BOZEMAN -- Montana Tech's track & field teams knocked off program records and NAIA qualifying standards in a successful trip over the hill to Bozeman Friday night for the first installment of the Montana Tech Winter Series.
Nicolo Lancini led the way for the Orediggers at Montana State University's Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center, winning the men's triple jump and notching a national 'A' qualifying standard with his 14.90-meter bound. The junior's jump bested his own program record from March of 2024 and put him sixth on the NAIA season leaderboard in the event.
Cade VanVleet also put up an NAIA qualifying standard for the Tech men with his winning 16.52m shot put. That also ranked VanVleet sixth in the country and settled a 'B' standard for the senior. He was also fifth in the weight throw.
Fellow senior
Morgan McClernan also notched a program record for the Orediggers, winning the 60m hurdles in 8.25 seconds. That race put the Butte native 19th in the NAIA.
Adam Schrader didn't finish far behind, taking second in 8.33 seconds to move to 30th in the country so far this season.
Three other Oredigger men —
Colby Martinez in the long jump (6.54m),
Zach Merrifield in the 60m dash (6.91), and
Ricky Williams in the high jump (1.94m) — added event wins to the team tally. Merrifield's sprint moved him up to 66th in the NAIA.
Jaxon Allery (60m dash),
Konnor Gregerson (600m),
Matthew Moreni (200m),
Justin Morgan (5,000m),
Skyler Peterson (long jump), and
Oliver Standiford (high jump) added top-three finishes.
Ava Epler led the way for the Tech women, breaking her own program record on her way to fourth place in the shot put. The sophomore heaved the shot 11.73m, besting her own record set two weeks ago by .01m. Epler also took second in the weight throw with a 15.38m toss.
Jadyn Vermillion tacked on a win in the long jump with her 5.75m leap, her third-best of the season. The senior also won the 60m dash, clocking in at 7.80 seconds to move up to 54th in the NAIA standings.
Sophomore
Ayla Janzen took top honors in the triple jump, clearing 11.28m to move up to 22nd on the NAIA rankings. She was also second in the 60m hurdles (9.29).
Senior
Alyssa Jany climbed to 35th on the NAIA season leaderboard with her win in the 5k. It took her just 18:38.60 to cover the distance.
Teresa Luisi added the other individual win on the evening for the Oredigger women, racing the 200m dash in 26.94. Luisi also took third in the 60m dash.
The Orediggers' 4x300m relay also won a race, as
Ryleigh Kleinke,
Terryn Chirrick,
Sydney Schneider, and
Kamryn Comba posted a victorious time of 2:55.87.
Comba and
Alayna Hurd added a pair of runner-up finishes to the Tech tally in the 600m and 200m, respectively. Comba's 1:39.00 600m run put her 32nd in the NAIA.
Abby Clark (60m hurdles),
Emma Konen (high jump), and
Montannah Piar (long jump, triple jump) all added third-place finishes. Piar's 10.62m triple jump moved the freshman to 62nd in the NAIA.
The Oredigger track & field teams will head to Spokane, Wash. for the Riverfront Invitational & Multis Thursday through Saturday.
Visit Montana Tech athletics' home online, GoDiggers.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news and coverage of the Orediggers. Give Montana Tech athletics a like on Facebook, and follow the Orediggers on X and Instagram at @DiggerAthletics.
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