DICKINSON, N.D. – More than a dozen athletes from the Montana State University Billings track and field team travelled east to North Dakota for competition in the Dickinson State Last Chance Invitational Friday and several posted respectable marks as the 'Jackets continued to prepare for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference outdoor championships, set for next weekend. The men's field included Dickinson State, University of Mary, and Dawson County Community College. The women's field featured Dickinson State and University of Mary.
 
Ty Stanton highlighted the men when he posted a season best triple jump of 46' 6" and finished fourth out of 10 athletes. Stanton bested his mark of 44' 5.25" at the Jack Christiansen Invitational by more than a foot. Brenna Beckett took third in women's triple jump with a career best mark at 36' 9.75". Beckett also set a career high in high jump and finished third at 17' 4.25". Madison Thompson came in fourth of four in long jump but marked a career best 16' 10" in the event.
 
"Overall, it was a pretty good meet for us," commented head coach Jon Woehl. "We didn't do well in every event but I felt we set some good marks as a team. It was good to get more reps for some of our athletes so they can be fully prepared heading into the GNAC championships next week."
 
Matthew Poore finished third in men's shot put after he posted a career high 43' 3.75" throw on his fourth attempt. Blade Miller of Dickinson State took first in shot after throwing 50' 3.25".
 
With MSUB graduation scheduled for Saturday morning, the 'Jackets did not bring a full field of sprinters to the Last Chance Invitational. With two players competing in the 100 meter dash, Lucas Harper posted a third place time of 11.63 seconds and Kyle Patelis ran 14.18 seconds, pulling up late in the race due to apparent injury. Mason Schram took second in the men's 200 meters with a time of 22.56 seconds. Kailee Stoppel ran the 3000 meter steeplechase in 12:50.69. No MSUB women were represented in throwing events Friday.
 
With the Last Chance Invitational wrapped up, the Yellowjackets have a gauge on who will be potential favorites heading into next week's GNAC outdoor championships. Sam Zook leads the conference in the 200 meter dash and is second in the 100 meters. Isaiah Girard will be another athlete to watch in high jump after he set an MSUB school record and comes into the GNAC championships ranked second. The MSUB men's 4x100 meter relay team has been the best in the GNAC so far as well.
 
Janessa Williams ranks seventh in the women's triple jump with Shaniah Schwend not far behind in 13^th in the same event. Nikki Aiken is currently sixth in the 3000 meter steeplechase and Anne Lory Chevalier is inside the top-20 to lead the women's crew of sprinters. Hannah Nessan (eighth) and Hailey Steinbeisser (ninth) were idle Friday but will likely compete in the conference meet in shotput, discus, and hammer throw. Many of the athletes absent from Friday's meet competed Thursday in Great Falls at the University of Providence Open.
 
UP NEXT: The Great Northwest Athletic Conference outdoor championships are scheduled for May 10-11 in Monmouth, Oregon, hosted by Western Oregon University. Live statistics will be available on msubsports.com.