LAUREL, Mont. – With favorable weather and a 13 team field of teams, the Montana State University Billings track and field teams capped off their only home meet of the season with a flurry of strong performances at Laurel High School.
 
Brady Ostermiller highlighted the day by winning in men's shot put. He also set a new MSUB outdoor record in the event with a throw of 16.20 meters, surpassing Tanner Rottrup in 2013 (15.93 meters).
 
MSU Billings won the men's 4x100 meter relay with Kaelen Shay, Kyle Patelis, Mason Shram, and Sam Zook combining for a time of 41.88 seconds. Mark Hovland took first place in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:03.52, and Sam Zook converted a top finish in the 100 meter dash when he crossed the line in 11.11 seconds.
 
The Yellowjacket/Battlin' Bears Open had representation from 13 teams in the Montana vicinity, including Rocky Mountain College, Carroll College, University of Jamestown, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Chadron State University, Dickinson State University, University of Mary, Minot State University, University of Providence (Montana), Central Wyoming, Dawson County Community College, and Montana Western. The meet began on MSUB campus for hammer throw at 9 a.m. before the remainder of the events kicked off at Laurel High School at noon.
 
 
"I felt we had a really good day of competition out there," said head coach Jon Woehl after the meet. "We had nice weather which was nice. Having Brady break the school record in shot put was awesome because he has been working on it for a long time. It was nice to see the payoff for that effort today. We had strong performances all the way across the board, which gets me excited about what we can do in Boulder next weekend."
 
On the track, there were preliminary rounds for men's and women's 100 meter dash with the top 10 qualifiers earning entry into the final. Anne Lory Chevalier took seventh place in the final round with a 100 meter dash time of 13.06 seconds. Kaitlyn Mason, Josey Smiedala, and Brooke Johnson took ninth, 10^th, and 11^th in the women's 200 meter dash respectively. Brenna Beckett was second in the 400 meter dash (1:00.45) and Rachel Hiner came across sixth in the 800 meter event (2:41.14).
 
 
Sam Zook convincingly won the men's 100 meters by less than a tenth of a second over Jamestown's Kory Powell. The Yellowjackets also placed Mason Schram (fifth), and Kaelen Shay (seventh) inside the top 10.
 
Shay came in eighth in the men's 200 meters with a time of 22.98 seconds. Rahkei Eyer just missed the top five in the 400 meter dash after he came in sixth with a time of 50.66 seconds.
 
In distance, Mark Hovland had a strong race and placed first among attached runners with a time of 4:05.92. The men's 5K was led by Ivan Colmenero in fourth, followed by Ronald Venema (sixth), and Logan Straus (seventh).
 
Miranda Livingston placed 18^th in the women's 1500 meter run. Nikki Aiken came in third in the 5000 meters with a time of 19:06.03.
 
In the field, Janessa Williams put up a second place showing in high jump by clearing a mark of 1.45 meters. Beckett was sixth in long jump at 5.12 meters while Shaniah Schwend took sixth in triple with a finals clearance at 10.80 meters.
 
Isaiah Girard was narrowly beat by Shenley Allen (U-Mary) in high jump after he jumps 1.99 meters for MSUB. Girard also came in second in long jump behind Talon Staudinger (U-Mary). Girard jumped 6.75 meters in the event finals.
 
Ty Stanton took second in men's triple jump with a mark of 13.63 meters Ostermiller threw 44.12 meters in discus to take fourth in the event.
 
Personal Career Bests Broken: 17 Yellowjacket athletes combined to break 22 event personal bests Saturday in Laurel.
 
Ase Ackerman – 5000 meters – 16:56.19
Isaiah Girard – 100 meters – 11.73
Lucas Harper – 100 meters – 11.51
Lucas Harper – 200 meters – 23.71
Marcus Lindquist – 400 hurdles – 1:03.07
Brady Ostermiller – shotput – 53' 1.75"
Brady Ostermiller – hammer – 134' 6"
Matthew Poore – hammer – 116' 11"
Logan Straus – 5000 meters – 16:27.08
Anne Lory Chevalier – 100 meters – 13.06
Brenna Beckett – 400 meters – 1:00.45
Kailee Stoppel – 5000 meters – 20:01.13
Sierra Durbin – 400 hurdles – 1:09.53
Brooke Johnson – 100 meters – 13.18
Brooke Johnson – 200 meters – 28.12
Miranda Livingston – 1500 meters – 5:39.02
Abbie Lohof – discus – 131'0"
Kaitlin Mason – 100 meters – 13.50
Kaitlin Mason – 200 meters – 27.96
Kailee Stoppel – 5000 meters – 20:01.13
Madison Thompson – 100 meters – 13.29
Madison Thompson – long jump – 16' 2.25"
 
UP NEXT: MSUB track and field is scheduled to compete in the Colorado Invitational on April 5-6 in Boulder. They have six meets on the calendar leading up to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Individual Championships on May 10-11 in Monmouth, Oregon.
 
THE BUZZ: Brady Ostermiller was named St. Vincent Healthcare athlete of the meet for MSUB…The Yellowjackets honored 13 seniors in men's and women's track for their contributions to the program. Each of them received a plaque and a congratulations in an on field ceremony during the Yellowjacket/Battlin' Bears Open as part of their final home competition.