CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's and women's track and field teams will be heading to Moscow, Idaho this week for the 2018 Big Sky Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by the University of Idaho.

Multis will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the rest of the meet will be ran on Thursday and Friday.

Words From Coach Houle

On the state of the men's team headed to Moscow…

"We're definitely a very competitive team on the men's side, so I don't think it's a reach to say we should be in the top five," SUU head coach Eric Houle said. "Do we have a shot to win it? Obviously, yes. I think things have got to happen on a lot of fronts but we're going in there as one of the top teams in the conference which is always nice, especially after the long haul we have from August to now."

On what he expects from the women's side…

"It's been a process of bringing them along in terms of knowing how we stacked up against the conference," he said. "But choosing meets, doing the recruiting that needed to be done and having the training right on I think has paid dividends in the development of these athletes. They'll be contending for some conference titles, and others will be pushing their marks to get into the first round of the NCAA's."

Athletes To Watch

Men's Team

Mike Tate (1,500-meter & 5,000-meter) - In what will be his final Big Sky Championship, Thunderbird senior Mike Tate will look to go out with a bang. Tate will compete in the 5K in Moscow, where he's currently ranked 7th in the league after the Payton Jordan Invitational. He will also compete in the 1,500, where he ran a 3:50.10 earlier this season at the Highlander Twilight. That mark puts him 9th in the Big Sky.

Tre James (100-meter, 200-meter & 4x100) - With the top time in both the 100-meter and 200-meter amongst those in the Big Sky Conference, Tre James is primed for a big week. At the Big Sky Indoor Championships, James claimed the title in the 60-meter and finished second in the 200-meter.  

Devon Montgomery (110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, 4x400) - With the top 110-meter hurdles time in the Big Sky and the second 400-meter hurdles time, Devon Montgomery will look to put big numbers on the board at the 2018 Conference Championship as he seeks his third-straight trip to NCAA Regional competition in three seasons with the program.  

Skyler Porcaro (Javelin) - With the top mark in the Big Sky Conference, Skylar Porcaro will look to bring home the gold in the men's javelin this week in Moscow. Porcaro also sits No. 6 in the NCAA West Region in the event.

Women's Team

Angie Nickerson (5,000-meter & 10,000-meter) - After claiming a pair of Big Sky titles at the Indoor Championships, Angie Nickerson will enter the meet this weekend as the favorite in both the 5K and the 10K. She posted a 16:16.60 at last week's Payton Jordan Invitational in the 5K, and ran a 33:34.47 10K at the Mt. SAC Relays earlier this season.

Sharlie Dimick (1,500-meter & 5,000-meter) - Fresh off breaking the SUU school record in the 1,500-meter, Sharlie Dimick will enter the Big Sky Championships as the favorite in that event. Dimick will also be looking to improve upon her 5K time, as she set a 17:14.76 at the Steve Scott Invitational earlier this season.

Mia Russell (100-meter, 200-meter, 4x100, 4x400) - In the midst of her junior season, Mia Russell will enter the Big Sky Championships ranked fourth in the 100-meter with an altitude adjusted 11.93, and sixth in the 200-meter with an altitude adjusted 24.38. She is also likely to compete on both relay teams for Southern Utah this weekend.  

Jentry Skidmore (Heptathlon & Long Jump) - With an opportunity to score first for the Thunderbirds, Jentry Skidmore will compete in the heptathlon where she posted the fourth-highest score in the Big Sky this season at the 2018 BYU Robison Invitational. She will also compete in the long jump, where she's ranked 10th in the Big Sky.   

Big Sky At A Glance

Entering the Big Sky Outdoor season the Thunderbirds were selected to be the second-best team on the men's side and the sixth-best team on the women's side.

Prior to the start of the year, Northern Arizona was picked to win the league on both the men's and women's sides, and will enter the 2018 edition of the Big Sky Outdoor Championships as the favorite. NAU's men's team is currently ranked No. 14 by the USTFCCCA.  

In 2017, Sacramento State's men's team and Northern Arizona's women's team took home the Big Sky Conference trophies.

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