Saturday, October 15
Terre Haute, IN
9 a.m.
Montana State University
at
Pre-National Invitational
Pre-National Invite on Horizon for Montana State Cross Country
10/13/2016 1:15:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Bobcats set to face country's best this Saturday in Terre Haute
The site of this year's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships plays host to the Montana State men's and women's cross country teams Saturday, Oct. 15, as the Bobcats compete in the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana. MSU will race on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, with the Invite featuring over 60 teams from across the country in both the men's and women's races.
"It will be great to see some teams from outside of our region," Montana State head coach Lyle Weese said. "The Mountain Region is so strong on both the men's and women's sides, so it will be nice to get out of our region, compete against some teams from different areas and see how we stack up against the other regions."
Terre Haute, nicknamed Cross Country Town USA, has previously hosted the Pre-National Invitational and the NCAA Championships a total of 11 times.
On the women's side, eight squads that are confirmed to compete in the meet are ranked in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Top-30 Poll with seven others receiving votes. Three top 10 squads are set to race including second-ranked Colorado. Seven more ranked teams are scheduled to compete on the men's side, with Oregon (4), Arkansas (5), Colorado (6) and Portland (7) making up top-10 ranked teams.
"The athletes get really excited about this race because of the teams that are competing, being at sea level and just seeing so many more teams than they're used to," Weese said. "It definitely brings a high level of excitement to this race."
This will be the first meet of the season for the Bobcats outside of Montana. Both MSU squads previously competed in Bozeman and Missoula. Weese noted that while the Bobcat teams are getting closer to the Big Sky Conference Championship and have to have a certain mindset going forward, this meet will be different due to the size of the field and the location of the LaVern Gibson Course.
"Getting a chance to race at sea level and run a faster pace is a great opportunity for us," Weese said. "It also may be the biggest challenge for us going to a sea level course and running faster than we have. Just the belief that when you come through and you hear your splits and they're faster than they are at altitude, that you don't think you're going too fast. You have to have a lot of confidence to go down to sea level and race well."
Sophomores Tyler Mogan and Alyssa Snyder have led the MSU men's and women's squads, respectively, through the first two meets. Mogan and Snyder each finished in the top 10 in the opening MSU-Bozeman Running Co. Invitational, then both placed in the top three at the Montana Invitational.
Zachary Kughn, Adam Wollant and Noah Kirkland have been part of the Bobcats' men's team's scoring lineup in the first two meets of the year. Isaac Barville and Anthony Schmalz have contributed with points for the Bobcats in a meet apiece.
The MSU women's team has had the same scoring lineup in each meet as Madison Liechty, Layne Oliver, Louisa Serpe and Kelsi Lasota have made up the Bobcats' top five. Kimberly Parsell and Sierra Tucker have served in MSU's sixth and seventh positions in the last two races.
That type of consistency will be what Weese said he will be looking for in Saturday's meet from his squad.
"The bigger the race, the more important it is for everyone to have a solid performance, and that no one really has an abnormally poor performance," Weese said. "A great performance can help you a bit, but what really is the biggest impact on the team scoring is if somebody really has a bad race. We're just trying to have all seven of our runners have a solid race, do well, not try to run their greatest race ever, and if that ends up happening, that's fine."
The first of three six-kilometer women's races that MSU will run in is set to begin at 9 a.m. MDT, while men's 8K races will proceed each women's competition. The Bobcats' men's team will run at approximately 10:50 a.m. A live stream for the entire meet will be available with a subscription. Links to live results and meet information are available on this preview and at the host, Indiana State, website gosycamores.com and at xctownusa.com.
"It will be great to see some teams from outside of our region," Montana State head coach Lyle Weese said. "The Mountain Region is so strong on both the men's and women's sides, so it will be nice to get out of our region, compete against some teams from different areas and see how we stack up against the other regions."
Terre Haute, nicknamed Cross Country Town USA, has previously hosted the Pre-National Invitational and the NCAA Championships a total of 11 times.
On the women's side, eight squads that are confirmed to compete in the meet are ranked in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Top-30 Poll with seven others receiving votes. Three top 10 squads are set to race including second-ranked Colorado. Seven more ranked teams are scheduled to compete on the men's side, with Oregon (4), Arkansas (5), Colorado (6) and Portland (7) making up top-10 ranked teams.
"The athletes get really excited about this race because of the teams that are competing, being at sea level and just seeing so many more teams than they're used to," Weese said. "It definitely brings a high level of excitement to this race."
This will be the first meet of the season for the Bobcats outside of Montana. Both MSU squads previously competed in Bozeman and Missoula. Weese noted that while the Bobcat teams are getting closer to the Big Sky Conference Championship and have to have a certain mindset going forward, this meet will be different due to the size of the field and the location of the LaVern Gibson Course.
"Getting a chance to race at sea level and run a faster pace is a great opportunity for us," Weese said. "It also may be the biggest challenge for us going to a sea level course and running faster than we have. Just the belief that when you come through and you hear your splits and they're faster than they are at altitude, that you don't think you're going too fast. You have to have a lot of confidence to go down to sea level and race well."
Sophomores Tyler Mogan and Alyssa Snyder have led the MSU men's and women's squads, respectively, through the first two meets. Mogan and Snyder each finished in the top 10 in the opening MSU-Bozeman Running Co. Invitational, then both placed in the top three at the Montana Invitational.
Zachary Kughn, Adam Wollant and Noah Kirkland have been part of the Bobcats' men's team's scoring lineup in the first two meets of the year. Isaac Barville and Anthony Schmalz have contributed with points for the Bobcats in a meet apiece.
The MSU women's team has had the same scoring lineup in each meet as Madison Liechty, Layne Oliver, Louisa Serpe and Kelsi Lasota have made up the Bobcats' top five. Kimberly Parsell and Sierra Tucker have served in MSU's sixth and seventh positions in the last two races.
That type of consistency will be what Weese said he will be looking for in Saturday's meet from his squad.
"The bigger the race, the more important it is for everyone to have a solid performance, and that no one really has an abnormally poor performance," Weese said. "A great performance can help you a bit, but what really is the biggest impact on the team scoring is if somebody really has a bad race. We're just trying to have all seven of our runners have a solid race, do well, not try to run their greatest race ever, and if that ends up happening, that's fine."
The first of three six-kilometer women's races that MSU will run in is set to begin at 9 a.m. MDT, while men's 8K races will proceed each women's competition. The Bobcats' men's team will run at approximately 10:50 a.m. A live stream for the entire meet will be available with a subscription. Links to live results and meet information are available on this preview and at the host, Indiana State, website gosycamores.com and at xctownusa.com.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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