Whitefish’s Wilde wins high jump at Big Sky Indoor

Montana had limited expectations entering the Big Sky Indoor Championships in Flagstaff, Arizona, last weekend, picked in the preseason poll to finish fifth and ninth in the league on the men's and women's sides, respectively.
Head coach Doug Fraley's squads blew those expectations away, finishing third on the men's side and fourth on the women's.
The Grizzly men scored 69 points, the most points and the best finish for the Montana men's team since 2014.
The women scored 66.5 points and had their best showing since 2017, when they finished second at the conference meet. They also had two Big Sky Champions in the same meet for the first time since 2019.
"It means the world to our program. At some point when you're building a program, you've got to get validation through team finishes,” Fraley said. “I feel like we're starting to get in that area where we are getting some validation with what we're doing in the program." 

Erin Wilde, a junior from Whitefish, entered Saturday with three Big Sky titles already to her name and had not lost a competition yet this season. 

A competitive field pushed Wilde to new heights, as she broke the Montana school record and became the first female in school history to clear the six-foot mark. She did it on her first attempt, winning her fourth straight conference crown with the best jump of her career.
"Erin knows how to get it done at championship meets and it was just awesome to watch her, not only win her fourth consecutive Big Sky title, but do it in style with a new PR, school record and joining the 6-foot club," Fraley said. "That's a huge milestone for women's collegiate high jump, and it's fantastic."
Wilde's mark ties her for 17th in the country, putting her among the nation's elite in the event. The top 16 athletes are selected to participate at the Indoor NCAA National Championships.