Montana State University
BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP
Cross Country to Host Big Sky Championship Meet
11/1/2013 12:09:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
MSU Runners prepped for success
The Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championship Meet is always a special occasion. When you have that meet on your home course, for the first time since 2004, it makes it even more of an event. Montana State Cross Country gets to be a part of the best of both worlds when they set out on Saturday, Nov. 2, in search of elite performances at Bridger Creek Golf Course.
The Bobcats have full rosters ready to go in both the Women's 3-Mile and Men's 5-Mile races.
"Everyone has an opportunity on Saturday to shock the preseason polls and where we stand on paper," said head coach Dale Kennedy. "We're on our own turf; we know the course and how to run it properly."
Both races feature 95 student-athletes from the 11 Big Sky Conference institutions, with each program, declaring up to 10 men and 10 women, then a final declaration of no more than eight runners per gender.
The Bobcat Women were voted fourth in the Big Sky's preseason poll, following a sixth place finish just one year ago. After starting the season unranked in the USTFCCCA Mountain Region polls, they immediately jumped to 10th place following the Bozeman Running Company Invitational on Sept. 21, marking their first appearance in the regional polls since the 2010 season. Since the Week 2 poll, MSU has climbed to the eighth spot, where they sit headed into Saturday's race.
Heather Demorest, the team's front runner for the 2013 and 2012 seasons, enters the race with high hopes and expectations, having the ability to be an All-Conference selection (top-10 finisher). She finished 16th in both 2012 and 2011. The Darby, Mont. native won both the Bozeman Running Company Invite and the Montana Open earlier this season.
MSU has also seen improvement from Rachel Atwood who has run in the number two spot for most of her two seasons, and Coach Kennedy will expect to see her in the front pack at Bridger Creek. Freshman Jenette Northey and Mackenzie O'Dore and Christie Schiel should also add depth in the race.
"This is our best women's team in a long time," said Kennedy. "We've finished in sixth place in four of the last five years and we're ready to make out move toward the top."
The Bobcat Women do have their work cut out for them as both Northern Arizona and Weber State, ranked fourth and fifth in the Mountain Region, respectively, will be in attendance. Weber State's Amber Henry is the 2011 and 2012 champion and will seek a record third-consecutive individual title, despite not having competed yet this fall.
Weber State earned Team Championship honors in 2012, followed by Southern Utah and Northern Arizona.
In the men's field, Montana State faces a similar challenge. After winning both the Bozeman Running Company Invite and the Montana Open, the team put together a very strong showing at the Pre-National Invitational. At Pre-Nationals, they came in 13th as a team in the elite Blue race, clearly showing they are potentially a force to be reckoned with, especially following a fourth rank in the Big Sky pre-season poll.
After the first race of the season, the Bobcats jumped five spots in the Mountain Region polls from 13th to eighth, making the biggest leap of any Division I team that week. Since then, they've remained in the top-15 and enter Saturday's race ninth overall. In 2012, the Bobcats finished fourth in the field of 11 teams and will look to get within the top three on Saturday.
Cristian Soratos has been the team's leading runner, including a win at the BRC Invite and a team-high 45th place finish at Pre-Nationals. Trevor Polson has also had an outstanding senior season, right on the heels of Soratos. Polson earned his first cross country individual win at the Montana Open and came in 75th at Pre-Nationals.
Polson and Soratos have been heartily supplemented by Seth Garbett, Jacob Kirk, Zachary Kughn, Jakob Woodland and Joel Estelle, who all bring at least a year of experience to the course.
"The men have really improved on their racing strategy this year," said Kennedy. "While their race will not be an easy task, I think we have the potential to really perform well."
The men's race will feature two nationally ranked teams. Northern Arizona, ranked second in the nation will seek their seventh consecutive Big Sky title and their 17th title in 20 years. Southern Utah, new to the Big Sky in 2012 is ranked 30th overall and seventh in the region.
The women's race is slated for a 10 a.m. start, followed by the men at 11 a.m. The Awards Ceremony will commence at 12:15 p.m., all weather permitting.
