Friday, November 9
Provo, UT (East Bay GC)
11 a.m.
Montana State University
at
NCAA DI Mountain Region Championships
Photo by: Todd Goodrich
Montana State Cross Country Set to Race at Mountain Region Championships
11/7/2018 2:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
The Montana State cross country teams travel to Provo, Utah, to participate in the Mountain Region Championships at East Bay Golf Course which begin on Friday
The Montana State cross country teams travel to Provo, Utah, to participate in the Mountain Region Championships at East Bay Golf Course which begin on Friday, Nov. 9. The women's 6-Kilometer race opens competition at 11 a.m. and is followed by the men's 10K race at 12 p.m.
The Mountain Regional field is stacked with national contenders. The men's race comprises of six teams in the top 20 of the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, including first-ranked Northern Arizona and second-ranked Brigham Young. The women's race features three teams in the top 10 of the USTFCCCA poll with No. 1 New Mexico highlighting the meet field.
"You start off with just the goal of having great individual and team efforts overall," Montana State head coach Lyle Weese said. "We'll see how that kind of shakes out. We want the athletes to control what they can control and that's their own performance."
The Bobcats compete for the first time since they appeared at the 2018 Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 27. The MSU men placed fourth at the conference meet, which was the team's highest finish since 2013.
"They seem to get better from practice to practice," Weese said. "From definitely meet to meet, they seem to be getting better and progressing. The men's team overall really runs well and has a good sense of pace. Even though they're younger, I think they can do really well because they have a good sense of racing and pacing, which should put them in a good position."
Ty Mogan continues to be Montana State's frontrunner after a team-best 12th-place showing at the Big Sky meet. He leads a contingent of Bobcats including Collin Buck, Riley Collins, Duncan Hamilton, Anthony Schmalz, Isaac Schmidt and Cooper West, who have all contributed to MSU's scoring lineup this season.
Montana State's women's squad, which took sixth at the conference championship, will be paced by senior Kelsi Lasota. Lasota was only the third Bobcat in 24 years to finish as high as second in the Women's Big Sky Championship race, earning runner-up to Southern Utah' Angie Nickerson. She, along with members of both MSU teams, will look to advance to the NCAA meet. Jake Turner was the men's team's last NCAA participant in 2014 and Heather Demorest qualified for the MSU women in 2013.
"There are some individuals that have a great chance to move on," Weese said. "It just comes down to execution on the day of the race and putting themselves in a good position. They'll need to believe in their training and all of the work they've put in up to this point."
The Bobcat men and women were ranked 11th and 13th, respectively in the most recent USTFCCCA Mountain Regional poll on Oct. 29. Heading into the regional meets, the Bobcats were listed at 60th and 76th in the National Cross Country Rating Index on Nov. 1
The top two placing teams in each region earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wis., which take place on Nov. 17. Thirteen at-large teams will be selected among those that did not qualify automatically based off regular season performances against automatic qualifiers. Individually, the top four runners to place from a team at each region that does not qualify for the NCAA Championships can advance to the national meet. However, a runner must finish in the top 25 of his or her region's individual standings.
More information about the Mountain Region Championships can be found on the cross country schedule page on msubobcats.com and at host BYU's website byucougars.com.
The Mountain Regional field is stacked with national contenders. The men's race comprises of six teams in the top 20 of the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, including first-ranked Northern Arizona and second-ranked Brigham Young. The women's race features three teams in the top 10 of the USTFCCCA poll with No. 1 New Mexico highlighting the meet field.
"You start off with just the goal of having great individual and team efforts overall," Montana State head coach Lyle Weese said. "We'll see how that kind of shakes out. We want the athletes to control what they can control and that's their own performance."
The Bobcats compete for the first time since they appeared at the 2018 Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 27. The MSU men placed fourth at the conference meet, which was the team's highest finish since 2013.
"They seem to get better from practice to practice," Weese said. "From definitely meet to meet, they seem to be getting better and progressing. The men's team overall really runs well and has a good sense of pace. Even though they're younger, I think they can do really well because they have a good sense of racing and pacing, which should put them in a good position."
Ty Mogan continues to be Montana State's frontrunner after a team-best 12th-place showing at the Big Sky meet. He leads a contingent of Bobcats including Collin Buck, Riley Collins, Duncan Hamilton, Anthony Schmalz, Isaac Schmidt and Cooper West, who have all contributed to MSU's scoring lineup this season.
Montana State's women's squad, which took sixth at the conference championship, will be paced by senior Kelsi Lasota. Lasota was only the third Bobcat in 24 years to finish as high as second in the Women's Big Sky Championship race, earning runner-up to Southern Utah' Angie Nickerson. She, along with members of both MSU teams, will look to advance to the NCAA meet. Jake Turner was the men's team's last NCAA participant in 2014 and Heather Demorest qualified for the MSU women in 2013.
"There are some individuals that have a great chance to move on," Weese said. "It just comes down to execution on the day of the race and putting themselves in a good position. They'll need to believe in their training and all of the work they've put in up to this point."
The Bobcat men and women were ranked 11th and 13th, respectively in the most recent USTFCCCA Mountain Regional poll on Oct. 29. Heading into the regional meets, the Bobcats were listed at 60th and 76th in the National Cross Country Rating Index on Nov. 1
The top two placing teams in each region earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wis., which take place on Nov. 17. Thirteen at-large teams will be selected among those that did not qualify automatically based off regular season performances against automatic qualifiers. Individually, the top four runners to place from a team at each region that does not qualify for the NCAA Championships can advance to the national meet. However, a runner must finish in the top 25 of his or her region's individual standings.
More information about the Mountain Region Championships can be found on the cross country schedule page on msubobcats.com and at host BYU's website byucougars.com.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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