SPOKANE, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings men's and women's track and field programs concluded their indoor seasons at the 2025 GNAC Indoor Championships, with four podium finishes highlighting the team's results over the past two days.
 
Concluding what has been one of the best indoor seasons the program has seen in recent years, Hannah Cooper brought her best across both days at the conference championships. The sophomore opened her record Monday afternoon with a second-place finish in the weight throw with a mark of 16.05m (52' 8") to finish just 1.25 inches behind a gold medal. Cooper would then go on to collect another silver medal on Tuesday, coming in second place in the high jump. Her mark of 1.70m (5' 7") not only earned her all-conference honors in the event, but also extended her school record mark once more this winter. Cooper became the first Yellowjacket women's track and field athlete to medal at multiple events at the GNAC Indoor Championships since both Anica Knispel and Leeza Henry in 2012. Cooper also collected a tenth-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 11.54m (37' 10.5"). She scored a total of 16 total points for the Yellowjacket women in the meet.
 
Also finished on the podium for MSUB were a pair of men's athletes in Isaac Perkins and Ryan Fenley. Perkins finished in third place in the shot put at the meet, doing so for the second consecutive season at the GNAC Indoor Championships. This time around, Perkins would earn his third-place finish with a throw of 14.51m (47' 7.25"), scoring six points at the meet. Perkins would also compete in the weight throw, finishing in ninth with a mark of 15.02m (49' 3.5").  Meanwhile Fenley, the Yellowjacket school record holder in the heptathlon, collected his first all-conference finish with a third-place finish in the heptathlon with a score of 3,964. Fenley earned third place finishes in the heptathlon 60m hurdles, running a season best of 9.43, while grabbing two more third place finishes in the pole vault with a mark of 3.27m (10' 8.75"), and shot put with a mark of 9.91m (32' 6.25"). The point total was a season best for Fenley.
 
Also setting records at the conference championship meet was Mya Richardson, who ran a 7.85 in the 60m preliminaries on Monday. Richardson's time set a new school record in the event for MSUB, breaking a two-way tie set by Michaela Johnson in 2018 and Tatum Hull in 2023. Richardson finished tenth in the event at the GNAC Championships, while setting a season best in the 200m prelims with a time of 26.14.
 
Also scoring points in multiple events for the Yellowjackets at the meet was Jaida Green, who scored in both the weight throw and shot put. Green threw a best of 14.53m (47' 8") on Monday in the weight throw to score two points, before going on to pace MSUB's competitors in the shot put on Tuesday with a mark of 11.92m (39' 3"), finishing in sixth place for three points. Also scoring points for the women's team was the women's distance medley relay team consisting of Chloe Shennum, Katie Sheridan, Emma Weaver, and Gabi Becker, whose time of 13:52.20 finished in seventh for two points.
 
For the men's team, Payton Kokot nearly missed out on the podium in the long jump, finishing in fourth place with a mark of 6.95m (22' 9.75"), scoring five points. Kokot would be the lone men's competitor to score points in multiple events for MSUB, also collecting three points with his sixth-place finish in the high jump, leaping 1.92m (6' 3.5"). Both jumps were personal records for the junior, who ranks second in program history in the long jump, and fifth in the high jump. Also setting a PR was Cort Sandefur, who earned three points with his sixth-place mark of 16.54m (54' 3.25"). Sandefur's weight throw now ranks second in program history. The junior also set a PR in the shot put, with his mark of 13.59m (44' 7") ranking tenth at the meet. Meanwhile, brothers Goodness Okere and Favor Okere each earned points in the triple jump and high jump respectively. The freshman Goodness landed a mark of 12.54m (41' 1.75") to finish in sixth place and score three points, while Favor, competing in his last meet as a Yellowjacket, finished seventh in the meet with a mark of 1.87m (6' 1.5") to score two points. Wrapping up the meet and scoring for the 'Jacket men was the men's 4x100 relay group of Ben Ralston, Kaleb Scott, JayCee Herbert, and Brock Grossman, who collected three more points with a sixth-place finish. The group's time of 3:26.43 was a season best.
 
In the sprinting events for MSUB at the conference championships, Herbert finished as MSUB's best runner in the 60m, finishing in 7.01 to finish 12^th in the prelims Monday. Also in the 60m prelims, freshman Landon Freeman collected a PR with a time of 7.18, finishing in 20^th. Bella Klein narrowly missed qualifying for the 400m finals, finishing in ninth place with a run of 59.91, setting a new PR and inching closer to overtaking the top 400m time in program history. Madeline Severson would also earn a PR while finishing in ninth place at the meet, doing so in the 800m with a time of 2:18.61. Her time ranks as the third fastest in program history. Ralston and Mason Dezember both set season best marks in the 200m, with their times of 22.51 and 22.67 coming in 14^th and 16^th respectively.
 
In the distance events, Cecily Eagleton finished in 15^th with a season best effort of 19.30.48 in the 5000m on Monday. Eagleton would then collect a PR on Tuesday in the 3000m, with a 24^th place finish of 10:57.22. Her time ranks eighth best in Yellowjacket history. Also setting a PR in the 3000m was Gabi Becker, who ran a time of 11:25.52 in the event. In the throws, Isa Caballero set a PR in the women's weight throw with a mark of 12.59m (41' 3.75"), finishing in 14^th place. Kody Cooper would PR in the men's weight throw with a mark of 14.17m (46' 6").
 
The Yellowjacket men's team scored a total of 31 points to finish in eighth place at the GNAC Indoor Championships, while the women tied for eighth place with 23 total points. Western Washington would finish as team champions for both the men's and women's Championships.
 
THE BUZZ: Hannah Cooper and Isaac Perkins were named Intermountain Health Athletes of the Meet.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB's track and field programs will resume competition in March with the kickoff of outdoor season. A full schedule of MSUB's meets for both teams will be announced at a later date.