GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- The Montana Tech women's and men's outdoor track & field teams enjoyed a huge day Thursday at the Providence Open in Great Falls. 

Five Orediggers collected a combined seven NAIA 'B' qualifying standards at Memorial Stadium. 

Two Oredigger men — junior Cade VanVleet and sophomore Nicolo Lancini — also earned trips to next month's national championship meet with their performances. VanVleet collected three event wins on the day, highlighted by a huge personal best in the shot put. The Noxon product hurled the shot 17.32 meters to best his own program record by more than a foot. His event-winning heave put him fourth on the national leaderboard. VanVleet also won the hammer throw (51.23m) and discus throw (50.79m, 'B' cut). 

Lancini triple-jumped a 'B' standard 14.70m to move up to 13th in the NAIA. He won the event. 

Senior Abby Clark knocked off the 'B' marks in both the women's long jump and high jump. The Fort Benton native won the high jump with a season-best leap of 1.66m. That mark missed her own program record by just .03m and put her 16th in the NAIA this season. She followed that with another 'B' standard in the long jump, leaping 5.75m to put herself 10th nationally.  

Senior Jenna Jordan will make a return trip to nationals in the women's javelin after a 41.59m heave that moved her to 10th on the NAIA leaderboard and won the event. 

Freshman Ayla Janzen leapt a 'B' mark in the women's triple jump with a program-record 11.80m leap that put her 11th in the country and won the event. 

The Tech women knocked off two more Oredigger records: junior Kamryn Comba did so in the 400m dash at 59.43 seconds, and junior Cora Pesanti, Clark, Janzen, and senior Olleca Severson teamed up to win the 4x100m relay in 48.55, another program-best time. 

The Digger women swept the relay events, with freshman Emma Konen, sophomore Peyton Walker, sophomore MaKenzie Sheils, and Comba taking top honors in the 4x400m (4:03.86) and Sheils, Walker, junior Alyssa Jany, and Comba winning the 4x800m (9:54.44). 

Janzen also had a terrific race in the 100m hurdles, finishing in 15.35, just .01 seconds off Clark's program record. 

Not to be outdone, the Oredigger men won the 4x100m in record fashion as freshman Jacob Dolezal, sophomore Will Wagner, senior Caden Caywood, and freshman Matthew Moreni set a new Montana Tech record in 41.50. 

Moreni sprinted to victory in the 100m dash (11.01) and 200m dash (21.82), senior Morgan McClernan won the 100m hurdles (15.04), and freshman Teagan Wahl won the javelin (49.42m). 

The Orediggers will return to action next Thursday and Friday in Helena for Carroll College's Trudnowski Open. The Frontier Conference will hold its championships in the multis at the meet. 

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