Brisendine’s triple jump bumps her into scholarship
FRITZ NEIGHBOR | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 10 months AGO
Glacier’s Taylor Brisendine signs a letter of intent to Montana State University on Thursday, where she will compete in track and field. Brisendine earned a scholarship after posting a career-high triple jump mark at the State AA meet last week. (Photo courtesy Mark Dennehy)
SPORTS EDITOR Fritz Neighbor is the Sports Editor for the Daily Inter Lake. He oversees sports coverage across the Flathead Valley, including high school athletics, youth sports, and regional competitions. In his leadership role, he helps shape the newspaper’s sports coverage and editorial direction. Fritz’s column, Full Count, taps into his decades’ long career covering Montana sports. You’ll also see Fritz sharing his thoughts and insights on the Big Sky Now podcast. IMPACT: Fritz’s work celebrates the athletes and teams that bring Northwest Montana communities together. | June 4, 2021 6:01 PM
A career day meant everything for Glacier product Taylor Brisendine, who took off at the MCPS Stadium triple jump pit on May 29 and landed on a scholarship to Montana State University.
The Wolfpack standout dueled Missoula Sentinel’s Audrey McElmurry for the State AA title, and marked 39 feet, 4 inches on her final attempt to take the lead.
The sting of McElmurry winning — she went 39-7.5 on her final jump — was lessened because Brisendine had hit the mark needed to get money from MSU’s track and field program.
“Taylor got a hold of me pretty early on (in the school year) and asked me what it would take for her to get on scholarship,” Dustin Cicholz, MSU’s jumps coach, said Thursday. “Her marks weren’t there just yet, but you don’t count a Montana girl out until the season’s over.”
As soon as the season was over, Brisendine texted Cicholz with her mark. He can’t be blamed for asking for clarification: Her previous best had been 37-2.
“He was like, ‘Wait, did you say 39-4?’ ” said Brisendine, who signed her letter of intent to MSU at Glacier High Thursday. “I had started to kind of settle down to having walk-on status. I still thought it was pretty cool; and people were proud of me. Then after I hit 39 I was super excited. I was excited about competing in the sport even before I got money for it.”
Brisendine, who also hit career bests in the 100 hurdles (15.48 seconds) and long jump (17-11.25) at state, is leaning toward studying business at MSU, with an eye toward real estate and interior design.
Cicholz is a former MSU jumper just finishing his third season as a Bobcat coach — triple jumper Lucy Corbett made it to the NCAA Championships that begin June 11 — said Brisendine’s personality and perseverance helped her recruitment.
Brisendine suffered knee and leg injuries early in her 2019 soccer season, and affected her participation in track some this spring. Cicholz fought illness and injury early in his MSU athletic career.
“She told me her story and we kind of connected,” Cicholz said. “She had told me, ‘I know I can jump these numbers, and if that’s what you need me to do, I’ll do it.’ We can kind of joke about it now, but she went out and did it.”
ARTICLES BY FRITZ NEIGHBOR
Flathead Crusaders claim national title
The Flathead Valley Crusaders, a local home-schooled basketball team, made a bit of history in February when they overcame injury and made a late-season push to the Montana Christian Athletic Association boys state title. They weren’t done.
Baseball: Wolfpack 9 ready to take to diamond
Erik Brink didn’t move to the Flathead Valley to teach and coach; it just turned out that way.
Full Count: Have to ask, Will it play in Meridian?
When we sit back to watch the Big Sky Conference absorb another lopsided loss at the NCAA Tournament — Idaho's men play Houston at 8:10 p.m. local time Thursday on that channel we watch once a year, TRUTV — we can at least root for the home-grown kids.