FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After posting strong results a week ago, the Montana State University Billings track and field teams followed with an adequate day at the Jack Christiansen Invitational Saturday afternoon at Colorado State University's Jack Christiansen Memorial Track.
 
"Our performance definitely wasn't as stellar as last week, but still pretty good," said head coach Jon Woehl. "It was good to get the reps. I knew some of our athletes were going to be a little tires from all the hard training we've been doing, but looking at how results panned out, I think we are in pretty good shape as we start to taper off next week before going to conference."
 
Despite not posting any new record breaking results, a few Yellowjackets still posted season best marks and top competitors Sam Zook and Isaiah Girard stayed within range of eventually gaining entry to the NCAA Division II national meet in May.
 
Sprinter Anne Lory Chevalier finished eighth in the women's 100 meter dash in 12.76 seconds. She was three one-hundreths of a second off her career best time, which she achieved with a tail wind and a lower elevation last week in Bozeman.
 
Sam Zook again led the MSUB men's sprinters by finishing second in the 200 meters (21.14 seconds) and fourth in the 100 meters (10.69 seconds). Mason Schram went 200 meters in 22.17 seconds for eighth position and a new career best in the event.
 
Isaiah Girard took fourth in high jump after clearing 2.01 meters in his second to last attempt. Girard has a chance to go to 2.06 meters, but just missed the mark.
 
"Isaiah started off poorly but still salvaged a good day by clearing 2.01 meters," Woehl said. "He almost had 2.06 but his hand just touched the bar after he made it over."
 
Janessa Williams posted a career best in triple jump last week and backed up the feat this week with a jump of 36' 2.75". Williams was sixth behind five Division I jumpers with a top mark of 36' 2.75". In long jump, Lucas Harper took sixth after marking 21' 5.25". Harper jumped19' 9.5"in the Colorado Invitational last time out and came close to topping his long jump season best from December. Jamie Orme and Madison Thompson had season bests in the long jump. Thompson was sixth at 16' 9.25".
 
Brady Ostermiller made progress toward national qualification with a good shot put mark of 49' 3.5". He took second place in the event. The MSUB women had non-stand out performances in both hammer throw and discus.
 
Sierra Durbin took ninth place in the 400 meter hurdles after crossing the line in 1:10.55, three seconds off her career best set last weekend. Teammate Josie Smiedala took tenth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:11.13.
 
"Josie and Sierra had okay hurdle results this week," said Woehl. "Sierra will really benefit from her training schedule tapering next week and I would expect her to drop a lot of time heading into conference."
 
Marcus Lindquist posted his best triple jump since the GNAC outdoor championships last season. He slotted into eighth place at 44' 1.5".
 
Ty Stanton made marked improvement in triple jump with a score of 44' 1.5" for eighth place. Nikki Aiken and Kailee Stoppel represented two-thirds of the women's field for steeplechase. Aiken ran 11:43.94, more than three seconds faster than the same event on April 13.
 
The Yellowjackets faced average track conditions for having strong marks but did not benefit from a tailwind as they had the week previous. The team also had to adjust to an elevation of 5,003 feet, well above Billings which sits at 3,123 feet.
 
"It was sunny all day and warmed up later in the afternoon," mentioned Woehl. "Overall, a very good day for a meet."
 
MSU Billings competed against mostly Division I competition including University of Wyoming, Colorado State, Colorado, Air Force, and Colorado.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets compete in the Dickinson State University Last Chance Invitational for their last warm up before the GNAC Outdoor Championships. The Last Chance Invite is May 4 in Dickinson, North Dakota.
 
THE BUZZ: Anne Lory Chevalier and Mason Schram were named St. Vincent Healthcare athletes of the meet for each of their performances in the 200 meter dash.