MSU Track & Field Announces 2017 Outdoor Team Awards

Casey Teska

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

6/15/2017 8:53:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

The Montana State track and field squad announced its award winners for the outdoor season following the conclusion of the 2017 slate

By: Andrew Pedersen

The Montana State track and field squad announced its award winners for the outdoor season following the conclusion of the 2017 slate.

Juniors Kyle Douglass and Amanda Jaynes earned the men's and women's teams' Top Gun Awards, respectively.

Douglass recorded 139 points throughout the duration of the season behind 12 first-place finishes. The junior competed in four meets during the Bobcats' swing in California in March and advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary Round in two events. The Missoula native's highlight appearance of the year came at the Big Sky Conference Championships, where he earned his first gold medal of his collegiate career in the shot put and finished runner-up in the discus.

Jaynes accumulated 94 points during the outdoor campaign for the Bobcats. The hurdler advanced to the West Prelims and finished 16th overall in the 400 hurdles. She won gold at the conference meet in that event and also finished third in the 100 hurdles. Jaynes had a total of 11 first-place finishes during the year. She completed the season as a member of MSU's school-record 4x400 relay squad, tied for second all-time in the 400 hurdles and fourth in 100 hurdles.

Earning Outstanding Field Event Performer honors were Douglass for the men's team and Casey Teska on the women's side.

Teska completed her final season as a Bobcat at the West Prelims in Austin with a team-high third appearance at the meet. She finished fourth at the Big Sky Conference Championships after previously topping her lifetime-best mark in the pole vault during the year, which moved her up to second in program history.

Diego Leon and Christopher Lange shared Outstanding Track Event Performer of the Year accolades on the men's side, while Alyssa Snyder was the women's team's award winner.

Leon completed the year by crossing the line in second place at the Big Sky Championships in the 5,000 in Sacramento. He also joined the top 10 in the 5,000 in the MSU record book with her personal-best time of 14:13.20 during MSU's trip to California. Lange earned all-conference honors for the first time of his career by finishing third in the 400 hurdles at the Big Sky Outdoor meet. He received the bronze medal by registering a lifetime-best mark of 52.77.

Alyssa Snyder became the Bobcat women's team's fifth outdoor All-American by breaking her previous school record on the way to finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships in Eugene.

McKenna Ramsay was named the women's team's Outstanding Freshman of the Year while four men's team members were recognized as Outstanding Freshman Class honorees.

Ramsay was a member of MSU's school-record 4x400 relay squad that earned silver at the Big Sky meet. She also placed fifth overall in the 400. Her personal-best of 54.84 is the fourth best in program history.

Cameron Carroll, Noah Martin, Alec Nehring and Caleb Neth all shared the honors of Outstanding Freshmen on the men's team.

Carroll joined MSU's top 10 list at seventh in the 800 and finished fourth at the Big Sky Championships in the event. Martin moved up to fifth in the men's high jump all-time top 10 and took fourth at the conference meet. Nehring had two point-scoring performances in the throwing events at the Big Sky meet, placing sixth in the discus and seventh in the shot put. Neth participated in his first decathlon and led MSU with a fifth-place finish in Sacramento.

The Most Improved Award winners on the men's side were Lange and Douglass. Snyder and Christie Schiel were recognized for the women's team.

Teammates of the Year recognition went to Schiel, Taylor Buschy, Mason Storm and Adam Wollant.