Men’s Cross Country Picked 2nd, Women 4th in Big Sky Preseason Cross Country Poll
8/25/2022 12:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Both Montana State cross country teams were picked to improve their conference standings from last season.
FARMINGTON, Utah – Both Montana State cross country teams were viewed favorably by coaches around the Big Sky Conference, as the men's team was picked to finish second and the women's team was slotted fourth, as announced by the conference office on Thursday.
Last season, the men's team finished third and the women's team placed sixth at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships. Both Northern Arizona cross country teams were unanimous picks to repeat as Big Sky Conference champions.
Returning all seven runners from the last year's 7th place team at the Mountain Region Championships, the Bobcat men's cross country team was unanimously picked to finish second behind the Lumberjacks with 90 points. Led by individual NCAA Championship qualifiers Duncan Hamilton and Matthew Richtman, the Bobcats are seeking to qualify for NCAAs as a team for the first time since 2002. They'll be joined by Ben Perrin, Owen Smith, Levi Taylor, Riley Collins and Cooper West — all of whom were consistent contributors for the Bobcats a year ago.
Meanwhile, on the women's side, Montana State earned 71 points in the poll, behind a two-way tie for second between Idaho and Weber State. The women's team returns also brings back several key contributors from last year's Mountain Region Championship team, which was led by 2019 Big Sky champion Camila Noe. Fellow returners Mya Dube, Kendra Lusk, Hannah Perrin and Grace Gilbreth round out the returners from MSU's 14th-place squad at regionals.
The Bobcats open the 2022 season with two home races, starting with the MSU Bobcat Twilight race on Friday, Sept. 2, followed by the MSU Cross Country Classic on Saturday, Sept. 17. From there, MSU will make its first out-of-state trip to South Bend, Ind. for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite on Friday, Sept. 30.
Upon their return to Montana, the Bobcats have a tune-up race at the Yellowjackets/Battlin' Bears Invitational, hosted by Montana State University Billings and Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. on Friday, Oct. 7.
A trip to Stillwater, Okla. for the Weis-Crockett Invitational/Pre-Nationals meet will ramp up the second half of the season. Pre-nationals meets have been memorable for the Bobcats lately; last year, Hamilton took 12th place and Noe placed 14th against some of the best competition in the nation.
Eastern Washington hosts the Big Sky Cross Country Championships in Cheney, Wash. this year on Friday, Oct. 28. From there, both teams aim to punch their tickets to nationals at the Mountain Region Championships, which are held in Albuquerque, N. M. on Friday, Nov. 11.
Should the Bobcats advance, a return trip to Stillwater, Okla. for the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships awaits on Saturday, Nov. 19.
