BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings track and field team achieved a number of excellent marks this weekend, spread over three different meets in the west region.
 
A majority of the Yellowjacket's athletes competed at the Blue Hawk Games, hosted by Dickinson State University, where both the Yellowjacket men and women had a number of top finishers. The men finished in third with a team score of 109, while the women ended the meet in fourth with a team score of 111.
 
Forrest Cross finished in first place for two events, winning the discus with a mark of 47.69m (156' 5"), and the shot put with a mark of 14.76m (34' 4.25"). Cross also finished fifth in the hammer throw.
 
Ben Ralston finished with the top time in the men's 100m dash, setting a career best mark with his time of 10.99. Ralston's time tied Lamont Frisby for the third quickest time in program history. Ralston also climbed the record books in the 200m, with his new career best of 22.00 tying Braden Rykal for third in program history. Ralston's time in the 200m was second at the Blue Hawk Games. He was also the anchor on the 4 X 100 relay team consisting of Jonny Rocha, Bradley Graves, and Favor Okere, which finished with a season best time of 43.28.
 
The Yellowjacket men had two more first place finishers in the meet, with Jordi Peiro taking the top spot in the 5000m with a time of 16:53.93, and Wyatt May taking the top spot in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:13.83. Behind them, the Yellowjackets had a number of solid finishers. Bryant Edgerton and Logan Straus finished in second and third respectively in the 10,000m, with Edgerton finishing with a career best of 32:56.59, and Straus coming in at 33:29.34. Edgerton's time was good enough to move him into fifth place in MSUB history. Jackson Bailey took fifth overall in the 800m, running a 2:08.87. Kevin Graves ran a 4:30.03 in the 1500m, setting his new collegiate best. Bryce Olsen had a mark of 12.43m (40' 9.5") in the triple jump, finishing in fourth place, while Brandon Geck's javelin mark of 47.73m (156' 7") was fifth best at the meet. Finally, Cort Sandefur cracked the top ten with his seventh-place finish.
 
On the women's side, Kendall Lynn finished top in the triple jump, with a mark of 11.64 (38'2.25"), just .02m off matching the program record she owns. Lynn also finished second place in the long jump with a mark of 5.42m (17' 9.5"). And with a mark of 43:30.66, Aspen Tolman was the top finisher in the 10,000m. Outside of the winners, Madison Thompson ran a 13.10 in the 100m, finishing in fourth place. She was one place ahead of Katelyn Hamill, who set a personal best in the 100m with a time of 13.16, and a season best in the 200, with a time of 27.76, good enough for seventh place. Finishing one spot ahead of her was Mya Richardson, who ran a 27.48. Richardson also set a personal best in the 400m, finishing in fourth with a time of 1:01.58
 
Annelise Clark continued her trend of improving times in the 400m hurdles, setting a new best with her time of 1:09.32, good enough for fifth. Kaylee Dalling finished second in her 3000m steeplechase debut, running 12:39.08. In the field events, Ryann Moline finished third in the discus with a mark of 38.37 (125' 11"), and fourth in javelin with a mark of 16.23m (118' 10"). Jaida Green finished fifth in the shot put with a best throw of 11.23m (36' 10.25"), and Mandy Fuhrmann had her season best in the high jump, clearing 1.43m (4' 8.25").
 
Outside of Dickinson, Yellowjacket long distance runners Ase Ackerman and Carson Jessop competed in California. Both runners competed at the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific. In a field filled with competition from all levels of collegiate sports, Ackerman set the MSUB record in the 1500m, finishing in 3:50.75. His time overtook the previous best of 3:51.58 set by Robert Peterson in 2015. Jessop competed in the steeplechase, which he completed in 9:10.36. Ackerman also ran in the Mt. SAC Relays, where he participated in the steeplechase. His mark of 9:14.37 was a personal best time.
 
THE BUZZ: Ackerman was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Athlete of the Meet for the men, while Lynn was selected for the women.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets compete next in the Montana Open, hosted by University of Montana. The meet runs from April 21-22 in Missoula.