HELENA, Mont. – The MSU Billings track and field teams finish the Trudnowski Open hosted by Carroll College with a new school record from Nate Vanderby, a conference automatic qualifying mark, and two provisional qualifying times on Friday.
 
Sophomore Vanderby has been focused on the men's 400m race all season long, and today he broke the MSUB all-time record as he crossed the tape in 49.46, surpassing the record held by Rory Bauer of 49.60 set in 2013. Vanderby's time is the seventh fastest time in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference this season and meets the conference provisional time. For his performance, Vanderby is today's St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Meet.
 
"It was a really good race for Nate," MSUB head coach Dave Coppock said. "We had rainy conditions out on the track today, so our athletes had to fight through it and Nate did a really great job adjusting."
 
On the women's side, freshman pole vault competitor Amanda Nichols leaped into fourth place in the conference and in the process tied the MSUB all-time record of 3.40m set by Stacey Pitt in 2011. Nichols' height is an automatic conference qualifying mark, which takes the Yellowjacket total for the men's and women's teams in automatic qualifying conference marks to three on the season.
 
Sophomore Hope Reid was the champion in two events today. She won the women's 100m hurdles in 15.36 and the high jump with a height of 1.55m. Reid's height in the high jump is a GNAC provisional mark and the 10^th best mark in the conference this season. This is her second PQ mark as she is also ranked seventh in the pole vault.
 
"Hope Reid had a really big day for us," Coppock said. "She took first in the 100m hurdles and first in the high jump too. Another competitor, Nels Flanagan, won the discus and was second in the javelin."
 
Flanagan won the men's discus with a throw of 42.88m. He was the runner-up in the men's javelin with a throw of 51.47m.
 
MSUB won both 100m races on the day. Brianna Gray won the women's 100m in 12.83 and Tyler DiGiovanna won the men's 100m in 11.41. Behind Gray, Blair Street crossed the finish line in second in 12.85. . Tyler Delaney was right on DiGiovanna's heels placing third in the men's 100m in 11.63. In the women's 200m, Gray was second in 26.18 and Street finished fourth in 26.72.
Other notable finishes include Nocona Frame in the women's 1500m race. She was second in the event with a time of 4:46.56. Liam McKay was fourth in the men's 1500m in 4:04.21 and Jorey Egeland was fifth in 4:09.89. Mark Hovland placed third in the men's 800m race in 1:58.69.
 
In the men's 5,000m race, Josh Panasuk placed second in 15:43.63 and Garrett Love placed fourth crossing the finish line in 15:53.24.
 
"Overall our sprinters and jumpers had an especially good meet," Coppock commented. "And again it was a difficult thing to do all of that in the rain. Both teams really stepped up for us today."
 
Coming up Montana State University Billings has one more meet before the conference championships. MSUB is set to compete in Missoula at the Montana Open hosted by the University of Montana on May 1-2. The GNAC Outdoor Championships are set for May 8-9 in Monmouth, Ore.