Season Review: Bobcat XC Surpasses Expectations to Contend Among Best in Big Sky
11/16/2017 3:35:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
This cross country season review will be featured in the next Bobcat Track and Field Association newsletter
Montana State's cross country teams had plenty of question marks going into the 2017 season.
Three of the top four finishers on the MSU women's Big Sky seventh-place team in 2016 were gone. All but one of the Bobcats' top five on the men's side remained from the 2016 team that placed sixth at the Big Sky meet. With a variety of newcomers on both MSU squads, the Bobcats entered 2017 with high hopes, but among Big Sky foes the consensus was that MSU was a middle of the pack group.
Montana State proved those assertions wrong.
The Bobcat women's cross country team eventually closed out the year by taking runner-up at the Big Sky Conference Championship and 10th at the Mountain Region Championship. It was the team's highest finish at the conference meet since 1999 while it's regional showing was four spots higher than a year prior. The men's team had its own success, moving up a spot from 2016 to 2017 by taking fifth at the Big Sky meet and finished 12th for the second consecutive year at the regional.
"For both teams there was an improvement from last year," Montana State head coach Lyle Weese said. "On the women's side it was pretty dramatic. Especially our improvement at the conference meet as a team was significant. On the men's side, we were one place higher at conference and the same place at the regional as a year ago, but with such a young team I thought that was pretty significant. We've finished in the same places with older, more mature runners, so it was exciting to do as well as we did with such a young team."
The MSU women featured a tight pack and increased depth during the 2017 season. The Bobcats won their opening two meets of the season, including a victory at home over then nationally-ranked Utah, then placed second out of 20 at the Bronco Invitational.
Kelsi Lasota led MSU in three races and placed in the top 10 in four of them. Caroline Hardin was MSU's top finisher at two meets and joined Lasota in the top 10 at the Big Sky meet, the first Bobcat tandem to achieve the feat since 2011. Anna French finished in the top 10 in three meets. Trisha Carlson earned Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors while Madison Liechty, Samantha Kelderman and Joby Rosenleaf scored points throughout the year for MSU.
"It all started at the beginning of the year with everyone training at a higher level than we had previously," Weese said. "From the very top runner to the bottom runner, there was a very small difference. It made for great training sessions and competitive practices and that really translated into the meets. Overall, we just really improved the depth of the roster. After that, for those that had been in the program for a year or more, they seemed to run really well. Those were that were new really added a lot to the team."
Montana State's men's team battled through depth issues early on, but strong and consistent performances began to carry the Bobcats towards the end of the year.
Brandon Hough made a splash in his opening campaign by placing as MSU's top finisher in four of five meets. Collin Buck joined the squad after the first meet of the year and was the second Bobcat finisher in all four meets he participated in. Cameron Carroll crossed the line first among all competitors at the MSU-Bozeman Running Co. Invitational and was a point scorer in every meet throughout the year. Gannon Chamberlain, Riley Collins, Anthony Schmalz and Andrew Vandine all scored points for the Bobcats during the season to propel the Bobcats up the standings in a year when the team looked young and inexperienced.
"On an individual basis, Brandon Hough was really impressive," Weese said. "He was the second-best freshman at the Big Sky meet and he was the first true freshman finisher at the regional meet. For the team as a whole, it was really nice to see how they developed. We had a lot of help from Cameron who is known for his ability in mid-distance events. Adding Collin Buck to the team was great. He's a second-year freshman, but to have your top two runners be freshmen for the second half of the season was great. We also had guys like Anthony, Gannon and Andrew come through and run well towards the end of the season. When Anthony and Gannon started to run better, that's when our placement as a team started to improve. Early in the season, we lost to Idaho State and Eastern Washington, but we were able to beat those teams at conference and the regional."
The 2017 season looked to be one that would have its tribulations for the Montana State cross country squad. By the end, it became a campaign full of highlights and experienced gained across the board.
Three of the top four finishers on the MSU women's Big Sky seventh-place team in 2016 were gone. All but one of the Bobcats' top five on the men's side remained from the 2016 team that placed sixth at the Big Sky meet. With a variety of newcomers on both MSU squads, the Bobcats entered 2017 with high hopes, but among Big Sky foes the consensus was that MSU was a middle of the pack group.
Montana State proved those assertions wrong.
The Bobcat women's cross country team eventually closed out the year by taking runner-up at the Big Sky Conference Championship and 10th at the Mountain Region Championship. It was the team's highest finish at the conference meet since 1999 while it's regional showing was four spots higher than a year prior. The men's team had its own success, moving up a spot from 2016 to 2017 by taking fifth at the Big Sky meet and finished 12th for the second consecutive year at the regional.
"For both teams there was an improvement from last year," Montana State head coach Lyle Weese said. "On the women's side it was pretty dramatic. Especially our improvement at the conference meet as a team was significant. On the men's side, we were one place higher at conference and the same place at the regional as a year ago, but with such a young team I thought that was pretty significant. We've finished in the same places with older, more mature runners, so it was exciting to do as well as we did with such a young team."
The MSU women featured a tight pack and increased depth during the 2017 season. The Bobcats won their opening two meets of the season, including a victory at home over then nationally-ranked Utah, then placed second out of 20 at the Bronco Invitational.
Kelsi Lasota led MSU in three races and placed in the top 10 in four of them. Caroline Hardin was MSU's top finisher at two meets and joined Lasota in the top 10 at the Big Sky meet, the first Bobcat tandem to achieve the feat since 2011. Anna French finished in the top 10 in three meets. Trisha Carlson earned Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors while Madison Liechty, Samantha Kelderman and Joby Rosenleaf scored points throughout the year for MSU.
"It all started at the beginning of the year with everyone training at a higher level than we had previously," Weese said. "From the very top runner to the bottom runner, there was a very small difference. It made for great training sessions and competitive practices and that really translated into the meets. Overall, we just really improved the depth of the roster. After that, for those that had been in the program for a year or more, they seemed to run really well. Those were that were new really added a lot to the team."
Montana State's men's team battled through depth issues early on, but strong and consistent performances began to carry the Bobcats towards the end of the year.
Brandon Hough made a splash in his opening campaign by placing as MSU's top finisher in four of five meets. Collin Buck joined the squad after the first meet of the year and was the second Bobcat finisher in all four meets he participated in. Cameron Carroll crossed the line first among all competitors at the MSU-Bozeman Running Co. Invitational and was a point scorer in every meet throughout the year. Gannon Chamberlain, Riley Collins, Anthony Schmalz and Andrew Vandine all scored points for the Bobcats during the season to propel the Bobcats up the standings in a year when the team looked young and inexperienced.
"On an individual basis, Brandon Hough was really impressive," Weese said. "He was the second-best freshman at the Big Sky meet and he was the first true freshman finisher at the regional meet. For the team as a whole, it was really nice to see how they developed. We had a lot of help from Cameron who is known for his ability in mid-distance events. Adding Collin Buck to the team was great. He's a second-year freshman, but to have your top two runners be freshmen for the second half of the season was great. We also had guys like Anthony, Gannon and Andrew come through and run well towards the end of the season. When Anthony and Gannon started to run better, that's when our placement as a team started to improve. Early in the season, we lost to Idaho State and Eastern Washington, but we were able to beat those teams at conference and the regional."
The 2017 season looked to be one that would have its tribulations for the Montana State cross country squad. By the end, it became a campaign full of highlights and experienced gained across the board.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ 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
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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