Brandon Stinson

Men's Track and Field 3/16/2024 7:57:00 PM Brandon Stinson | Sports Information & Media Coordinator

Manecke Sets A-Standard Mark; Three School Records Fall as Rocky Track and Field Opens the Outdoor Season

BILLINGS, Mont. - Dakota Manecke set a new school record and an A-Standard mark in the pole vault, highlighting a strong showing by the Battlin' Bears to open their outdoor season.

Field Events Highlights

Dakota Manecke, a Cut Bank, Montana senior, earned an A-Standard qualifying mark in the first outdoor meet. She won the women's pole vault with a final mark of 3.65 meters, surpassing her previous school record mark of 3.40 meters and setting a new personal best between indoor and outdoor. Her mark ties her for the top mark in the NAIA so far this season.

Brooke Wirkkala earned an individual victory in the women's long jump with a final mark of 5.34 meters. Wirkkala finished third in the high jump with a leap of 1.45 meters.

Freshman Kendall Wahl earned her first collegiate victory with a first-place finish in the women's triple jump after a mark of 10.43 meters. Wahl finished third overall in the long jump with a mark of 5.06 meters.

Drifter Skillicorn placed third overall in the men's long jump with a final mark of 6.17 meters. Christian Gonzalez placed fifth, and Aiden Lantis placed seventh.

Logan Hughes earned a fourth-place finish in the men's shotput after a collegiate-best mark of 12.91 meters.

Track Event Highlights

Freshman Charlize Davis put together a solid showing to open the outdoor season, earning an individual victory in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.95 seconds and a second-place finish in the 100-meter with a time of 12.79 seconds. Both finishes draw her close to the B-standard qualifying marks of 11.95 seconds in the 100-meter and 14.60 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles.

The Rocky women grabbed three of the top four finishes in the 400-meters, with freshman Maya Pearcy leading the way with a first-place finish and school record time of 59.51 seconds. Jenna Hillman followed in second with a time of 1:00.46, and Tyne Stokes followed in fourth with 1:01.21.

Vaiden Vanderploeg legged out a victory in the 200 meters with a collegiate-best of 26.64 seconds.

After a strong finish in the final stretch of the women's 1,500 meters, Kallyn Wilkins was just a step away from stealing a victory. She settled for second place in 4:48.05. Freshman Taylen Stinson followed in fourth place with a time of 4:52.39.

Robby Gress showed his versatility as a track athlete on Saturday, as the cross country team member finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.39.

Justin Glass led a trio of Battlin' Bears to finish in the top five of the men's 1,500 meters, taking third at 4:10.56. Zach Zwiesler broke away from the pack in the first heat in an impressive final 400-meter stretch to take fourth overall at 4:11.06. Corbyn Svec took fifth overall, finishing in 4:13.10.

The Battlin' Bears were the lone team to field 4x100-meter relay teams on the men's and the women's side, taking first overall as both teams raced against each other. The women's team, comprised of Kendall Wahl, Kellan Wahl, Charlize Davis, and Vaiden Vanderploeg, broke the Rocky outdoor school record of 51.71 after finishing in 50.60 seconds.

A pair of Rocky women's 4x400-meter relay teams finished second and third overall.

Team Results

The Rocky women finished second overall with a team score of 133. Montana State Billings earned the team victory on the day, finishing with 184 points. The Battlin' Bears outpaced the reigning Frontier Conference champions of Montana Tech, who finished fourth with a team score of 66.

On the men's side, the Battlin' Bears finished fourth with a team score of 49. Montana Tech took home the team win after compiling 145 points.

Up Next

The Battlin' Bears will travel to Missoula next Saturday to compete in the Al Manuel Invitational, hosted by the University of Montana.

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