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OGDEN, Utah (March 21, 2017) - Temperatures are rising outside across the Big Sky and the outdoor track & field season is underway as nine teams have competed thus far in March.
- Last weekend, nine teams were in action while Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Southern Utah and Weber State made debuts for the 2017 outdoor season.
- Early on in the season, the Big Sky has already had one conference record and two other top-10 marks set. NAU’s Brooke Andersen broke the Big Sky record in the hammer throw with a toss of 221-2 that ranks second nationally. North Dakota’s Molli Detloff has moved up the record books in two events, now ranking third in the discus and seventh in the hammer all-time.
- The Big Sky also has three athletes who own a national-leading time/mark on the young season. SUU’s Kasey Knevelbaard has the top 5K time of 14:02.95, Sac State’s Darius Armstead leads the country in the triple jump with a Hornets school record of 51-11 1/4, and returning All-American in the hammer throw Adam Keenan currently ranks first in the country with a throw of 225-2 for the Lumberjacks.
- The outdoor preseason polls were released Tuesday, with the NAU men being a unanimous No. 1 pick to claim their sixth straight outdoor title. The NAU women were chosen to earn their third title in four years, grabbing eight first-place votes while Montana had the other four.
- Five teams are competing over the next week, with Idaho and Montana State making their spring debuts. Idaho travels to nearby Spokane, while MSU hosts a meet in Bozeman. UNC & PSU will stay in their home states for meets, while Sac State will send athletes to Hawaii for the Rainbow Relays.
- The league is in its first season without qualifying standards. Coaches will be able to fill rosters for the conference championships however they please within the roster limits of 26 indoors and 28 outdoors. The Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif., will be held on May 10-13.
| Date |
Meet |
Location |
Team Competing |
| 3/24 |
Sam Adams Invitational |
Spokane, Wash. |
Idaho |
| 3/24-25 |
Rainbow Relays |
Honolulu, Hawaii |
Sacramento State |
| 3/25 |
Bobcat Invitational |
Bozeman, Mont. |
Montana State |
| 3/25 |
Fum McGraw Tri-Meet |
Fort Collins, Colo. |
Northern Colorado |
| 3/25 |
Willamette Invitational |
Salem, Ore. |
Portland State |