Saturday, September 17
BOZEMAN
9 a.m.
Montana State University
vs
MSU Cross Country Classic
Alexis Palmer
Photo by: Kyle Cajero
Montana State Hosts 45th-Annual MSU Cross Country Classic
9/15/2022 10:08:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Nine collegiate teams, including three fellow Big Sky schools, will toe the line at Bridger Creek Golf Course this Saturday.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Competing in their second-straight race in Bozeman, the Montana State University cross country teams will toe the line at Bridger Creek Golf Course for the 45th-annual MSU Cross Country Classic this Saturday.
Headlined by the Bobcats, who were ranked No. 24 in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, the men's race is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with the women's race following at 9:45 a.m. Links to live results can be found on both cross country schedule pages at msubobcats.com.
"This meet is going to be a great, competitive opportunity against some solid teams from the region," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "As a team and as individuals, we will be able to evaluate what worked well and things to do differently. It will be a nice stepping stone from our first meet, in terms of the number of competitors, and the competition will help to prepare us for the Notre Dame meet in two weeks."
Eight collegiate teams will toe the line with the Bobcats at the MSU Cross Country Classic: Idaho State, Montana and Weber State — plus non-Division I schools Carroll College, Montana State University Billings, Montana Tech, Montana Western and the University of Providence. Of that group, Weber State's men's team ranks 10th in the USTFCCCA's latest Mountain Region poll and the women's team is 11th. Idaho State's men's team is ranked 13th in the Mountain Region. In the NAIA rankings, Carroll College's women's team was ranked 14th in the USTFCCCA Preseason National Coaches' Poll, while its men's team received votes.
"The women's team will be up against some strong competition — especially Weber State, which always has a strong team," Weese said. "So it will be a great challenge for our squad."
Last year at the 44th-annual MSU Cross Country Classic, the Bobcats swept the individual titles when Duncan Hamilton and Camila Noe broke the men's and women's course records in their respective races. Both Hamilton and Noe return for Saturday's race, so their record times of 24:07 (8K) and 16:13 (5K) could be broken again. Regardless of what happens up front, the rest of the race could be another one for the record books. Aside from the new course records, six of the top 15 fastest men's 8K times and six of the top 10 women's 5K times occurred last year.
Given nearly everyone returns from Montana State's teams from last year — plus the Bobcats' familiarity with the course — this year's race could have more fast times.
"Overall, we have a lot of experience on the course," Weese said. "Most of our team has raced it as a collegian, and many have raced it in high school. It will be nice for them to be in a familiar environment as we move into the racing season."
Saturday will be the Bobcats' penultimate in-state race. Montana State will travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 30 before taking a smaller squad to Billings, Mont. for the Yellowjackets/Battlin' Bears Invitational on Oct. 7.
ABOUT LAST RACE
MOVING ON UP
Headlined by the Bobcats, who were ranked No. 24 in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, the men's race is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with the women's race following at 9:45 a.m. Links to live results can be found on both cross country schedule pages at msubobcats.com.
"This meet is going to be a great, competitive opportunity against some solid teams from the region," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "As a team and as individuals, we will be able to evaluate what worked well and things to do differently. It will be a nice stepping stone from our first meet, in terms of the number of competitors, and the competition will help to prepare us for the Notre Dame meet in two weeks."
Eight collegiate teams will toe the line with the Bobcats at the MSU Cross Country Classic: Idaho State, Montana and Weber State — plus non-Division I schools Carroll College, Montana State University Billings, Montana Tech, Montana Western and the University of Providence. Of that group, Weber State's men's team ranks 10th in the USTFCCCA's latest Mountain Region poll and the women's team is 11th. Idaho State's men's team is ranked 13th in the Mountain Region. In the NAIA rankings, Carroll College's women's team was ranked 14th in the USTFCCCA Preseason National Coaches' Poll, while its men's team received votes.
"The women's team will be up against some strong competition — especially Weber State, which always has a strong team," Weese said. "So it will be a great challenge for our squad."
Last year at the 44th-annual MSU Cross Country Classic, the Bobcats swept the individual titles when Duncan Hamilton and Camila Noe broke the men's and women's course records in their respective races. Both Hamilton and Noe return for Saturday's race, so their record times of 24:07 (8K) and 16:13 (5K) could be broken again. Regardless of what happens up front, the rest of the race could be another one for the record books. Aside from the new course records, six of the top 15 fastest men's 8K times and six of the top 10 women's 5K times occurred last year.
Given nearly everyone returns from Montana State's teams from last year — plus the Bobcats' familiarity with the course — this year's race could have more fast times.
"Overall, we have a lot of experience on the course," Weese said. "Most of our team has raced it as a collegian, and many have raced it in high school. It will be nice for them to be in a familiar environment as we move into the racing season."
Saturday will be the Bobcats' penultimate in-state race. Montana State will travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 30 before taking a smaller squad to Billings, Mont. for the Yellowjackets/Battlin' Bears Invitational on Oct. 7.
ABOUT LAST RACE
- Competing at the MSU Bobcat Twilight run at Dyche Field, the Montana State cross country teams ran 5Ks against Carroll College and the University of Montana in a low-key season opener on Sept. 2.
- Both MSU teams won with perfect scores: The men's team swept the first eight places (nine including freshman Sam Ells, who ran unattached) while the women's team finished 1-through-6.
- Duncan Hamilton was the top finisher on the men's side with a 14:50.2
- Camila Noe won the women's 5K with a time of 17:32.4.
MOVING ON UP
- Montana State's women's cross country team moved from 15th to 14th in the latest USTFCCCA Coaches' Mountain Region Poll.
- This past week, the No. 24 MSU men's cross country team stayed put at 24th in the USTFCCCA's National Poll and fifth in the Mountain Region Poll.
Players Mentioned
Big Sky Cross Country Championship
Sunday, October 31
Big Sky Cross Country Championship Preview | Men's Team
Friday, October 27
Dale Kennedy - Media Day | Nov. 12, 2013
Wednesday, November 13
Cristian Soratos - Media Day | Oct. 22, 2013
Wednesday, October 23
