BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana Tech Oredigger track & field teams started the indoor track season at the Bobcat Preview hosted by Montana State. The first meet of the season NCAA Division I Montana State and Division II MSU-Billings along with Frontier Conference schools Montana Western and Rocky Mountain.
"This was a great meet to start the indoor track season and we are excited to already be seeing some good marks at this point in December," said head coach
Zach Kughn. "Even more exciting will be when we get the whole team competing in January."
Many freshmen saw their first action at the next level while a number of returning Orediggers were able to start their year and start building towards championships later in the spring.
Abby Clark won the open high jump with a mark of 1.65 meters and hit the NAIA B standard qualifying for the national championship. Clark was named the Frontier Conference Field Athlete of the Meet at the outdoor championship last spring.
Sophomore transfer Jadyn Vermillion also hit a B Standard finishing second in the long jump in her first meet as an Oredigger. Vermillion had the top NAIA mark and jumping 5.55 meters.
Sophomore
Drake Schlachter finished fifth for the Oredigger men in the 60m dash with a time of 7.04 seconds. Schlachter was the top NAIA finisher and was the Frontier champion a year ago in the 100 meters. Schlacter also took second in the long jump with an NAIA best 6.70 meter jump.
Three freshmen went 1-2-3 in the 60m hurdles for the Orediggers. Butte's Holt Downey and Morgan McClernan finished first and second followed by Jake Gauthier in third.
Freshman Payton Cates won the high jump with clearing 1.96 meters.
Freshman Odin Erickson finished second in the triple jump with a 12.91 meter mark.
Freshman Cade VanVleet took fifth in the shot put and the weight throw as the top finisher among NAIA and Division II throwers. VanVleet posted a mark of 14.31 meters in the shot put and 15.15 meters in the weight throw.
While there is no indoor championship for the Frontier Conference, the Orediggers student-athletes have their sites set on the NAIA Indoor National Championship March 2-4 in Brookings, S.D.
MEET RESULTS
