heat, crossing the finish line with a legal wind time of 24.03. The sophomore moved into second place in program history with the mark, just behind Chantel Jaeger, who set the school record in 2015 with a time of 23.99.

Complete results from Thursday's Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Meet in Long Beach can be viewed here.

Complete results from Thursday and Friday at the Bryan Clay Invitational can be viewed here.

Full results from Friday's action at the Beach Invitational in Long Beach can be viewed here.

FOLLOWING

Montana State closes out the Beach Invitational in Long Beach and the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa on Saturday, ending their stay in Southern California.

This action-packed day will feature the bulk of the team competing in Long Beach across the sprints, jumps and throws, while the Bobcat distance group will look forward to hundreds of events in the 800 meter and 1,500 meters on a history-filled Saturday at the Bryan Clay Invite on the Azusa Pacific campus. The 1,500 meters alone will host 96 consecutive heats, beginning Saturday at 5 p.m. PT and continuing until 11:50 p.m. PT.

#GoCatsGo