GILLETTE, Wyo. – A week of rest from competition proved to be an effective technique as three Montana State University Billings track and field school records fell at the Conglomerate Open hosted at the Campbell Country Recreation Center on Saturday.
 
Sophomore Janessa Williams broke the MSUB record and won the triple jump with a mark of 35-10, eclipsing the previous record from Leah Berry of 35-6.75 from 2011.
 
Austin Lindquist dropped his own record in the 60-meter hurdles, posting a time of 8.62, which has the senior with the sixth-fastest time in that event in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
Nels Flanagan also dropped his school record in the weight throw. The junior threw for 53-11.25 to take second in the event. Flanagan's throw is the fourth best in the GNAC this season.  

"This was a good meet for the teams," MSUB head coach Dave Coppock said. "Our field event athletes competed especially well and it was nice to see three more school records. Our team continues to make good

progress. It was a confidence booster to perform so well against quality teams in South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State as next week we will compete against D1 schools in Idaho."
 
On the women's side, Josey Smiedala wound up second for MSUB at the 800-meter distance, checking in with a time of 2:23.72. Michaela Johnson continued her impressive freshman campaign, taking home the top spot in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.23.
 
Katelyn Eastburn took third place in the 200 meters, finishing with a time of 27.56. Teammate Jewlz Collins was right behind in fourth at 27.59, and Baylie Bullington, Savannah Merritt, and Caitlin Sexton also competed in the race for the 'Jackets.
 
Senior Rio Frame led a trio of participants in the 3000m, finishing fourth with a time of 11:47.50.
 
The Yellowjacket women also won the 4x400-meter relay, with Brenna Beckett, Eastburn, Williams, and Smiedala blowing away the competition with a time of 4:11.04 for a 20-second margin of victory.
 
In the field events, Jamie Orme and Beckett each posted wins in the high jump and long jump, respectively. Orme cleared a height of 4-11, while Beckett extended for a mark of 16-9.25. MSUB took the top four spots in the long jump, with Shaniah Schwend, Williams, and Halie Warren right behind Beckett.
 
Hailey Steinbeisser took third in the shot put at a distance of 35-10.75, and Kassadee Kuoha was MSUB's top finisher in the weight throw in second at 43-3.
 
On the men's side, Lindquist and Flanagan headlined an assortment of strong performances. Junior sprinter Sam Zook took second in the 60-meter dash, checking in with a time of 6.92 seconds.
 
Mark Hovland posted a win in the 800-meters with a time of 2:02.35, holding off unattached runner Ashton Jones' mark of 2:02.56. Moving to the longer distances, Jorey Egeland ran the 3000-meter race in 8:56.72 and finished in third place.
 
Lindquist took second in his record-setting time in the 60-meter hurdles, and the 'Jacket team of Landon Polkow, Santiago de la Rosa Mora, Liam McKay, and Hovland finished third in the 4x400-meter relay.
 
Freshman Chuck Carr took third in the high jump with a mark of 6-2.75, and won the long jump with an unmatched leap of 21-7.5. Fellow freshman Marcus Lindquist was second in the long jump at 21-0.75, and he also finished No. 2 in the triple jump at 42-8.
 
In addition to Flanagan's record-setting heave, Brady Ostermiller had a strong showing with a fourth-place finish of 43-4.5 in the weight throw. Ostermiller also finished second in the shot put at 44-9.75.
 
THE BUZZ: Carr and Johnson were named the St. Vincent Healthcare Athletes of the Day.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB has one more meet before the 2017 GNAC Indoor Championships, as the Yellowjackets will head to Pocatello, Idaho this weekend for the Mountain State Games. Action runs Friday and Saturday.