HELENA -- Cade VanVleet continued to climb the national rankings in the men's shot put with another season-best performance Saturday.
Tuesday, those efforts earned the Montana Tech senior the Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference men's indoor field athlete of the week accolade.
The Noxon native heaved the shot 16.91 meters to win the event at the Montana Tech Winter Series No. 2 meet inside Montana State's Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center. With the throw, VanVleet jumped to third on the NAIA's season leaderboard in the event and earned the 'A' qualifying standard for next month's national meet in Gainesville, Fla. He had already posted four 'B' standards on the year.
VanVleet was also second in the weight throw Saturday, clearing 17.02m. He ranks 15th in the NAIA in that event with his 'B' standard mark set earlier this year.
The Frontier's weekly award is the 11th of VanVleet's decorated career and the fifth of the indoor variety. The most lauded thrower in the history of Montana Tech track & field, VanVleet is a five-time national qualifier and a three-time All-American. He was the runner-up in the shot put at the 2025 indoor national meet.
VanVleet and the Montana Tech teams will head to Brookings, S.D. this weekend to compete for the inaugural Frontier Conference indoor championships.
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