MISSOULA, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings track & field programs saw many of it's athletes rounding into form as the teams competed in their final meet before postseason action, taking part in the Montana Open on Friday and Saturday hosted by University of Montana.
 
The Yellowjackets top performances would be highlighted by a pair of school record performances, along with first place finishes in three events at the meet. Both school records would involve senior sprinter Bella Klein, with the Roundup native besting her own school record mark in the 400m for the fourth time this season, running a time of 57.25 in the event to take fourth overall at the meet, and climb to 13^th in the GNAC this season. Meanwhile, Klein would run the first leg of the 4x100m relay, joined by Izzy Ping, Delainey Engen, and Micah Strong, with the foursome breaking the school record in the event with a time of 48.55, besting the previous school record by a time of 48.80 set in 2025. Their time would place third at the Montana Open.
 
The Yellowjacket women would also see a pair of individual finishers take first place finishers, with Strong taking first place in the 800m. The freshman, who already holds an NCAA Provisional Qualifying Mark in the event and ranks sixth in the GNAC, closed in on her PR with a time of 2:13.57, beating the next fastest finisher by nearly two full seconds.
 
Fellow freshman Rae Smart would continue her strong outdoor season at the meet, highlighted by a first-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 14.75m (48' 4.75"). Smart, who holds the top shot put mark in the GNAC this season, was .20m off matching her PR. Smart would also take fourth place in the javelin with a throw of 43.61m (143' 1"), set a season best in the discus with a throw of 40.46m (132' 9") to finish in sixth, and placed 12^th in the hammer throw with a mark of 38.99m (127' 11").
 
For the Yellowjacket men, Sean Zimmer would take first place in the javelin, throwing a top mark of 52.19m (171' 2") to lead the field at the meet. Zimmer ranks seventh in the GNAC in the javelin this season, and 63^rd in Division II.
 
On the track for the Yellowjacket women, Izzy Ping would place 13^th in both the 100m and 200m, running times of 12.82 and 26.45. Kinley Wieland would run a time of 17.84 in the 100m hurdles to place eighth. In the 400m, Laila Christiansen would PR behind Klein with a time of 1:02.50, while in the 400m hurdles, Katie Sheridan and Wieland would each PR with times of 1:08.20 and 1:12.59, placing third and fifth respectively.
 
Chloe Shennum would lead MSUB competitors in the 1500m with a time of 5:15.32, while Gracyn Rock would lead MSUB in the 3000m steeplechase, placing fourth with a mark of 12:26.80. And in the 4x400m relay, Klein, Sheridan, Christiansen, and Strong would run a season best time of 4:02.51, placing second.
 
In the throws, Hannah Cooper would finish in fifth place in the shot put with a throw of 12.24m (40' 2"), setting a season best in the event, while placing seventh in both the discus with a throw of 39.68m (130' 2"), and in the hammer throw, where she led all MSUB competitors with a throw of 47.94m (157' 3"). Lizzy Kerzman would place tenth in the discus with a season best throw of 37.07m (121' 7"), while Jaida Green would place eighth in hammer throw with a mark of 46.09m (151' 2").
 
For MSUB's men, JayCee Herbert would set a season best with a time of 11.04 in the 100m to place seventh, with Landon Freeman running a PR time of 11.08 to place ninth behind him, and Aidan Johnson also placing 11^th with a season best time of 11.28. Freeman would lead MSUB as well in the 200m with a time of 22.76, narrowly missing out on a PR. Brock Grossman would run a PR time in the 400m of 50.31, making his way up to fifth in program history.
 
MSUB would also see Lennon Davis run a PR time of 1:58.07 in the 800m to place seventh overall, while John Achter would place 13^th in the 1500m with a PR time of 4:22.65. The MSUB men would also see success in the relays, placing second in both races. The 4x100m team of Ryen Sanders, Herbert, Freeman, and John Roberts finished in 42.92 seconds, while the 4x400m squad of Kalub Padilla, Herbert, Davis, and Grossman ran a time of 3:24.75.
 
In the jumping events, GNAC high jump leader Johnnie Young put up another strong mark in the event, leaping 1.94m (6' 4.25"). Young would also jump 13.48m (44' 2.75"), placing fifth overall. Meanwhile in the triple jump, Young would be one of three Yellowjackets to collect season best marks, with his 6.23m (20' 5.25") mark placing 11^th. Payton Kokot would rank fifth overall in the event with a mark of 6.78m (22' 3"), while Carson Nissen would place seventh with a mark of 6.66m (21' 10.25").
 
In the throws, Braedon Ferris picked up a big PR in the discus with a mark of 47.04m (154' 4"), placing in fourth in the event to lead the team. Cort Sandefur would lead MSUB meanwhile in the hammer throw with a mark of 49.90m (163' 8"), and in the shot put with a season best mark of 14.03m (46' 0.5"), placing ninth.
 
The MSUB women's team would place second in the team scores with 89 points, while the men would place third with 72 points.
 
THE BUZZ: Klein and Ferris were named the Intermountain Health Athletes of the Meet.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets will compete next at the GNAC Outdoor Championships, which will be held from May 4-5 in Ellensburg, WA, hosted by Central Washington University. Meet information can be found on the men's and women's schedule pages, as well as on the GNAC Championships Homepage.