Hamilton Earns Big Sky Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week Award
10/18/2022 9:59:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Duncan Hamilton won the Weis-Crockett/Pre-Nationals Invitational in Stillwater, Okla. last week to help Montana State win the team title.
This is the first Big Sky weekly cross country award of Hamilton's career, yet he has won the conference's weekly award on numerous occasions during the indoor and outdoor track seasons. Northern Arizona's Nico Young split the award with Hamilton after leading the Lumberjacks at Wisconsin's Nuttycombe Invitational.
"The Bobcats had a great day at the Pre-Nationals meet at Oklahoma State coming away with the team victory," Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "This was highlighted by a breakthrough cross-country performance by Duncan Hamilton. With this performance, Duncan demonstrated he has reached an even higher and more elite level in cross country as we head into the championship season."
Saturday's win was the fifth cross country victory of Hamilton's career — and arguably the biggest.
Running in the lead pack for the majority of the race, Hamilton out-dueled a pair of Butler runners and California Baptist's Said Mechaal over the hilly, 8-kilometer course. The Bozeman High School grad threw down a big surge within the last 1,000 meters to separate himself from the field and finish with a winning time of 23:28.8.
Hamilton's win helped the No. 25 Bobcats edge out No. 29 California Baptist for the team title at the Weis-Crockett/Pre-Nationals Invitational. Montana State beat out 25 teams — including three that were nationally ranked or received votes in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll — for its third-straight top-5 team finish of the year.
This also marks the third time a Bobcat has won the conference's weekly award. Earlier this season, Ben Perrin and Camila Noe were named Big Sky Cross Country Runners of the Week on Oct. 4 for their performances at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. Additionally, this is the first time Montana State has had different men's runners win the conference's weekly cross country award in the same season.
Next up for the Bobcats is the Big Sky Cross Country Championships, which take place in Cheney, Wash. on Oct. 28.
Players Mentioned
