ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings track & field teams would compete hard and make history at the 2026 GNAC Outdoor Conference Championships on Monday and Tuesday in Ellensburg, WA, earning a number of personal and season bests during the meet.
 
The biggest fireworks moment would come from none other than Hannah Cooper, one of the program's most decorated athletes in history, who rounded out her final GNAC Championships on Tuesday afternoon by collecting the first gold medal of her career, taking the top spot on the podium in the women's high jump with a leap of 1.69m (5' 6.5"). Cooper, who entered the event as a wild card after not competing in the event prior this outdoor season, would not only win the event, but hit an NCAA Provisional Qualifying Mark in the event, managing to best the field while also simultaneously competing in shot put while going for gold.
 
Cooper would cap off her final conference meet with an impressive, all-around performance, earning the Yellowjacket women's team points in five different events during the meet. She would begin by narrowly missing out on the podium Monday morning in the high jump, with a big PR mark of 42.34m (138' 11") putting her in fourth place, and moving her to second in program history in the event. She would also take fifth in both the hammer throw and discus with throws of 40.98m (134' 5") and 47.77m (156' 8") in each event respectively, while coming in eighth in shot put with a mark of 11.97m (39' 3.25"). Cooper would total 24 points combined in her five events to help MSUB's team score.
 
Cooper's GNAC Championship in the high jump would be the first in the program's history for the event, and the fourth GNAC gold medal in MSUB women's track & field history, ending a 12-year drought since the last time a Yellowjacket woman has graced the top step at the outdoor conference championships. The medal also marked the combined sixth career medal for Cooper combining her indoor and outdoor performances, tying Anica Knispel for the most all-conference marks at the conference championships in program history.
 
Meanwhile, freshman Rae Smart would put together a pair of podium finishes at the meet, becoming the first MSUB women to finish the GNAC Outdoor Championships with two podium finishes since the duo of Anica Knispel and Leeza Henry did so in 2012. Smart would do so with a pair of third place finishes in the javelin and shot put, picking up her first bronze in javelin on Monday with a mark of 45.77m (150' 2"), before placing third in the shot put with a mark of 13.87m (45' 6.25") on Tuesday afternoon. Smart still holds the 11^th highest shot put mark in shot put in DII nationally, with national postseason selection set for next week.
 
Monday Highlights:

• Braedon Ferris led off the meet for MSUB with a points finish and a PR in discus, finishing in sixth with a mark of 47.33m (155' 3"). The freshman's mark saw him improve his fourth best mark in school history.
• Micah Strong would continue a strong freshman season in the 800m by advancing out of the 800m prelims on Monday and qualifying for the finals on Tuesday. Her time of 2:12.87 was second fastest in her heat, and fourth fastest in the prelims.
• Senior Payton Kokot would collect points and a PR in the high jump, placing seventh overall with a mark of 1.96m (6' 5"). The jump saw Kokot improve his seventh best mark in MSUB program history.
• Johnnie Young would also score half a point in the high jump after tying for eighth place, leaping 1.91m (6' 3.25")
• Kody Cooper would also collect a big PR in men's javelin, finishing in ninth with a mark of 53.30m (174' 10").
• Gracyn Rock would post a PR finish in the 3000m steeplechase, running her first sub-12 minute mark with a time of 11:55.37. Rock would place tenth at the meet, and fifth in school history.

Tuesday Highlights:

• Strong would run the finals in the 800m, placing sixth with a time of 2:13.79.
• She would also run a leg of both the women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays, both of which had excellent races. The 4x100m squad of Bella Klein, Izzy Ping, Delainey Engen, and Strong would set a new school record with a time of 48.21, placing in seventh overall at the meet, while Klein and Strong would be joined by Katie Sheridan and Laila Christiansen on the 4x400m relay team, which also took seventh with a season best time of 3:57.21.
• Both of MSUB's mens relays had season best finishes at the meet as well. The 4x100m team of Landon Freeman, JayCee Herbert, Ryen Sanders, and John Roberts would take sixth and grab three points with a time of 41.78. Herbert would then be joined by Kalub Padilla, Lennon Davis, and Brock Grossman to run the 4x400m in the final race of the meet, running a time of 3:22.26.
• Cort Sandefur would snag a point for the Yellowjackets in the hammer throw in his final GNAC Championships, placing eighth with a mark of 49.39m (162' 0").

The Yellowjacket women's team would place eighth overall with a team score of 43, the team's most ever points scored at a GNAC Championships. The men's team would place ninth with a score of 10.5.
 
THE BUZZ: Cooper and Ferris were named the Intermountain Health Athletes of the Meet.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets will await to see if they have any selections for the 2026 NCAA Track & Field Championships, which will take place on May 21-23 at Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas. Final selections for the outdoor national championships will be announced on May 12.