Montana State University
Big Sky Conference Championships
Bobcats Secure Team Runner-Up Finishes at Big Sky Championships in Missoula
10/27/2023 6:36:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Men repeat as runners-up, Women earn second for first time since 2017 as four MSU runners earn All-Conference honors
MISSOULA, Montana — The Montana State cross country teams relied on their depth and toughness in securing a pair of team runner-up finishes at the Big Sky Championships on Friday, held at UM Golf Course in Missoula.
The Bobcats left no doubt as to the outcome of their second-place results, closing with 45 points on the men's side to comfortably beat third-place Weber State (79), and ending with 57 points on the women's side to lap third-place Weber State (107). It marks the first time since 1992 that both teams have finished at least second at the same conference championship meet.
Top-ranked Northern Arizona took home both team titles on a cold, snowy afternoon in Missoula that saw temperatures dip to the low-20s.
The runner-up finish was the best team result for the MSU women since 2017, and marked just the second time since 1999 that the Bobcats had finished second. The Bobcats went 9-10-11-13-14 and had all eight competitors finish inside the top-22, showcasing the balance and depth of a team running their best at the right time of year.
"Our women's team just did a great job today," head coach Lyle Weese said. "They got out in pretty good position then just kept moving up. Really happy that we had eight in the top-22. From top to bottom, our entire women's team ran really well so that was exciting."
Graduate student Kyla Christopher-Moody placed ninth (17:25.90) and junior Grace Gilbreth placed tenth (17:33.70) to earn Big Sky All-Conference honors. It marks the first time since 2017 and the third time since 2004 that multiple Bobcat women earned a spot on the All-Conference list.
Junior Mya Dube placed 12th (17:34.00), graduate student Emma Tate placed 14th (17:38.90), and junior Alex Moore placed 15th (17:56.20) to round out the scoring runners for the Bobcats.
Junior Elena Vandersloot (18th), freshman Eva Koos (19th), and Kendra Lusk (22nd) aided the strong Bobcat showing, with Koos' turning in the second-best finish by a freshman at the meet.
For the No. 28-ranked Bobcat men, it marked their second consecutive second-place finish at the conference championships, and their sixth straight meet finishing inside the top-four. The Cats went 3-6-11-12-13 and had seven runners inside the top-18, going toe-to-toe with an NAU squad that has won six of the last seven NCAA titles.
"The guys' team I thought raced really well in definitely tough conditions," Weese said. "They battled through and really performed well. We had our top eight right up towards the top half of the race so that was exciting."
Junior Ben Perrin placed third (23:33.00) to secure his third-straight All-Big Sky honor for cross country, improving on previous finishes of sixth in both 2021 and 2022. Joining the Kalispell native on the All-Conference list was senior Matthew Richtman, who placed sixth ( for his second consecutive All-Big Sky cross country award after finishing eighth last season.
Those two at the top broke up the Lumberjacks' attempt at a clean sweep, as NAU finished with 20 points to Montana State's 45.
Junior Rob McManus placed 12th (24:19.40), junior Owen Smith placed 13th (24:26.80), and redshirt freshman Sam Ells placed 14th (24:35.50) to close out the scoring runners for the Cats.
Ells, a native of Kalispell, Mont., finished as the top freshman at the meet, earning Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors in the process. Ells is the first Bobcat since Trisha Carlson in 2017 to earn Freshman of the Year accolades.
"It was really great to race so close to home, on a course that so many of our athletes have run throughout high school and have run here in college as well," Weese said, "so it was a neat experience for them to have the conference championships on a course they're so familiar with."
UP NEXT
Montana State will travel to Lubbock, Texas, on Friday, November 10, for the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships, hosted by Texas Tech.
Qualifying individuals and teams will advance to compete at the NCAA Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, November 18.
Montana State's men, ranked 28th nationally and fifth in the Mountain Region, will be running for a chance to do something that has never happened before in program history—back-to-back appearances at NCAAs.
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