Montana State Travels to Sacramento for 2018 Big Sky Cross Country Championships

Saturday, October 27

Sacramento, CA (Haggin Oaks GC)

11 a.m.

Montana State University

Big Sky Cross Country Championship

Montana State Travels to Sacramento for 2018 Big Sky Cross Country Championships

10/25/2018 12:23:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Live Results Championship Central

The Bobcat cross country teams have geared up for almost two months and are ready to compete at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento

By: Andrew Pedersen

Montana State's cross country teams have geared up for almost two months and are ready to compete at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, Calif. The 2018 Big Sky meet opens with the Men's 8-Kilometer Championship Race at 11 a.m. MST, followed by the Women's 5K Race at 12 p.m.

"Both teams have trained really hard," Montana State head coach Lyle Weese said. "The conference meet will be the first time we've had a significant back off in training. We haven't gone into a huge taper, but we've put some focus into the conference meet.

"Going into it is one of the main focuses of our season. This and the Mountain Region meet is what we look forward to more so than any other event. The teams have worked hard and are prepared. Everything they put into it will show up over the next two meets."

The men's team has continued to gain experience and improve throughout its fall schedule.

The squad will be led by redshirt junior Ty Mogan who has finished first in the MSU lineup in the Bobcats' three primary races. He finished first among all runners in the MSU Cross Country Classic (Sept. 15), placed runner-up at the Roy Griak Invitaitonal (Sept. 29) and took 32nd overall in a Wisconsin Pre-Nationals field on Oct. 13 that featured some of the best runners in Division I cross country.

MSU's men's lineup has been bolstered by several newcomers as well as two returners.

Sophomores Collin Buck and Riley Collins continue to be fixtures for the Bobcat men's team. Buck has finished third in the scoring lineup for MSU twice and recently took second on the squad at the Pre-Nationals. Collins has been among MSU's top-five finishers two times.

Four freshmen have made legitimate impacts for the team. Duncan Hamilton has placed among MSU's top three in all three races. Cooper West and Isaac Schmidt have each contributed to the Bobcats' scoring lineup in two meets, while Braden Stremcha has been the Bobcats' seventh finisher in all three races.

"I've been impressed with the men's team in general, but especially the freshman individuals on the team," Weese said. "They've learned week to week. If they've made any tactical errors in a meet, they've really worked to fix those and learn from every experience.

"The men's team has seen such an improvement overall. Adding Ty back in after a redshirt season has been big, but having our freshmen newcomers has made an impact as well."

The men's team was selected to finish fourth by the Big Sky coaches in the conference's preseason poll and MSU currently projects to finish among the top of the conference based off USTFCCCA rankings. In the organization's most recent poll, the Bobcats were the 10th-ranked team in the Mountain Region. MSU sits behind Northern Arizona and Southern Utah on that list, with the two teams also ranked first and 25th in the national rankings, respectively. Weber State and Idaho State narrowly rank behind MSU on the regional list.

Montana State's women's team was selected as the preseason favorite by one point over Northern Arizona, despite the Lumberjacks being tabbed with one more first-place vote by the league's head coaches. However, the latest USTFCCCA Mountain Region projects a different project finish at the top of the Big Sky Standings heading into Saturday's meet.

Southern Utah is currently ranked fourth in the region, followed by Northern Arizona in the fifth spot. MSU was polled at 12th in the most recent rankings, with Weber State and Idaho State close behind in 13th and 15th, respectively.

The Bobcat women's team will be mainly determined to give its best effort in its appearance in Sacramento Saturday.

"We are looking to put together our very best race and see where that shakes out in the results," Weese said. "We're really focused on ourselves and doing everything we can to have our very best meet. We're not too concerned about where we place in the meet overall."

Senior Kelsi Lasota, an all-conference performer at last season's conference meet, has been the Bobcats' top finisher in all three of their primary races this season. She won the MSU Cross Country Classic, took eighth at the Roy Griak Invitational and placed 68th at the Pre-Nationals.

Sophomore Samantha Kelderman has been almost as impressive this year. Kelderman has been MSU's second-top finisher in all three races she's appeared in. She's taken second, 13th and 70th overall in consecutive events.

Gillian Maness, Layne Oliver and Trisha Carlson have solidified MSU's scoring five this season. Maness, a sophomore and newcomer to the women's squad, has been the Bobcats' third-best performer in three meets. Oliver, in her senior campaign, has followed Maness taking fourth in each showing. Carlson, the reigning Big Sky Women's Freshman of the Year, has competed in two meets and taken fifth among MSU runners in each.

A mix of Kendra Larson, Madison Liechty and Joby Rosenleaf have helped complete MSU's top seven in the Bobcats' primary events this season.

The 2018 Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships are being hosted by Sacramento State. Meet central pages are provided online by the Big Sky Conference and Sacramento State. Fans can follow along with the meet with a live results link provided on the Montana State cross country schedule page online at msubobcats.com, or by following the Bobcat track and field and cross country Twitter account at @MSUBobcatsTFXC.