BOZEMAN, Mont. — The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced the participants for the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships First Round competitions on Thursday afternoon.
An incredible 21 Montana State track and field athletes will participate in the NCAA West First Rounds on May 28-31 at E.B. Cushing Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
The 21 qualifying Bobcats and 19 total entries are the second-most in program history since the current regional format was adopted in the early 2000s. The school record of 23 Bobcat participants was set last season, with the previous best before 2024 set in 2022 (17 qualifiers).
Montana State will have seven men compete across Wednesday, May 28, and Friday, May 30, while the 14 women will compete in events on Thursday, May 29, and Saturday, May 31.
A full meet schedule can be viewed here.
Qualifiers for the NCAA West First Rounds:
The top 12 finishers in each event at the NCAA West First Rounds advance to the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, held on June 11-14 at Hayward Field.
Athletes who ranked among the top 48 in their respective events earned a berth into the NCAA West First Rounds. In addition, the best 24 relays times advanced to the NCAA preliminaries. Athletes with the top-12 marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the East and West First Rounds sites qualify for the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Last season, a school-record 23 members of the Montana State track and field team qualified for the NCAA West First Rounds in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Three men’s steeplechase runners went on to advance to the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, with Levi Taylor, Rob McManus, and Owen Smith all representing ‘Steeple U’ at the biggest stage in collegiate track and field.
Montana State’s three participants in the 24-athlete field last year in Eugene marked the most of any school and was also the second consecutive year the Bobcats have sent three to the national meet in the steeplechase.
Montana State and Eastern Kentucky are the only two schools in the country who have sent multiple qualifiers to the NCAA Championships in each of the last three years.
Though three-time steeplechase All-American Levi Taylor graduated after last season, Rob McManus and Owen Smith are back to try to return to Eugene.
McManus, who finished 13th in the steeplechase at outdoor nationals in 2024 and 16th in 2023, also finished 15th at indoor nationals this past March in the mile.
The three-time All-American is one of just five Bobcat men to ever earn three All-American honors (Levi Taylor, Duncan Hamilton, Lyle Weese, Shannon Butler).
McManus is seeded No. 4 for the West Region and ranks No. 6 nationally in the steeplechase this year.
He’ll be joined in next Friday’s national quarterfinal by 2024 Honorable Mention All-American Owen Smith (seeded No. 23) and four-time NCAA Division III All-American Will Kelly (seeded No. 30).
Harvey Cramb, a sophomore from Brisbane, Australia, who placed 11th in the mile at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, is ranked No. 8 in the West Region in the 1,500 meters heading into College Station. The Big Sky champion in the event also set the school record in the 800 meters this season.
Sam Ells, a junior from Kalispell, Montana, will join Cramb in the pursuit of a berth to Eugene in the 1,500 meters while ranked No. 13 in the West Region in the event. Ells placed fifth in the 1,500 and sixth in the 5,000 at last week’s Big Sky Championships in Sacramento.
Colby Wilson, a graduate student from Olympia, Washington, qualified for the 2025 NCAA indoor championships in Virginia Beach in March after also qualifying for the 2022 NCAA outdoor championships and 2023 NCAA indoor championships. Wilson heads to College Station ranked No. 22 in the West Region.
Sydney Brewster, a sophomore from Sandy, Oregon, makes her second straight NCAA West First Rounds appearance after a season in which she broke the school and conference record in the shot put multiple times. Brewster is seeded 13th in the West Region.
Emma Brensdal, a sophomore from Plentywood, Montana, will join Brewster in the shot put next week in College Station. The Treasure State native broke the school record in the discus this year as well as recorded the second-best throw in Montana State history in the shot put. Brensdal is seeded 29th in the West Region.
Clara Fox, a sophomore from Bozeman, Montana, is one of three women’s sophomore throwers to qualify for regionals, and returns to the NCAA West First Rounds for the second straight year in the javelin. Fox is seeded 37th in the West Region.
Elijah Jackman, a junior from Tigard, Oregon, advances to the NCAA West First Rounds for the second straight year in the hammer throw. At the Big Sky Championships last week in Sacramento, Jackman placed second in the hammer, second in the discus, and seventh in the shot put to score 18 points for the Bobcats—tied for the team lead with Harvey Cramb. Jackman is seeded No. 36 in the West Region in the hammer.
Kyla Christopher-Moody, a graduate student from Royal Oak, Michigan, advances to the NCAA West First Rounds for the second straight year in the 5,000 meters. Christopher-Moody has set four school records in 2025 (indoor mile, indoor 3,000 meters, outdoor 1,500 meters, outdoor 5,000 meters) and has earned three All-Conference honors this season with podium finishes in the indoor 3,000 meters, indoor 5,000 meters, and outdoor 10,000 meters. Christopher-Moody is seeded 26th in the West Region in the 5,000 meters.
Grace Gilbreth, a senior from Bozeman, Montana, qualifies for College Station in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Gilbreth, the only Montana State woman ever to finish the steeplechase in under ten minutes, placed 25th at the NCAA West First Rounds last year in Fayetteville, and finished fourth in the event last week at the Big Sky Championships in Sacramento. The school record-holder is seeded 12th in the West Region.
Millie Hubbell, a junior from Littleton, Colorado, qualifies for NCAA Regionals in the 100 meter hurdles. Hubbell is making her first NCAA West First Rounds appearance following a spectacular season in which she finished second in the 60 meter hurdles at the Big Sky indoor championships and second in the 100 meter hurdles at the Big Sky outdoor championships. The junior is seeded 29th in the West Region.
Giulia Gandolfi, a junior from Faenza, Italy, qualifies both in the 400 meter hurdles and as part of the Bobcats’ 4×400 meter relay team. Gandolfi ran the third leg on the school-record relay team that enters College Station as the ninth-fastest squad in the field, and also currently holds the fifth-fastest 400 meter hurdle race in school history. Gandolfi is seeded No. 40 in the West Region in the 400 meter hurdles.
Peyton Garrison, a junior from New Castle, Colorado, qualifies in both the 200 meters and as part of the Bobcats’ 4×400 meter relay team. Garrison ran the second leg on the school-record relay team that enters College Station as the ninth-fastest squad in the field, and also holds the school record in the 200 meters. The junior earned a silver medal in the 4×100 meter relay last week at the Big Sky Championships and a bronze medal in the 200 meters. Garrison is seeded No. 45 in the West Region in the 200 meters.
Caroline Hawkes, Olivia Lewis, and Jadyn VanDyken will all travel to College Station as part of the qualifying 4×400 meter relay team. The squad is ranked ninth in the West Region thanks to their school-record time of 3:33.66 run at the Mt. SAC Relays in April. The top-12 relays from the 24 competing next week advance to Eugene.
Hailey Coey, a junior from Billings, Montana, qualifies for the NCAA West First Rounds in the long jump for the first time in her career after a breakthrough season. Coey broke her own school record in the long jump multiple times and is currently ranked second all-time in Big Sky Conference history in the event. The 2025 Big Sky indoor champion finished second at the outdoor conference meet last week and enters College Station seeded ninth in the West Region.
Tatum Richards, a sophomore from Emmett, Idaho, qualifies for the NCAA West First Rounds in the pole vault for the first time in her career. The 2025 Big Sky champion is currently tied for No. 2 all-time in Montana State history in the event (13-09.00) and will be one of a school-record three pole vaulters to compete at the regional stage next week. Richards is seeded 41st in the West Region.
Megan Bell, a freshman from Ann Arbor, Michigan, qualifies for the NCAA West First Rounds in the pole vault in her debut collegiate season. Bell recorded the top clearance in the Big Sky Conference during the regular season (13-08.25) and placed fourth at the Big Sky Championships last week in Sacramento. Bell is seeded 48th in the West Region.
The NCAA First Rounds will be streamed on ESPN+. A full meet schedule can be viewed here.
#GoCatsGo
| May 1, 2025
