Montana State Men, Hamilton Win Weis-Crockett/Pre-Nationals Invitational

Saturday, October 15

Stillwater, OK

7:30 a.m. (MT)

Montana State University

Weis-Crockett Invite/Pre-Nats

Duncan Hamilton

Photo by: Kyle Cajero

Montana State Men, Hamilton Win Weis-Crockett/Pre-Nationals Invitational

10/15/2022 3:50:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Men's Results Women's Results

Led by Duncan Hamilton’s 8-kilometer win in 23:28.8, the Montana State men’s cross country team had three runners in the top 10 to claim the team title. In the women’s race, Camila Noe picked up her fourth top-10 finish of the season to help the women’s team place eighth.

STILLWATER, Okla. — With 1,000 meters to go in Oklahoma State's Weis-Crockett/Pre-Nationals Invitational, Montana State Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese knew the men's race was going to come down to the wire.

In fact, the team title between the No. 25 Bobcats and the No. 29 California Baptist Lancers would come down to a single point. After duking it out for 7,000 meters of rolling hills and unseasonable heat, the team title would all come down to the downhill finish.

"I knew it was going to be close and that every point was going to count," Weese said.

Led by Duncan Hamilton's win in 23:28.8, plus Matthew Richtman and Ben Perrin's top-10 finishes, the Bobcats beat out No. 29 California Baptist 62-63 to win the team title at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course on Saturday.

In addition to Hamilton and the men's team's wins, junior Camila Noe's seventh-place finish to lead the women's team to take eighth out of 26 teams was another highlight for the program. All told, Saturday's race was Montana State's most competitive showing at a Pre-Nationals race since the men's team placed fourth in Terra Haute, Indiana in 2016.

"I'm really proud of everyone," Weese said. "Duncan, Matt and Ben really increased their performance from the Notre Dame meet. And Rob McManus came in really clutch for us. He was fighting for points right and left, and I was really proud of how he finished."

In the men's 8-kilometer race, a Montana State group of Hamilton, Perrin and Rob McManus took the race out from the jump by moving up to the top 10 in the first kilometer. After the first four-kilometer loop of the Greiner Family Cross Country Course, Perrin and Hamilton led the race with Liberty's Nicholas Kiprotich.

As competitors cycled up to the front with the Bobcats, only to drop off, fellow Montana State runner Matthew Richtman made a move into the top five at the 5-kilometer mark. Yet the Lancers made a move of their own, reclaiming the team lead with 2,000 meters to go.

The runners crested the final incline of the course, then on the downhill, Hamilton held off Said Meechal, CBU's number-one runner, and a pair of Butler runners to stop the clock at 23:28.8.

"His posture looked really good the entire race," Weese said. "I think that was a function of him feeling good, having his energy levels back and starting to back off the training a bit. He had good mechanics and was able to finish well."

Richtman, too, made a move late, outkicking three runners down the stretch to finish in 23:34.5 — good for fourth place. Yet Perrin (23:46.3, 8th) and Levi Taylor (23:58.4, 18th) edged out two CBU runners by less than two-tenths of a second to help seal the victory.

"With about 120 meters left in the race, I noticed Ben Perrin and Levi Taylor were in individual battles with runners from Cal Baptist," Weese said. "Fortunately both of them were able to hold off Cal Baptist's runners at the end, which was really exciting."

McManus (24:22.1, 35th), Cooper West (24:31.8, 50th), and Owen Smith (25:00.5, 88th) rounded out MSU's top seven. Only the Bobcats and Cal Baptist put six runners in the top 50. Butler (RV), No. 21 Arkansas and unranked UCLA rounded out the top five team scores.

Over in the women's race, Noe stuck with the leaders and held her position throughout the race. Her seventh-place finish in 20:50.7 was the best among Big Sky Conference runners and second-best among competitors from Mountain Region teams. Saturday was Noe's fourth top-10 finish of the season and her first top-10 placement at a Pre-Nationals race.

"It seemed like Camila's performance was much better than the one she had at the Notre Dame meet," Weese said. "She had another outstanding performance and she's heading in the right direction."

Her teammates Mya Dube and Lindsey Paulson ran together for the first stage of the race. Dube then moved up from 62nd all the way into the top 50 by the halfway point, then she made a big move with 1,000 meters to go in order to finish 38th overall with a 21:38.0.

"I think Mya had an awesome race," Weese said. "She had a breakthrough race at Notre Dame, but she followed that up with an awesome race today. It was super exciting to see her run two great races in a row."

Paulson (21:47.9, 50th) and graduate student Ava Weems (22:20.6, 92nd) also finished in the top 100, then sophomore Alex Moore rounded out the Bobcat scoring runners by placing 102nd in 22:23.7. Hannah Perrin rounded out MSU's runners by placing sixth for the Bobcats in 23:35.3.

"I thought the women were outstanding," Weese said. "I think they got out in a great position and really pushed that first two kilometers. We were in fifth place for most of the meet. We'll work on the last portion of the race. If they can make a similar improvement like the men did between closing Notre Dame and this race, then they're in a really good position."

California Baptist's women's team beat out Oklahoma State's B-squad to win 50-76. Wyoming (142 points), Liberty (182), Washington State (250), Southern Utah (252), Nebraska (257) and Montana State (268) rounded out the top eight teams. Fellow Big Sky schools Weber State and Portland State finished in ninth and tenth, respectively.

"We were projected to finish 11th but we finished eighth, so I thought they had an outstanding performance from top to bottom," Weese said. "They really represented Montana State well."

Now the Bobcats set their sights on the Big Sky Cross Country Championships, which will take place on Oct. 28 in Cheney, Wash. The men's race is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. MT and the women's race will follow at noon MT.