Off and Running

Friday, October 4

Missoula, MT

10:30am (Women); 11:15am (Men)

Montana State University

MONTANA OPEN

The Montana State Women's Cross Country team, along with the men's team, will look for a third consecutive team win at the Montana Invitational

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

10/2/2013 12:51:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country

Cross Country heads to Missoula for Montana Open

By: Leslie Masterpaul

After a big 2013 debut, the Montana State Cross Country team is ready to take to the course for a second time and keep pushing for major success when they compete at the Montana Open. Hosted by rival Montana, the Bobcats will face off with many of their regular season foes at the University of Montana Golf Course in the Friday, Oct. 4 races.

Last time out, both the men's and women's teams saw huge improvements at the Bozeman Running Company Invitational back on Sept. 21, at Bridger Creek Golf Course. Cristian Soratos and Heather Demorest took individual honors in their respective races and will look to keep the pace again in Missoula.

"You have to be dedicated to be good, know how to push yourself at the right times," said Soratos, a senior. "It was great to get the win last time out and a big confidence booster, especially running in a tight pack like that as a team. Each week we need to focus on the task at hand and our training and make sure we'll peak at the right time."

Soratos led the Bobcat men to the overall team title at the BRC Invite and will look to lead the Bobcat pack to a third consecutive win at the Montana Invitational. The senior from Salinas, Calif. won the 2012 Men's 8K race, and had a serious supplement from his teammates, taking the top seven scoring spots.

The MSU women took second at the BRC Invite but will also seek a third straight team win at the Montana Open. Demorest, after winning her first meet of her final season of competition, should continue to see fast times. She was the top scoring finished at the meet in 2012.

"It takes a lot of hard work," said Demorest. "It was good for me to run a strong race, not so much the win but a consistent race. It helped the team in building our confidence, as well. We are all really dedicated to both our individual and team goals and each meet is a chance to put that dedication to work."

Following their wins in Bozeman, both Soratos and Demorest were named Big Sky Cross Country Athletes of the Week, assisting their teams to earn a place in the USTFCCCA Mountain Regional rankings.

"There's a lot of season to go, but the first week we saw some great competition, and we expect more on Friday," said head coach Dale Kennedy. "We know we are better this season, especially the women's program. We should see some strong racing in Missoula.

The Women's 6K race is slated for a 10:30 a.m. start, followed by the men's 8K at 11:15 a.m.