Montana State University
NCAA Mountain Region Championships
Bobcats Prepare for NCAA Mountain Regional Race
11/9/2022 7:46:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Montana State’s last guaranteed race will pit the Bobcats against some of the nation’s best cross country teams.
Don't make Friday the last race of the season.
The Bobcats will head out of the snow and into the desert for the team's last guaranteed race: the NCAA Mountain Regionals, held in Albuquerque, N.M. on Friday. The women's 6-kilometer race is expected to start at 11 a.m. MT, while the men's 10-kilometer race is set to start at noon MT. A link to live results for both races will be provided on the cross country teams' schedule pages at msubobcats.com
Depending on how the teams and individuals perform on Friday, the Bobcats could punch their tickets to Stillwater, Okla. for the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 19. The selection show will be streamed on NCAA.com on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 3 p.m.
"It's been an interesting last two weeks with the change in weather," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese — who helped the Bobcats qualify for NCAAs as a team in 2002 — said. "But the men's team hasn't overreacted to any of that. They've stayed the course and they're going into the Mountain Regional race with a lot of confidence."
History will be on the line for both teams. Montana State's men's team is aiming to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the second time ever. The women's team will look to improve on its 14th place finish from last year and — depending on how much they improve — this could be the first time since 2013 that both MSU teams place in the top 10.
"Both teams have the potential to place better than they did last year, which is really exciting," Weese said. "The men's team has a concrete goal in front of them, while the women's team's goal will be continuing to build off of last year."
After being one of the first teams left out of nationals last season, the men's team has been set on not leaving anything to chance.
So far, the Bobcat men have been a mainstay in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national polls. The No. 21 Bobcats have had several strong showings at competitive meets: They placed fourth at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational against five ranked teams at the time, they turned heads across the nation by winning a thriller over No. 25 Cal Baptist at the Weiss-Crockett/Pre-Nationals Invitational, plus the team placed second only to No. 3 Northern Arizona at the Big Sky Conference championships two weeks ago.
This week, the men will compete in what is arguably the fastest region in the nation. No. 2 BYU, defending national champions No. 3 NAU, No. 5 Air Force and No. 9 Colorado will toe the line against the Bobcats, which will make for a competitive race. The competition will work in MSU's favor, as the team has more opportunities to strengthen its postseason resume against a tough field.
"Tactically, we want to run the same race we've ran all year," Weese said. "With some of the teams that are going to nationals for sure, they could hold back a little bit with NCAAs only eight days later. But regardless, we just have to make sure we're in a good position regardless of what other teams do."
Montana State has been led by senior Duncan Hamilton, Ben Perrin and Matthew Richtman — a solid top-three front pack that earned All-Big Sky honors two weeks ago. Both Hamilton and Richtman have experience racing at the NCAA XC Championships. Should Hamilton qualify again, he will be the first Bobcat to compete at the NCAAs three times. If Richtman punches his ticket, he'll be the third runner in MSU history to qualify for NCAAs multiple times, joining Hamilton and Shannon Butler, who did so in 1989 and 1990.
Like it has done all season, the men's team has found its success with its tight pack. Cooper West, Rob McManus, Levi Taylor and Owen Smith have been on the front pack's heels all season long. West broke the 24-minute barrier in the 8-kilometer race for the first time at the Big Sky race several weeks ago with his 11th place finish in 23:59.2.
As for the women's team, MSU has the talent and the experience to improve on its 14th place finish from a year ago. Led by Bozeman High alumna Camila Noe, the Bobcats are coming off a third-place finish at the Big Sky Conference championships. Noe is the only Bobcat who has qualified for nationals before; she placed fifth at the 2019 Mountain Regionals and would go on to place 30th at nationals. Should she qualify again, she'll be the second woman in program history to do so multiple times, joining Ariana Lee (2002 and 2003).
Returning most of its contributors from last season, the women's team has improved drastically in 2022. Sophomore Mya Dube has blossomed into a reliable second runner for the Bobcats, while Alex Moore, Grace Gilbreth and Elena Vandersloot have been consistent scorers for the varsity squad.
The two newcomers to the team — true freshman Lindsey Paulson and graduate transfer Ava Weems — have also been fixtures on the travel squad. Paulson turned in the third-fastest time amongst freshmen at the Big Sky Championships and she has been anywhere from MSU's second to fourth scoring runner. Meanwhile, Weems has worked her way into MSU's top five this season; she had what Weese deemed the best race of her collegiate career at conference.
Going into the Mountain Region race, the MSU women's team is ranked 11th in the latest USTFCCCA regional rankings. Like the men's side, the women's field in the Mountain Region is stacked. No. 2 New Mexico, No. 4 NAU, No. 6 BYU and No. 8 Colorado have not only been nationally ranked all year, but also won their respective conference titles.
Throw in No. 9 Utah, No. 20 Colorado State, and No. 27 Utah Valley, and the Mountain region will provide steep competition for the women.
"The women's team has performed really well in the larger meets it has gone to this year," Weese said. "Obviously, the Mountain Region race is going to have a lot of high-quality teams, but it won't be an overwhelming race. I think our team should be pretty prepared, having been in races of similar sizes and with quality competition before."
Last season, the men's team placed seventh and fourth amongst Big Sky teams behind regional runner-up NAU, Southern Utah and Weber State. The team's 177 points were its fewest since the 2002 team scored 130th to place fifth. On the women's side, Noe led the Bobcats with a 18th-place finish to help the team place 14th.
THE LAST TIME…
-
The Montana State men's team qualified for NCAAs: 2002
-
The Montana State women's team qualified for NCAAs: 1995
-
A Montana State man qualified for NCAAs: Duncan Hamilton and Matthew Richtman, 2021
-
A Montana State woman qualified for NCAAs: Camila Noe, 2019
-
A Montana State man was a Mountain Region champion: Shannon Butler, 1990
-
A Montana State woman was a Mountain Region champion: Never
