Zook, Egeland lead the way on GNAC track opening day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, May 12, 2017 Zook, Egeland lead the way on GNAC track opening day

Sam Zook places first in the preliminaries in both the 100-meters and 200-meters, and Jorey Egeland nets MSUB’s men’s squad six points with a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeple chase.

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Sam Zook posted the top preliminary mark in both the 100-meters and 200-meters on Friday afternoon at McArthur Field, getting the Montana State University Billings track and field team off to a good start at the 2017 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Track & Field Championships.

The Yellowjackets battled through rainy conditions on the opening day of the event hosted by Western Oregon University, with the men’s team scoring 20 total points to sit in sixth place. The women’s squad received two points on Friday and is in 10th place with the action set to wrap up Saturday.

Zook performed as expected in the 100-meter hurdles, claiming the top spot in the preliminaries with a time of 10.86 seconds. Sophomore Kaelen Shay finished 14th in the race at 11.45 seconds, and freshman Braden Rykal crossed the line at the same time as Shay.

Zook also raced his way to the top spot in the 200-meters, qualifying for the finals with a time of 21.68 seconds.

Junior Jorey Egeland built on his strong spring season, and took third place in the 3,000-meter steeple chase with a time of 9:12.02. Egeland was just five seconds behind the winner Kaleb Korta from Alaska Anchorage, and he contributed six points to MSUB’s team score. Tyus Mendoza wound up eighth in the steeple chase at 9:27.24, and senior Josh Panasuk finished 11th at 9:50.31.

Senior Garrett Love just missed out on scoring for MSUB in the 10,000meters, finishing in ninth place with a time of 32:26.63. Ivan Colmenero was 17th in the event at 33:52.57 and Jacob Marshall finished his career in 19th at 34:40.07.

Austin Lindquist qualified for the finals in the 110-meter high hurdles, sneaking in at eighth place with a time of 15.86 seconds for the last spot in Saturday’s finals.

Nikki Aiken nabbed a pair of points for the ‘Jackets with a seventh-place finish in the steeple chase Friday.

Brady Ostermiller also contributed points for the ‘Jackets on Day 1 of the event, as his throw of 15.03 meters in the shot put was sixth best for three points. Beau Peaslee finished 11th in the shot put at 13.02 meters, and Forrest Cross was 12th with a distance of 13.01 meters.

Freshman jumpers Isaiah Girard and Chuck Carr combined for nine points for the team in the high jump, finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Girard cleared a height of 1.99 meters, and Carr was one notch away at 1.94 meters.

On the women’s side, Nikki Aiken scored a pair of points for the ‘Jackets with a seventh-place finish in the steeple chase.

The sophomore crossed the line with a time of 11:27.61.

Michaela Johnson just missed a spot in the 100-meter hurdles finals, as she took ninth place with a time of 15.42 seconds. In the 400-meter hurdles, Josey Smiedala was MSUB’s top competitor with a time of 1:06.35.

Taylor Stringari was MSUB’s top performer in the discus, cutting loose a throw of 34.87 meters to finish in 12th place.

Abbie Lohof finished 14th at 33.05 meters, and Kassadee Kuoha took 16th with a throw of 32.36 meters.

THE BUZZ: Egeland and Aiken were named the St. Vincent Healthcare Players of the Day. COMING UP: Action concludes Saturday afternoon, with the final running of all track and field events. Live results will be available online through the link here.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--