Saturday, December 3
Boston, MA
4:10 p.m. (MT)
Montana State University
at
Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener
Matthew Richtman and Duncan Hamilton
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
Hamilton and Richtman Set to Compete in Boston this Weekend
12/1/2022 1:23:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
The Montana State distance running duo aims to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the 5,000 meters on Saturday.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Coming off a historic cross country season for the Bobcats, Montana State distance runners Duncan Hamilton and Matthew Richtman will shift their focus to the track and compete at Boston University's Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener this Saturday.
Both runners will compete in the 5,000 meters, albeit in different heats, which are scheduled for the evening session starting at 4:10 p.m. MT. The meet will be livestreamed on FloTrack behind a paywall, yet a link to live results will be found on the men's track and field team's schedule page on msubobcats.com.
"There are certain facilities where the majority of the national-qualifying times come from in the 5K and, to a lesser extent, the 3K," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "Coming off of a cross country season where they're really strong aerobically, this is a great opportunity for them to go onto the fast, Boston University track and get a good time down early."
Two weeks removed from toeing the line at Stillwater, Okla. as a team for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, both Richtman and Hamilton are looking to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend. History is on their side: Six of the top 16 qualifying times in the 5,000 meters came from this meet last year, plus a cadre of professional runners will race alongside the collegians in every heat.
Each heat will be paced, meaning that none of the races will be tactical affairs determined in the last mile. Hamilton's heat is set to be paced at 13:25 and Richtman's will be paced at 13:45 — both of which would be personal-best times, should they keep up with the pack.
"Lately, a lot of indoor meets have turned into crazy fast time trials," Hamilton, who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3,000 meters last season, said. "All of the heats will be paced, so it's all about getting somewhere in the train and seeing how long you can survive at that pace."
Both men will have a chance to make Montana State history. Only three men have gone sub-14 in the 5K indoors: Dan Jackson, Shannon Butler and the duo's teammate Ben Perrin, who broke the school record with a 13:39.56 last season.
Richtman's personal best in the distance is 13:47.85, which he ran during outdoor season at the Payton Jordan Invitational last year. Yet the junior from Elburn, Ill. is coming off the best race in his career at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, where he became just the third Montana State men's cross country runner to earn All-American honors.
"Racing indoors requires a different mentality than racing outdoors in cross country," Richtman said. "But after coming off the cross country season we had, this is a good opportunity for both of us to compete together."
The 5K is the indoor event best suited for Richtman, who is aiming for his first appearance at an NCAA track championship meet this season, and Saturday's 5K will be his first, best shot at doing so.
"Matt tends to race in a fashion where he starts off towards the back of the race and move up," Weese said. "Coming off of a cross country season with longer races on slower surfaces, the beginning of the race might feel a bit fast. When I've seen him fun 5Ks previously on the track, he tends to get stronger as the race goes."
As for Hamilton, the MSU outdoor school-record holder at the distance has a personal best is his 13:30.50 that he ran at the Bryan Clay Invitational last year. Indoors, Hamilton also holds the school record in the 3,000 meters with a 7:45.40.
"I'm super excited for this weekend because it's a step closer to my domain," Hamilton said. "I'm thankful for this opportunity because the best of the best runners will be there in Boston, so I want to make the most of it.
"My biggest focus is making NCAAs in the 3,000 meters," Hamilton added. I definitely wasn't super happy with how I raced last time in indoors, but I have a lot more confidence this year. After cross-country season, I always feel like I'm in the best aerobic shape of my life, so I really want to capitalize on that this weekend."
From here, the Bobcats will have a few more chances to qualify for NCAAs away from home. A pair of meets at Spokane, Wash.'s world-class Podium facility await during January, then a potential return trip to the University of Washington's Husky Classic might be on the docket in February.
The rest of the team will return to action at the Bobcat PReview meet, which was postponed earlier this week and will be rescheduled at a date that has yet to be announced. All schedule updates can be found on the men's and women's track team's schedule pages at msubobcats.com.
Both runners will compete in the 5,000 meters, albeit in different heats, which are scheduled for the evening session starting at 4:10 p.m. MT. The meet will be livestreamed on FloTrack behind a paywall, yet a link to live results will be found on the men's track and field team's schedule page on msubobcats.com.
"There are certain facilities where the majority of the national-qualifying times come from in the 5K and, to a lesser extent, the 3K," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "Coming off of a cross country season where they're really strong aerobically, this is a great opportunity for them to go onto the fast, Boston University track and get a good time down early."
Two weeks removed from toeing the line at Stillwater, Okla. as a team for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, both Richtman and Hamilton are looking to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend. History is on their side: Six of the top 16 qualifying times in the 5,000 meters came from this meet last year, plus a cadre of professional runners will race alongside the collegians in every heat.
Each heat will be paced, meaning that none of the races will be tactical affairs determined in the last mile. Hamilton's heat is set to be paced at 13:25 and Richtman's will be paced at 13:45 — both of which would be personal-best times, should they keep up with the pack.
"Lately, a lot of indoor meets have turned into crazy fast time trials," Hamilton, who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3,000 meters last season, said. "All of the heats will be paced, so it's all about getting somewhere in the train and seeing how long you can survive at that pace."
Both men will have a chance to make Montana State history. Only three men have gone sub-14 in the 5K indoors: Dan Jackson, Shannon Butler and the duo's teammate Ben Perrin, who broke the school record with a 13:39.56 last season.
Richtman's personal best in the distance is 13:47.85, which he ran during outdoor season at the Payton Jordan Invitational last year. Yet the junior from Elburn, Ill. is coming off the best race in his career at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, where he became just the third Montana State men's cross country runner to earn All-American honors.
"Racing indoors requires a different mentality than racing outdoors in cross country," Richtman said. "But after coming off the cross country season we had, this is a good opportunity for both of us to compete together."
The 5K is the indoor event best suited for Richtman, who is aiming for his first appearance at an NCAA track championship meet this season, and Saturday's 5K will be his first, best shot at doing so.
"Matt tends to race in a fashion where he starts off towards the back of the race and move up," Weese said. "Coming off of a cross country season with longer races on slower surfaces, the beginning of the race might feel a bit fast. When I've seen him fun 5Ks previously on the track, he tends to get stronger as the race goes."
As for Hamilton, the MSU outdoor school-record holder at the distance has a personal best is his 13:30.50 that he ran at the Bryan Clay Invitational last year. Indoors, Hamilton also holds the school record in the 3,000 meters with a 7:45.40.
"I'm super excited for this weekend because it's a step closer to my domain," Hamilton said. "I'm thankful for this opportunity because the best of the best runners will be there in Boston, so I want to make the most of it.
"My biggest focus is making NCAAs in the 3,000 meters," Hamilton added. I definitely wasn't super happy with how I raced last time in indoors, but I have a lot more confidence this year. After cross-country season, I always feel like I'm in the best aerobic shape of my life, so I really want to capitalize on that this weekend."
From here, the Bobcats will have a few more chances to qualify for NCAAs away from home. A pair of meets at Spokane, Wash.'s world-class Podium facility await during January, then a potential return trip to the University of Washington's Husky Classic might be on the docket in February.
The rest of the team will return to action at the Bobcat PReview meet, which was postponed earlier this week and will be rescheduled at a date that has yet to be announced. All schedule updates can be found on the men's and women's track team's schedule pages at msubobcats.com.
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Distance
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Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
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