BILLINGS, Mont. – The University of Providence track and field team kicked off their outdoor season with a successful weekend, finishing third on both the men's and women's side of the Icebreaker Open on Saturday in Billings.

The women's side finished with 119 points, trailing only MSU-Billings (182 points) and Montana Tech (151 points). The men's team finished with 98.5, behind MSU-Billings (153 points) and Rocky Mountain (129.5).

"We were solid," head coach Tony Arntson said. "We competed well. We got out there and put down some marks to start the season. Our conditioning was good in some areas and not as good as it needed to be in others. I'm happy with where we're at."

The Argos had two National Qualifiers during the event – McKenzie Clark qualified in the javelin throw and Jillian Sanchez qualified in the discus. Clark recorded a mark of 44.20 meters, passing the A standard, while Sanchez had a mark of 43.34 meters, crossing the B standard.

"I'm very proud of those two," Arntson said. "For them to come out in the first meet of the year and perform the way they did is pretty impressive. It's going to be fun to see how they progress throughout the season as they prepare for Nationals."

The Argo throwers had a dominant day on the women's side, taking first, second and third place in the hammer throw. Allyson Conner won the event with a mark of 46.37 meters, while Sanchez finished right behind her with a throw of 46.36 meters.  Kathryn Evans finished third at 41.51 meters.

The team also took the top three spots in the shot put. Sanchez won the event (11.96 meters), Tatiana Martinez finished second (11.23 meters) and Conner finished third (11.13 meters).

On the men's side, Rico Pryor had an all-around performance, winning the hammer throw (48.65 meters), taking second in the discus (40.73 meters) and finishing third in the shot put (12.84 meters).

 "Our throwers stole the day," Arntson said. "Those guys had a big day. They were fun to watch."

Violet Johnson also had a successful day, finishing third in the women's pole vault with a mark of 2.95 meters. Kaitlyn Gilbert finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 8.84 meters. Calla Haldorson finished third in the discus throw at 38.73 meters.

On the men's side, Justin Krabbenhoft won the high jump with a mark of 1.80 meters, while Shane Girres 6.65 meters finished third in the long jump at 6.65 meters. Hudson Jones finished third in the javelin with a mark of 45.50 meters.

"We were solid today," Arntson said. "We competed well. We had a chance to go out and put down some marks. We get to go back to work for a couple of weeks before our next meet."

The team will next compete in a meet hosted by Rocky Mountain College on April 2^nd in Billings, Montana.