Results

GREELY, Colo. – Deante Gaines left the Big Sky Outdoor Conference Championship with the familiar weight of hardware in his hands after claiming the triple jump title and winning the Most Valuable Athlete award on Saturday.
 
Gaines was behind Montana State's Kevin Close for three attempts before sequencing a 15.05m series of jumps to clinch the victory.
 
"Indoor season I lost to the Montana kid that was beating me and I told myself I wasn't going to lose to him again," Gaines said. "It feels a little more special because this year as a team we've gotten closer and pretty much my whole team was there supporting me in the triple jump."
 
He has now won three Big Sky titles in three attempts, all coming in the triple jump. Gaines is the back-to-back defending champion of the indoor triple jump.
 
Gaines earned all-conference status in the high jump as well, recording a personal best 2.06m clear. He also had a fourth-place finish with Khalil Abdul-Hakim, Bret Davide, and Robert Counts in the men's 4x100m relay. On Friday, he placed third in the long jump with a 7.41m leap. Gaines was honored with the Most Valuable Athlete award for his achievements during the awards ceremony.
 
"Most of my teammates were telling me they wouldn't be surprised if I got most outstanding athlete," Gaines said. "Then they called me for the MVA award. I was super shocked and my team was screaming for me so it was just a great feeling to know that I have so much support."
 
On Nottingham Field's track, Sasha Kent ran a stellar race in the 1,500m and finished with a time of 4:32.81in fifth. She entered the conference championships without a top-20 time in the 1,500m, but was entered through a wildcard by the Idaho State coaching staff. Wyatt Didericksen ran a 3:50.16 in the men's 1,500m for a seventh-place finish.
 
A day after posting the third-best 100m hurdle time in ISU history, Danielle Rausch secured fourth place in the finals with a 14.15 second finish. Dan Garz followed up his blistering 800m prelim race with a sixth-place finish and time of 1:56.26 in the final. Bret Davide crossed the line in seventh during the 400m dash with a time of 48.23.
 
In the field, Samantha Simmons finished in fourth after elevating 3.80m in the women's pole vault. Bailey Bars finished fourth in the women's javelin with a 44.63m heave. In the triple jump, Kaitlin Sorensen soared 11.60m to claim seventh.
 
The most impressive performance came from senior Shelby Erdahl. Erdahl sustained an injury after striking the second hurdle in the 400m hurdles.
 
"She hurt her foot then hopped on one foot for over 300 meters," Merkley said. "She stepped over hurdles to score a point for finishing. The entire stadium was on their feet cheering for Idaho State. She said she had to finish."
 
Erdahl finished the race nearly two minutes after the victor to score a memorable point for the women's team.