POCATELLO, Idaho – A Duo of Bengal Champions highlighted Day Three of the 2023 Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Greeley, Friday afternoon.
The day started with Gold for the Bengals. Battling the elements in the men's high jump, a trio of Bengals competed against the conference's best.
In the end, Owen Mitchell came out victorious, clearing a height of 2.05m (6-8.75). Mitchell repeats as back-to-back outdoor high jump champion, capping off a successful Big Sky career in the Orange and Black. Mitchell now sets his eyes on the NCAA West Region Championship.
Michael Shulikov and Ethan Garrett came in at fifth and sixth respectively, both clearing 2.02m (6-7.5). All three Bengals earned points for the men's team.
The second amazing accomplishment of the day came in the men's discus competition. After finishing second in 2022, Axel Tirado-Sanchez entered the Championship meet with one goal in sight, a conference championship.
His first throw of the day won him the championship at 57.08m, but Tirado-Sanchez wasn't done. Stepping back into the cage, Tirado-Sanchez steeled himself and launched his disc an amazing 60.41m (198-02).
The mark not only breaks the ISU school record he previously held but is also the fifth-best in Big Sky Conference History. The mark ranks the Bengal Sophomore top-10 in the NCAA West Region and Top-15 in the NCAA.
That wasn't the only hardware the Bengals were bringing home in the event. On his final throw of the day, Zack Ramos threw a mark of 54.50m (178-10) to earn an All-Conference third-place bronze medal.
Madi Kenyon earned points for the Bengals in the women's 3000m Steeplechase. Kenyon crossed the line seventh in 11:18.80, grabbing two points for the women's team.
Coming back to the field events, Katelyn Dickemore earned more points for the Bengals in the women's shot put. On her first throw of the day, Dickemore threw a personal best 13.44m (44-1.25) to finish seventh and earn two points.
Track Preliminaries
Preliminaries for Saturday's track finals took place Friday afternoon in Greeley. With high winds and inclement weather, the Bengals kept fighting qualifying for a number of Saturday's finals.
Kyndal Martin set the tone early, showing why she led the conference in the 100m Hurdles. In heat two, Martin crossed the line in 13.51 seconds to win her heat and advance to the finals with the best qualifying time.
Martin came right back in the 400mH, qualifying for tomorrow's final with a time of 62.62 seconds.
Zachary Cox took over on the men's side, qualifying for tomorrow's 400mH finals with the No.1 time of 52.19 seconds. Cox then qualified in the 100mH with a time of 14.31 seconds.
Presley Timmons is into Saturday's 800m final with a preliminary seventh-place finish time of 2:13.64.
The Bengals conclude the 2023 Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships tomorrow with the finals of the track events and the conclusion of the field events.
To follow along with live results Click Here.
The meet will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
