Santi Sets Program Record as Bulldogs Compete in Spokane and Butte

SPOKANE, Wash. / BUTTE — Montana Western track and field athlete Justene Santi set a modern-era program record in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase Friday at the Jeff Rahn Classic in Spokane, highlighting a weekend that saw Bulldogs competing across two meets.

Santi turned in a personal-best time of 12:26.37, finishing fourth and etching her name into the program record books.

Also in Spokane, Brody Henry posted a season-best 1:57.82 in the men’s 800 meters, finishing 12th.

Back in Montana at the second installment of the Montana Tech Spring Series, Western athletes delivered several solid performances in the throwing events.

Layne Cooney led the men’s side with a fourth-place finish in the discus, recording a season-best 45.37 meters (148-10). He also placed seventh in the hammer throw with a mark of 42.07 meters (138-00).

In the women’s hammer throw, Braden Kopp finished sixth with a toss of 30.38 meters (99-08).

Saturday’s events opened with the women’s discus, where Kopp led the Bulldogs with a 10th-place finish. Kendalyn Streck, Ellie Stutsman, Brielle Davis, and Sarah Clark also competed in the event.

In the shot put, Streck placed seventh with a throw of 10.61 meters (34-09.75), followed by Stutsman and Kopp.

On the track, Olivia Heiner recorded a sixth-place finish in the women’s 10,000 meters with a time of 43:28.55, while Mason Lynch placed 19th in the men’s 3000 meters.

The men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Tristan Von Bargen, Brody Henry, Bridger Wheeler, and Michael Reistroffer took fifth with a time of 3:45.66.

Montana Western returns to action next weekend at the Trudnowski Open in Helena.