December 5, 2007

Jackets’ Merrill-Johnson Takes a Pair of Seconds
   Complete Results

SPEARFISH, S.D. – Montana State Billings track and field athlete Micah Merrill-Johnson placed second in both the 800 meter (2:31.59) and 1500 (5:09.5) meter run at the Yellowjackets’ first-ever NCAA track and field meet hosted by Black Hills State University Tuesday. 

Merrill-Johnson, a junior from Salt Lake City, is also a member of the Yellowjacket women’s soccer team during the fall season.  Merrill-Johnson’s teammates Amanda Baum (Winston) and Betsy Miller (Deer Lodge) placed fourth and fifth respectively in the 55-meter dash turning in times of 8.1 and 9.3 seconds.  Baum cruised her way through the 55-meter hurdles taking second place in a time of 9.5 seconds. 

In the throwing events, the Lady Jackets’ Lexi Halvorson (Billings) placed fourth in the shot put with a distance of 11.96 meters.  Kelsee Clark (Geraldine) placed eighth with a distance of 9.73 meters while Kacie Vanderloos (Hysham) was ninth with 9.22 meters.

Nathan Diede (Lambert) finished fourth in both the men’s 55-meter with a time of 6.8 seconds and the 200-meter with 23.66 seconds.  Jackets’ harrier cross-over Jarred Rensvold (Wolf Point) finished third in the 1500-meter with a 4:12.1 and fourth in the 3000 with a 9:43.54. 

Joe Houghton (Billings) flew 6.07 meters in placing fifth in the long jump and finished third in the triple jump with a distance of 12 meters flat.  Kyle Richards (Whitehall) finished sixth in the men’s shot put throwing for a distance of 12.36 meters.

“I am real proud of the way the kids performed today,” said Yellowjacket head coach Dave Coppock.  “Although we competed well in our first meet of the season, we all know we have a lot of ground to gain and are looking forward to seeing our times and distances improve as the season goes on.”

The Yellowjackets are idle until January 25th when the team will travel to Bozeman, Mont., to compete at the Montana State University Open.