BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Montana State track and field started strong at the NCAA West First Rounds on Wednesday, with all four Bobcat men’s athletes in action finishing in the top-25 in their events at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas.
Highlighting the day was Big Sky champion Harvey Cramb winning his heat of the 1,500 meters in comfortable fashion to advance to Friday’s national quarterfinal.
Elsewhere, Colby Wilson ended his legendary career tying for 15th in the pole vault, Sam Ells finished one spot out of advancing to Friday’s regional final in the 1,500 meters, and Elijah Jackman placed 25th in the hammer throw.
Following two thunderstorm delays, Jackman got Montana State’s day started in the men’s hammer throw by finishing well above his ranking entering the meet.
The junior from Tigard, Oregon, fouled his first attempt before launching a mark of 204-1 on his second throw.
Jackman stood in fourth through the first two of four progressively seeded flights, and finished his day in 25th having outpaced his original No. 36 seed among the 48 competitors on Wednesday.
Jackman closes the book on a 2025 season in which he earned three All-Big Sky honors, securing silver medals at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in the hammer and discus after earning silver in at the Big Sky Indoor Championships in the weight throw.
Later on the track, Harvey Cramb and Sam Ells ran gritty races as part of back-to-back heats in the 1,500 meters.
Cramb, a sophomore from Brisbane, Australia, executed his gameplan to perfection, never wavering from the top three spots in the pack and coasting down the home stretch to win his heat and secure a spot in Friday’s national quarterfinal.
Cramb, who came in seeded eighth in the West region, is now among the 24 remaining competitors in that event who will be trying to punch one of 12 tickets to the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene.
Friday’s race is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. CT.
Ells, a junior from Kalispell, Montana, came tantalizingly close to joining Cramb in Friday’s regional final.
The All-Big Sky cross country runner clocked the tenth-fastest time in prelims among the 48-man field (3:47.02), but finished as the first man out of qualifying as the tenth to cross the line in his heat.
In the four heats, the top-five finishers from each race advanced, plus the next four fastest times. All four of the wild card spots came out of Ells’ heat, which was by far the fastest race among the four sections—thus, despite running a race three seconds faster than his teammate, Cramb, the junior ended his season on the outside looking in from College Station.
Finally on Wednesday, a legendary career came to a close on the pole vault runway for five-time Big Sky champion Colby Wilson.
The graduate student from Olympia, Washington, tied for 15th, coming up just one bar shy of booking what would have been his fourth NCAA Championships appearance.
Wilson smoothly cleared the first and second bars on his opening attempts, gliding above the infield for clearances of 16-05.50 and 16-11.50.
Yet, with the wind playing a major factor, the veteran found more trouble at the next bar of 17-05.50–three close misses put his fate in the hands of the field, with 14 clearing the bar to put Wilson just barely on the wrong side of qualification for Eugene.
Wilson ends his career with an astonishing 34 career wins, including five Big Sky championship titles, both the indoor and outdoor Big Sky Championship meet records, school records in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault, the Big Sky Conference record indoors, and three NCAA Championship appearances with an All-American honor in 2022.
FROM THE COACH
“Elijah, Sam, Harvey, and Colby started our West Region Championships off on a great note by each competing and representing Montana State so well. Elijah started us off by competing really well in the hammer throw and finishing significantly higher than where he was ranked coming into the meet. Sam Ells fought in the 1,500 meters and just narrowly missed making it to the next round on Friday. Harvey Cramb executed his race in the 1,500 meters perfectly and moved to the next round on Friday where he is one race away from qualifying for the NCAA final round in Eugene. Bobcat legend Colby Wilson finished out his record-setting career and just narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA final round. Colby had an unprecedented career spanning so many years of elite performance. He leaves an incredible legacy.”
UP NEXT
Montana State’s women take to E.B. Cushing Stadium on Thursday for their first day of competition at the NCAA West First Rounds.
Clara Fox, a sophomore from Bozeman, competes in the javelin at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Shortly after, Hailey Coey looks to continue one of the all-time seasons by a Bobcat in the long jump at 4:30 p.m. CT. The junior from Billings is ranked ninth in the West Region and will be in an advantageous position to try to make it to Eugene as part of the final flight.
For the first time in program history, multiple women’s pole vaulters will compete at the regional stage, with both Big Sky champion Tatum Richards (seeded 41st) and Megan Bell (seeded 48th) in action at 5:30 p.m. CT. in the national semifinals.
At 6 p.m. CT. on Thursday, Big Sky Conference record-holder Sydney Brewster enters the shot put ring. The sophomore is ranked 13th in the West region, and will be joined in the event by fellow sophomore teammate Emma Brensdal, ranked 29th in the West.
Also at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, junior Millie Hubbell races in the prelims of the 100 meter hurdles. The two-time Big Sky silver medalist currently holds the second-fastest time in program history and is seeded 29th in the West region.
At 8:20 p.m. CT, junior Giulia Gandolfi will race in the prelims of the 400 meter hurdles. The native of Faenza, Italy, is doubling this week in College Station, and hopes to run twice on Saturday—once in the 400 meter hurdle final and again as part of the 4×400 meter relay.
In the final event on Thursday, school record-holder Peyton Garrison gets in the starting blocks for the 200 meters at 8:45 p.m. CT. Garrison, seeded 45th, will also run in the Bobcats’ 4×400 meter relay on Saturday evening.
The NCAA West First Rounds will stream live on ESPN+ with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT on Thursday, and beginning at 4 p.m. MT/5 p.m. CT on both Friday and Saturday.
A full meet schedule is available here and start lists can be viewed here. A meet central webpage with links to live results, information, streaming, and more can be found here.
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