Saturday, September 17
BOZEMAN-Bridger Creek GC
9 a.m. (M), 9:45 a.m. (W)
Montana State University
vs
MSU-Bozeman Running Company Invitational
Photo by: Colter Peterson
Montana State Harriers Open Season with 40th MSU-Bozeman Running Co. Invite
9/16/2016 3:14:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
The Montana State-Bozeman Running Co. Invitational is one of the oldest cross country meets west of the Mississippi River.
The Montana State-Bozeman Running Co. Invitational is one of the oldest cross country meets west of the Mississippi River. And, Saturday morning, it will see the biggest field in its 40-year history at Bridger Creek Golf Course beginning with the men's 5-mile race at 9 a.m., followed by the women's 3-mile event at 9:45 a.m.
The race will see its largest contingent of NCAA Division I schools. Competing will be MSU, Idaho State, Montana, North Dakota, Northern Colorado, Utah (women), Utah State, Weber State and Wyoming. The College Division field will be comprised of Carroll College, Colorado State-Pueblo, College of Idaho, Montana State Billings and Rocky Mountain College.
Both Bobcat squads will feature fresh faces as just a handful of student-athletes ran last fall.
"At the end of last cross country season, we talked about really seeing a lot of improvement on the men's side," said MSU head coach Lyle Weese. "The goal, if you lined-up our top 14 runners, that our eight through 14 runners are better than last year's 1-7 runners. And, I think we're getting to that point where we're overall better. I'm seeing a lot of improvement.
"Some individuals to watch are Tyler Mogan, who's really made an incredible breakthrough and he has transformed himself in getting significantly faster," Weese said. "And, Anthony Schmalz has seen big improvement and Zack Kughn, who has struggled a couple of years with a condition, is running really well this year."
With six Big Sky Conference teams racing, league coaches will get an early look at this year's crop of talent, and start setting their sights on the Big Sky Conference championships, Oct. 28 in Moscow, Idaho. On the men's side Weber State was ranked third in the preseason coaches' poll, followed by MSU fourth, Idaho State sixth, Montana eighth, North Dakota tenth and Northern Colorado 11th.
The women's Big Sky race will be headlined by Weber State, who was picked to win the league this season. The Wildcats are followed today by MSU third, ISU sixth, UM seventh, UNC 11th and UND 12th.
"Our women's team will be solid," Weese said. "Alyssa Snyder, who was strong as a freshman, has seen huge improvement over the summer. I think she'll be significantly faster than last year. We haven't had a women's distance run go under 17-minutes on our home course and I think she has a really good chance of going under that mark.
"Kelsi Lasota, a transfer from Boise State, has trained at the collegiate level for a couple of years and I think she'll respond real well," Weese said. "Kimberly Parsell had a great track season last year, but she is reaching a whole different level and is significantly faster than high school, so we'll see where she is at on Saturday."
The Weber State women's team will enter the meet ranked No. 25 in the USTFCCA poll. The University of Utah women received three votes in this week's coach's rankings, as well. In this week's NCAA Division I Mountain Region rankings, Weber State is listed fourth, followed by Utah fifth, Utah State eighth, MSU tenth, and Wyoming 11th.
On the men's side, Wyoming is the highest ranked regional squad at No. 9, followed by Weber State 10, Idaho State 13 and MSU 14.
One of the most complete men's squads might come from NCAA Division II power CSU-Pueblo. The ThunderWolves are ranked 11th in the nation. In NAIA cross country, the College of Idaho men are listed tenth in the country, with Rocky Mountain 20th and Carroll College 25th. The Carroll women are ranked ninth in the nation, followed by the College of Idaho 12th and Rocky Mountain 27th.
The race will see its largest contingent of NCAA Division I schools. Competing will be MSU, Idaho State, Montana, North Dakota, Northern Colorado, Utah (women), Utah State, Weber State and Wyoming. The College Division field will be comprised of Carroll College, Colorado State-Pueblo, College of Idaho, Montana State Billings and Rocky Mountain College.
Both Bobcat squads will feature fresh faces as just a handful of student-athletes ran last fall.
"At the end of last cross country season, we talked about really seeing a lot of improvement on the men's side," said MSU head coach Lyle Weese. "The goal, if you lined-up our top 14 runners, that our eight through 14 runners are better than last year's 1-7 runners. And, I think we're getting to that point where we're overall better. I'm seeing a lot of improvement.
"Some individuals to watch are Tyler Mogan, who's really made an incredible breakthrough and he has transformed himself in getting significantly faster," Weese said. "And, Anthony Schmalz has seen big improvement and Zack Kughn, who has struggled a couple of years with a condition, is running really well this year."
With six Big Sky Conference teams racing, league coaches will get an early look at this year's crop of talent, and start setting their sights on the Big Sky Conference championships, Oct. 28 in Moscow, Idaho. On the men's side Weber State was ranked third in the preseason coaches' poll, followed by MSU fourth, Idaho State sixth, Montana eighth, North Dakota tenth and Northern Colorado 11th.
The women's Big Sky race will be headlined by Weber State, who was picked to win the league this season. The Wildcats are followed today by MSU third, ISU sixth, UM seventh, UNC 11th and UND 12th.
"Our women's team will be solid," Weese said. "Alyssa Snyder, who was strong as a freshman, has seen huge improvement over the summer. I think she'll be significantly faster than last year. We haven't had a women's distance run go under 17-minutes on our home course and I think she has a really good chance of going under that mark.
"Kelsi Lasota, a transfer from Boise State, has trained at the collegiate level for a couple of years and I think she'll respond real well," Weese said. "Kimberly Parsell had a great track season last year, but she is reaching a whole different level and is significantly faster than high school, so we'll see where she is at on Saturday."
The Weber State women's team will enter the meet ranked No. 25 in the USTFCCA poll. The University of Utah women received three votes in this week's coach's rankings, as well. In this week's NCAA Division I Mountain Region rankings, Weber State is listed fourth, followed by Utah fifth, Utah State eighth, MSU tenth, and Wyoming 11th.
On the men's side, Wyoming is the highest ranked regional squad at No. 9, followed by Weber State 10, Idaho State 13 and MSU 14.
One of the most complete men's squads might come from NCAA Division II power CSU-Pueblo. The ThunderWolves are ranked 11th in the nation. In NAIA cross country, the College of Idaho men are listed tenth in the country, with Rocky Mountain 20th and Carroll College 25th. The Carroll women are ranked ninth in the nation, followed by the College of Idaho 12th and Rocky Mountain 27th.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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