‘Jacket women’s 4x4 squad breaks school record Saturday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, April 29, 2017 ‘Jacket women’s 4x4 squad breaks school record Saturday

MSUB’s women’s track and field 4x400-meter relay team shatters the school record with a time of 3:56.6 on Saturday to highlight the Yellowjackets’ trip to Missoula for the Montana Open.

MISSOULA, Mont. – The emphasis for the Montana State University Billings track and field team entering Saturday’s University of Montana Open was on relays, and the Yellowjackets did not disappoint with a record-setting afternoon at Dornblaser Field.

The foursome of Brenna Beckett, Katelyn Eastburn, Janessa Williams, and Josey Smiedala blazed its way to a school record in the 4x400-meter relay, passing the baton across the finish line in 3:56.93. The time was nearly six seconds faster than the previous Yellowjacket best of 4:02.55, and it currently stands as the sixth-fastest time in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference this season.

“We mostly accomplished what we wanted to with the relays, and overall it was a good day,” said MSUB head coach Dave Coppock.

On the men’s side, Kaelen Shay, Landon Polkow, Braden Rykal, and Sam Zook teamed up to set a school record in the 4x100-meters, winning the race in a time of 42.34. It was a good overall day for Zook, the newlyminted MSUB Male Athlete of the Year at Thursday’s Buzzie Awards, as the junior also took second place in the 200-meters with a mark of 21.47.

His anchor leg in the 4x100 helped the ‘Jackets post the fifth-fastest time in the GNAC this season, as MSUB is currently in position to qualify for the conference meet.

Freshman Michaela Johnson was a part of two school records Saturday, finishing third in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.76 seconds. Only a pair of NCAA Division I runners crossed the line ahead of Johnson, who also anchored the Yellowjackets’ recordbreaking 4x100-meter relay team on the day. Eastburn, Beckett, and Smiedala teamed up with Johnson to take second place in the event, putting together a time of 49.18 seconds which is good for sixth-best in the league this spring.

Junior Jorey Egeland had a strong performance in the 3,000-meter steeple chase, as he won the event with a time of 9:25.23.

In the field events, Isaiah Girard took second place in the high jump with a mark of 1.98 meters for his top leap of the year so far. Marcus Lindquist took third in the triple jump at 13.18 meters, and Girard, Chuck Carr, and Lindqust finished fourth-through-sixth in the long jump.

Freshman Isaiah Girard had a personal-best leap of 1.98 meters in the high jump on Saturday.

Beau Ackerman was the top men’s thrower at the meet for MSUB, launching a toss of 58.72 meters in the javelin.

On the women’s side, Abbie Lohof had a breakout performance in the discus as she took fifth with a personal-best mark of 43.50 meters.

THE BUZZ: Johnson and Girard were tabbed as the female and male St. Vincent Healthcare Players of the Day, respectively.

AHEAD: MSUB is scheduled to compete at a meet hosted by Dickinson State University next Friday in Dickinson, N.D. The Yellowjackets have two weeks before the 2017 GNAC Championships, hosted by Western Oregon University May 12-13 in Monmouth, Ore.

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