MSU Men Finish Fourth, Women Sixth at Big Sky

Saturday, October 27

Flagstaff, AZ

M- 10:00 AM; W- 11:00 AM

Montana State University

BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP

10/27/2012 7:10:00 PM | Cross Country

Asay and Demorest lead Bobcats

By: Lincoln Mansch

Head coach Dale Kennedy was right when he said that “anything could happen” heading into the 2012 Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championship. It turns out that “anything” meant “a lot of things.” (Men's Results | Women's Results)

The Montana State Men's Cross Country team placed fourth of 11 programs at this year's championship with 97 points. Northern Arizona defended their 2011 title with 24 points.

NAU swept the podium, taking first, second, and third places in the Men's 8K. The individual championship went to Brian Shrader, who clocked in with a time of 24:55.9.

Michael Asay, a transfer from New Mexico was the biggest surprise as he was the highest finisher for the Blue and Gold in Flagstaff. In the men's 8K race, he placed tenth overall to earn his first All-Big Sky Conference nod. He clocked in with a time of 25:32.7.

Jacob Kirk, who came in ninth last season, placed 14th, clocking in at 25:55.8. Seth Garbett finished with a time of 26:10.7 for 19th. Zachary Kughn clocked in with a time of 26:36.0 to finish 26th overall. Cristian Soratos was the highest finisher for MSU except for the MSU Invite finished in 28th with a time of 26:37.7. Forrest Jarvi placed 30th with 26:41.7, as Trevor Polson's time of 26:44.4 was good for 32nd. In 54th overall was Jakob Woodlund with a time of 27:46.4.

MSU placed third as a team in 2011 (behind NAU and Weber). Jacob Kirk was the highest finisher, placing ninth to earn All-Big Sky Conference honors (25:16.89), as Trevor Polson finished 21st overall with a time of 26:25.31. Seth Garbett's 2011 time of 26:57.64 placed him in 30th overall, as Forrest Jarvi finished 40th with 27:21.73.

The Bobcat women, who were picked fifth in the preseason poll, finished sixth of 11 Big Sky teams with 179 points. Weber State, who took the team title in 2011, repeated the previous year's performance as team champions. Like NAU in the men's competition, the Wildcat Women swept the top three places in the 5K race.

Weber State's Amber Henry won the race in 16:59.7.

MSU's top finisher was, once again, Heather Demorest who repeated her 2011 performance by placing 16^th for the second year in a row. Demorest crossed the finish line in 18:07.4.

Rachel Atwood finished 26th overall with 18:32.3. Megan Beam clocked in with a time of 19:09.2, placing her in 46th, with teammate Emily Garneau finishing close behind in 47th with 19:10.9. She finished 50th with a time of 20:39.5 in 2011. Rachel Sullivan placed in 49th with a time of 19:17.7. Michelle Cline came in 51st with 19:20.6, as Kaylee Schmitz's time 19:44.0 placed her in 56th. Taylor Rather rounded out the Bobcats placing in 58th with a time of 20:36.81.

MSU placed fourth in 2011 (Weber, Idaho State, NAU). Demorest was highest finisher and has been all of 2012.

"We're a little disappointed with our team finishes today but there were some great things that still happened out there," said head coach Dale Kennedy. "We had some kids with some very solid races, Demorest and Atwood on the women's side and Asay, Kirk and Garbett for the men. We'll keep focused and regroup a bit and really focus on the regional meet coming up. We can certainly use this a stepping stone and continue to move forward."

Montana State, riding the momentum of the Conference meet, will take another two weeks off and continue their preparations for the second half of the season. Both teams will travel to Fort Collins, Colo. for the NCAA Mountain Regional Championship hosted by Colorado State on Nov. 9.