At the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon, five athletes with Montana ties competed.
Washington State’s Lee Walburn (Whitefish) finished the first half of the men’s decathlon in 11th place with 3,976 points. The former NAIA champion from Carroll College, Walburn threw 49-2.5 feet in the shot put and in the final event of the day, won his heat of the 400 in a personal best 48.40 seconds from lane one. Walburn and the rest of the decathletes will complete the final five events Thursday. Decathlon leader Leo Neugebauer (Texas) set a first-day record with 4,685 points.
Montana State’s Levi Taylor, far left, and Rob McManus, far right, cross the finish line of the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Wednesday at the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
A trio of Bobcats ran the first heat of the men’s steeplechase with the goal of advancing to Friday’s final. Eastern Kentucky’s Abdelhakim Abouzouhir built a lead midway through, but the pack reeled it back down on the final lap in a sprint to the finish. MSU senior Levi Taylor (Laurel) got the lean at the line for the fifth and final automatic qualifying spot of the heat while competing in his third career appearance at the NCAA championships. Abouzouhir won the race in 8 minutes, 32.58 seconds, but Taylor’s 8:33.11 was just two one-hundredths ahead of sixth place as he closed the final lap in 59.98 seconds. Big Sky conference champion Rob McManus was seventh in 8:33.43, only three tenths of a second away from advancing on time, and Owen Smith (Billings Senior) was 12th in 9:04.23. Taylor will compete in the final Friday at 7:24 p.m. MDT.
THE SIGNATURE LEVI KICK ™️
Levi Taylor blasts ahead on the last stretch to punch the final bid to Friday’s NCAA Championships 3,000 meter steeplechase final! 😱#SteepleU | #GoCatsGo pic.twitter.com/NPtFkpPwWO
— Montana State TF/XC (@MSUBobcatsTFXC) June 6, 2024
Montana senior Evan Todd (Kalispell Glacier) competed in the men’s javelin during his first appearance at the NCAA meet. After fouling his first attempt, Todd launched a throw of 205 feet, 5 inches to get a mark. He improved on his third attempt to 214-1 to place 10th in the first heat and 22nd overall. Todd will get another trip to Eugene in just two weeks when he competes in the U.S. Olympic Trials by virtue of achieving the automatic qualifying mark during the Big Sky championships.
