Montana State Women’s Cross Country Places Third, Men Fourth at Notre Dame

Friday, September 30

South Bend, Ind.

9:15 a.m.(MT)

Montana State University

Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite

Mya Dube

Photo by: Kyle Cajero

Montana State Women’s Cross Country Places Third, Men Fourth at Notre Dame

9/30/2022 2:14:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Final Results

The men’s team’s pack time of 18.2 seconds was the best in the Men’s Blue race, plus Camila Noe and Mya Dube had top-10 finishes in the Women’s Gold Race.

SOUTH BEND, Indiana — Both Montana State University cross country teams made the most of their trip to Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invitational, as the men's team placed fourth in a highly competitive men's Blue race and the women's team had a breakthrough showing in the women's Gold race in South Bend, Ind. on Friday.

The women's team placed third out of 19 teams in the Gold race with 75 points, whereas the men's team placed fourth in the Blue race with 144 points. All three of the teams ahead of the men's team either received votes, or were nationally ranked in the latest USTFCCCA polls.

"Overall, it was a breakthrough race for our women," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "We were substantially better than we were at our home meet."

Led by Camila Noe and Mya Dube's top-10 finishes in the women's Gold race, the women's cross country team were in a position to win the team title for the majority of the race. Noe led for the first half of the race — pushing the pace early as she is wont to do — and Dube asserted herself early, putting herself in the front pack from the getgo and never slipping out of the top 10. Noe would finish the 5-kilometer course in 16:57.4, then Dube followed in ninth with a 17:16.8.

"Mya Dube had a spectacular, breakthrough-type race and our second-through-seventh runners ran their best race of the season," Weese said. "And I thought Camila did a great job of battling through the race after having a tough week of clinicals going into the race."

Lindsey Paulson, Alex Moore and Elena Vandersloot packed up for the majority of the race; their close finishes within 10 spots of each other helped MSU have a big advantage over fourth-place Pitt, which finished with 153 points. Paulson ran a lifetime-best 17:34.3 5K to place 16th, making her the third-fastest freshman in the field. Moore (22nd place) and Vandersloot (26th place) finished close behind in 17:46.5 and 17:49.1, respectively.

Ava Weems (30th, 17:53.0) and Grace Gilbreth (18:00.3, 35th) rounded out MSU's top seven.

Meanwhile in the men's Blue race, the Bobcats kept their tight pack up towards the front of a close field. Through the first mile, the first through the 100th runners were separated by less than four seconds. However, as the race progressed, the Bobcats stuck up towards the front. Ben Perrin, Duncan Hamilton, Levi Taylor, Cooper West and Matthew Richtman were all in the top 33 at the halfway mark before the race thinned out in the latter stages.

The pack running paid off. The gap between MSU leader Ben Perrin (23:47.0, 20th place) to fifth-runner Levi Taylor (24:05.2, 37th) was a mere 18.2 seconds — the best split in the field.

"I thought it was a really solid race for our men," Weese said. "It was a good start to the season where we're competing in a lot of bigger invites. I thought they put themselves in a good position, and they were really solid halfway through the race, but I think we need to focus on the last part of the race a little bit more. But I think this race will really prepare them for pre-nationals."

Perrin covered the 5-mile course in 23:47.0 to finish in 20th place, leading the Bobcats for the first time all season. Hamilton was close behind in 23rd with a 23:51.9, then Richtman finished in 23:59.2 — good for 29th place.

Cooper West (24:03.5, 35th) and the aforementioned Taylor (24:05.2, 37th) rounded out MSU's scoring runners. Both West and Taylor ran the best 5-mile times of their careers. Rob McManus (42nd, 24:07.2) and Owen Smith (24:16.8, 60th place) helped MSU have all seven runners in before fifth-place Charlotte had five scoring runners cross the line.

"I thought Cooper, Levi, Rob and Owen ran great races," Weese said. "They are the biggest improvement from our team last year, and they helped our team run really well today."

Notre Dame won the men's Blue race with 81 points; the hosts were followed by Tennessee (104), Alabama (126), Montana State (144) and Charlotte (180). Alabama's Victor Kiprop was the winner in 23:16.5.

Nebraska won the women's Gold race with 70 points, narrowly edging out Cal Poly, which finished with 71 points. Cornhusker freshman Alea Hardie won with a time of 16:44.2.

MSU cross country's season continues at the Yellowjackets/Battlin' Bears Invitational, held in Billings, Mont. on Friday, Oct. 11.