SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Montana State University Billings track & field program achieved a number of top finishes at the Myrle Hanson Open hosted by Black Hills State University Saturday, highlighted by a trio of first place finishes, including a pair of school records from Hannah Cooper.
 
After breaking the previous school record last week at the Marauders 2025 Indoor Opener, Cooper's previous mark stood for just a single week before the sophomore would raise the bar once more, improving the all-time mark to 1.69m (5' 6.5"). The jump was more than two inches better than her previous best, and was not only good enough for first place at the meet, but was an NCAA DII indoor qualifying mark, tying for the 23^rd best jump in the entirety of DII this season, and third in the GNAC. She then went on to overtake the program record in weight throw set earlier this season by teammate Jaida Green, throwing 16.85m (55' 3.5") and again finishing in first place. Cooper's weight throw is also the best mark of any GNAC thrower in the 2024-25 indoor campaign.
 
Also collecting a first-place finish at the Myrle Hanson Open was Madeline Severson, who had the meet's best time in the 800m. Severson, who holds the third fastest 800m time in program history, improved upon her time at last week's meet, recording a mark of 2:23.07. The senior currently ranks sixth in the GNAC in the 800m this season with a converted time of 2:17.28.
 
In other top finishes for the Yellowjacket women, Mya Richardson had a pair of great finishes in the 60m and 200m. In the 60m, Richardson ran an 8.23 in the prelims to qualify for the finals, where she would improve her time to 8.11 to end up in sixth place. Richarson then went on to finish third in the 200m, finishing in 27.01. Bella Klein finished in third place in the 400m with a mark of 1:03.98, while Cecily Eagleton was the 'Jackets top finisher in the 3000m with a time of 11:36.57. Behind Cooper in the high jump, Kyanna Jarvis finished second with a jump of 1.48m (4' 10.25"), and was MSUB's top finisher in the long jump with a mark of 4.80m (15' 9"). And in throws, Jaida Green had quality scores in both of her events, climbing into MSUB's top ten marks in shot put and finishing fourth with a mark of 11.90m (39' 0.5") and finishing fifth in the weight throw with a mark of 13.60m (44' 7.5").
 
For the MSUB men, top placements belonged to four athletes who collected second place finishes. Ben Ralston, who finished third in the prelims of the 60m with a 7.09, jumped to second in the finals with a run of 7.08. In the 200m, Mason Dezember would grab his second place with a time of 23.25. The other two second places would come in the jumps, where Favor Okere finished with a mark of 1.93m (6' 4") in the high jump, and Payton Kokot would earn a mark of 6.60m (21' 8"). Two of the four would also flash their skills in other events, with Dezember finishing seventh in the 60m finals with a time of 7.24, and Kokot coming right behind Okere in the high jump with a mark of 1.88m (6' 2").
 
Behind them, Jaycee Herbert ran the fastest time of any competitor in the 60m preliminaries, running a 7.03 before going on to finish in fourth place with a time of 7.11. Herbert also ran a season best time in the 200m, with his 23.30 time good enough for third place. Brock Grossman finished with a PR in the 400m, finishing with a time of 53.85. Isaac Perkins would finish with a season best throw in the weight throw, with his mark of 15.76m (51' 8.5") ranking fourth at the meet, and seventh in the GNAC this season. Perkins also landed in fourth place in the shot put, throwing a best of 13.90m (45' 7.25"). Cort Sandefur finished just one spot behind Perkins in the weight throw with a fifth-place throw of 15.53m (50' 11.5"), while Cody Biggs was sixth in the shot put with a throw of 13.10m (42' 11.75"), just off matching his personal best.
 
THE BUZZ: Cooper and Dezember were selected as Intermountain Health Athletes of the Meet…
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjacket men's lone multi competitor Ryan Fenley will compete in the heptathlon next week at the SDSU Open Meet in Brookings, South Dakota at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex. Live results will be available here. The full men's and women's teams will then compete in their final tune up before the GNAC Indoor Championships, heading to Pocatello, Idaho to participate in the Stacy Dragila Invitational hosted by Idaho State.