Montana State University
Dellinger Invite
Men Place Fourth, Women Sixth as Cats Race in Eugene
10/11/2024 3:23:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Montana State’s men nearly fend off Oregon and Gonzaga in battle for second, while women represent well in talented field in final tune-up before conference meet
EUGENE, Ore. – Montana State's men placed fourth and the women sixth as the Cats wrapped up their regular season at the Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday.
The Montana State men, who received six votes in the most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, finished with 102 points overall, just five points behind runner-up No. 22 Oregon (97) and only one point behind (RV) Gonzaga (101).
No. 2 BYU dominated, earning a perfect score of 15 with Cougar runners going 1-2-3-4-5.
The Kalispell duo of Ben Perrin and Sam Ells placed 12th and 13th, respectively, with Rob McManus not far behind in 16th.
The Bobcat men sat in second place through each of the one, three, five, and seven-kilometer splits, fending off the Ducks and Bulldogs before being barely surpassed in the final kilometer by just a handful of positions.
Even with the nail-biting result in the battle for second place, Montana State's men still finished well in front of No. 25 Portland (159) and NJCAA No. 2 Salt Lake CC (177).
Will Kelly ran a strong race to finish as the fourth Bobcat across the line in 28th, while Harvey Cramb rounded out MSU's scoring runners in 44th overall.
In the women's race that followed, Montana State continued their strong season with a sixth-place result while competing with some of the best in the West.
The Cats finished with 154 points, slotting in right behind Oregon State (135 points) and UCLA (148 points).
No. 6 Utah won the meet with 25 points, while No. 12 Oregon finished runner-up with 53 points.
Kyla Christopher-Moody was one of three Bobcats to place in the top-25 overall, finishing tenth with a season-best 6-kilometer time of 20:18.3 to lead the way for the Cats.
Lindsey Paulson, a Belt native who finished 15th at the Griak Invitational in Minnesota last month, followed up that performance with an 18th-place finish in Oregon on Friday (20:33.60).
Bozeman native Grace Gilbreth was the third Bobcat across the line in 20:43.3 to place 25th individually.
Alex Moore placed 48th on her birthday as the No. 4 Bobact and freshmen Niamh Motley (75th) and Madi Siana (76th) rounded out the top performers for Montana State.
UP NEXT
Montana State will next prepare for the 2024 Big Sky Championships, hosted by Idaho State in Pocatello on Friday, November 1.
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Players Mentioned
