Montana sophomore Matt Quist turned a career-best effort in the high jump Friday evening in Bozeman into a Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week award on Monday.
Quist, the men’s field winner of the four-athlete award, went 6-10.75 to win the high jump and move into a tie atop the Big Sky performance list in the event.
It was the first career Athlete of the Week honor for Quist and the first indoor track and field Athlete of the Week award for the Montana men’s program since Joey Frank, a thrower, was recognized in 2010.
Quist, who entered the season with a collegiate best of 6-6.75, had gone 6-8.75 or 6-9 three times this season before breaking through to a new height at Montana State’s last-chance qualifier on Friday.
“That’s something he’s been wanting to get for a long time,” said UM coach Brian Schweyen, who takes his teams back to Bozeman this week for the Big Sky Conference indoor championships.
“He had some really good attempts at 7-0.75, so going into this week he should be feeling pretty good about himself and his ability to jump high.”
Quist, a 2014 graduate of Flathead High, placed eighth in the high jump at last year’s indoor championships as a freshman. He tied for 10th at the outdoor championships.
Quist opened his sophomore campaign going 6-8.75 in early December at Eastern Washington’s Candy Cane VIII. He went 6-9 at Montana State in January and 6-8.75 at MSU earlier this month.
His career-best jump has him tied atop the Big Sky performance list with Weber State junior Anthony Gregory, who went 6-10.75 in early December but hasn’t gone higher than 6-8.75 since.
“He’s been very consistent and very steady for us,” says Schweyen. “He works hard, and he competes really well.
“He believes he can be a champion. He just needs to go over to Bozeman this week and be relaxed, and use the confidence he’s already built up within himself. If he does that, everything will be fine.”
The Big Sky championships open Thursday at Montana State’s Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.