Glacier Grad Nicholson Places Fourth in Big Sky Decathlon

Montana State redshirt freshman Hunter Nicholson had a career best finish at the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 13 as the decathlon wrapped up two days of competition.

Decathletes compete in 10 different track and field disciplines over the course of two days and Nicholson was sitting in fifth place after the first day of events, one spot behind teammates Caleb Neth. Top five finishes in the long jump (21-04.75) and the shot put (37-11.5), which was a personal best, kept him near the top of the field.

On Thursday, both Bobcats improved one spot to finish third and fourth. Nicholson’s fourth place finish is his highest at a Big Sky Conference championship. He has previously finished 11th and ninth in the heptathlon, the indoor equivalent of the decathlon. Weber State’s Caleb Whitney won the conference title with 7,061 points.

Nicholson completed his decathlon with 6,143 points. The Kalispell native had the fourth best marks in the discus (107-05) and the pole vault (14-01.75), a season best, which helped him stay one point ahead of the sixth place decathlete from Eastern Washington.

Neth and Nicholson combined for 11 team points for Montana State to lift the Bobcats into second place in the early team standings. Nicholson is slated to compete in the individual pole vault as well, where he sits just inside the top 20 in the conference.

While competing at Glacier High School, Nicholson won a state title in the triple jump as a junior and had a half dozen top-10 finishes at state in his four years with the Wolfpack.

Individual events get started at the Big Sky Championships on Friday afternoon and will continue Saturday. The meet will be streamed live on PlutoTV, while live results will be posted here.