Montana State's Rob McManus (center) and Levi Taylor (right) took 1-2 in the Big Sky Championships steeplechase Friday
#STEEPLEU: Bobcats Shine Steeplechase Legacy as McManus, Taylor Top Podium
5/10/2024 10:01:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
Rob McManus secures MSU's fifth straight steeple crown while Levi Taylor scores crucial points
BOZEMAN, Montana – As Rob McManus sailed down the homestretch of 3000 meter steeplechase of the Big Sky Championships on a glorious Friday afternoon, with his teammate Levi Taylor just behind him, he could hear the cheers ringing through the Bobcat Track and Field Complex.
"It was awesome," McManus said after capturing a gold medal in the steeplechase then turning around and winning his heat of the 1500 m minutes later. "The crowd, there was a lot of engagement, a lot of cheering going down the home stretch. It was awesome."
The enthusiasm that showered the junior from Cashmere, Washington, and Taylor, a grad student from Laurel, was not unfamiliar for Bobcat steeplechasers. In fact, the performances of those two and junior Grace Gilbreth (Bozeman, Montana), who finished third in the women's steeplechase, extends a tradition that has earned Montana State the moniker #SteepleU.
"We've been SteepleU for many years now, and I don't see that going away any time soon," Taylor said, praising Montana State's Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field Lyle Weese. "Lyle's a great steeple coach and I think we'll be on top for a while."
Weese is in his sixth year as MSU's head coach, and as one of the most decorated athletes in Bobcat history was a four-time All-America and three-time Big Sky Champion. He was far from the program's first steeplechaser, but Dale Kennedy – the program's head coach and distance coach during Weese's storied career – said Weese kick-started #SteepleU's evolution.
"The first one was Lyle Weese, he's now the head coach, and I'm pretty emotional about what he's been able to do that with this event group," Kennedy said after watching McManus, Taylor and Gilbreth raise the program's standard again on Saturday. "It's just awesome. He started it with his running it at the NCAAs three times, Olympic Trials Qualifier, and he's brought his expertise to this event. He's done a terrific job getting these kids ready."
That was on display Friday. McManus took charge of the race early, and he and Taylor led for much of the race. "We didn't have a super specific plan going into it," Weese said, "just wanted to see how it started and make a move in the later third of the race. So it seemed to go pretty much how we expected it to go."
"It was a good race," McManus said. "The plan going in was to wait and make a big move with about a kilometer to go, and I think me and my teammates executed that pretty well. We figured that if it was slow enough some other guys would probably take it and we figured it would be slow that first 800 or so if none of us went for it, so it kind of worked out how we imagined."
Taking the top step on the podium was meaningful for McManus. "It's my first one, and it's great to get it on our home track," he said.
But Taylor's effort, after being sick much of the week leading to Friday's race, was just as significant for his team. Montana State is expected to compete with national power Northern Arizona for this year's league championship on the men's side. "(Coming down the back stretch) all I was thinking about was getting second," he said. "It was (about scoring) team points. I did my job and that's all that matters."
McManus' title marks Montana State's fifth straight, with the previous four won by Bobcat legend Duncan Hamilton. McManus was second a year ago, and captured Second Team All-America honors by finishing 16th at the NCAA Championships. Weese is proud of the SteepleU moniker, but also knows it has a practical application.
"It has become something that we're really known for," Weese said of the steeplechase. "It's always nice to have an identity, and we have an identity as a strong steeple school which is good for our whole distance program. If you can run the steeple you can help in cross country, you can run well at a mile and at 5K. So we definitely take great pride in it."
McManus said Weese remains the engine that drives the SteepleU persona. "He is a huge influence," McManus said of his program's head coach. "We all have so much respect for him and his methods of training, we think they really work, we see results all the time. Especially since he went to school here, I think it means a lot when a coach returns to his program. It's really special."
While lauding his former pupil, Kennedy said that Weese's most important work remains bringing the student-athletes to MSU that perform. "The other side of it is you have to have willing participants" as athletes, Kennedy said. "You've got to know those kids are following him, they're doing what he's asking them to do, and that's why we're seeing success in my mind."
The Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships conclude at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex on Saturday beginning at 10 am.
#GoCatsGo
"It was awesome," McManus said after capturing a gold medal in the steeplechase then turning around and winning his heat of the 1500 m minutes later. "The crowd, there was a lot of engagement, a lot of cheering going down the home stretch. It was awesome."
The enthusiasm that showered the junior from Cashmere, Washington, and Taylor, a grad student from Laurel, was not unfamiliar for Bobcat steeplechasers. In fact, the performances of those two and junior Grace Gilbreth (Bozeman, Montana), who finished third in the women's steeplechase, extends a tradition that has earned Montana State the moniker #SteepleU.
"We've been SteepleU for many years now, and I don't see that going away any time soon," Taylor said, praising Montana State's Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field Lyle Weese. "Lyle's a great steeple coach and I think we'll be on top for a while."
Weese is in his sixth year as MSU's head coach, and as one of the most decorated athletes in Bobcat history was a four-time All-America and three-time Big Sky Champion. He was far from the program's first steeplechaser, but Dale Kennedy – the program's head coach and distance coach during Weese's storied career – said Weese kick-started #SteepleU's evolution.
"The first one was Lyle Weese, he's now the head coach, and I'm pretty emotional about what he's been able to do that with this event group," Kennedy said after watching McManus, Taylor and Gilbreth raise the program's standard again on Saturday. "It's just awesome. He started it with his running it at the NCAAs three times, Olympic Trials Qualifier, and he's brought his expertise to this event. He's done a terrific job getting these kids ready."
That was on display Friday. McManus took charge of the race early, and he and Taylor led for much of the race. "We didn't have a super specific plan going into it," Weese said, "just wanted to see how it started and make a move in the later third of the race. So it seemed to go pretty much how we expected it to go."
"It was a good race," McManus said. "The plan going in was to wait and make a big move with about a kilometer to go, and I think me and my teammates executed that pretty well. We figured that if it was slow enough some other guys would probably take it and we figured it would be slow that first 800 or so if none of us went for it, so it kind of worked out how we imagined."
Taking the top step on the podium was meaningful for McManus. "It's my first one, and it's great to get it on our home track," he said.
But Taylor's effort, after being sick much of the week leading to Friday's race, was just as significant for his team. Montana State is expected to compete with national power Northern Arizona for this year's league championship on the men's side. "(Coming down the back stretch) all I was thinking about was getting second," he said. "It was (about scoring) team points. I did my job and that's all that matters."
McManus' title marks Montana State's fifth straight, with the previous four won by Bobcat legend Duncan Hamilton. McManus was second a year ago, and captured Second Team All-America honors by finishing 16th at the NCAA Championships. Weese is proud of the SteepleU moniker, but also knows it has a practical application.
"It has become something that we're really known for," Weese said of the steeplechase. "It's always nice to have an identity, and we have an identity as a strong steeple school which is good for our whole distance program. If you can run the steeple you can help in cross country, you can run well at a mile and at 5K. So we definitely take great pride in it."
McManus said Weese remains the engine that drives the SteepleU persona. "He is a huge influence," McManus said of his program's head coach. "We all have so much respect for him and his methods of training, we think they really work, we see results all the time. Especially since he went to school here, I think it means a lot when a coach returns to his program. It's really special."
While lauding his former pupil, Kennedy said that Weese's most important work remains bringing the student-athletes to MSU that perform. "The other side of it is you have to have willing participants" as athletes, Kennedy said. "You've got to know those kids are following him, they're doing what he's asking them to do, and that's why we're seeing success in my mind."
The Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships conclude at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex on Saturday beginning at 10 am.
#GoCatsGo
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