Cross Country Returns to Columbia for Pre-National Invitational

Friday, October 17

Columbia, Mo.

10 a.m. CT/9 a.m. MT

Montana State University

Pre-National Invitational

Photo by: Pershelle Rohrer

Cross Country Returns to Columbia for Pre-National Invitational

10/16/2025 2:10:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Bobcats set for final regular-season meet ahead of Big Sky Championships

By: Pershelle Rohrer

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State cross country teams are set for their final tune-up ahead of the Big Sky Championships, traveling to Columbia, Mo., for the Pre-National Invitational at Gans Creek Cross Country Course.

The Bobcats will compete in Columbia for the second-straight meet as they test the NCAA Championship course for the second time this season. The Pre-National Invitational, which was originally scheduled for Saturday morning, was pushed forward by one day to Friday due to weather. The Bobcat women will open the day in the 6k at 9 a.m. MT followed by the men's 8k at 9:45 a.m.

The Pre-National Invitational will air live on SEC Network+ with live results available on PrimeTime Timing.

"After two months of practice and limited racing, we are right in the thick of the racing and coming championship season," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "The Pre-NCAA will be a great measuring stick to get an even clearer idea of where we are at heading into the conference championships in Bozeman in two weeks. The field will once again be an elite field with some similarities to the Gans Creek Classic three weeks ago. Both the men and women seem to have taken big steps forward, and I am excited to see what that looks like against the strong field of competing teams. It is a unique experience competing on the same cross country course twice in one season. We will take what we learned from the first time on the course three weeks ago in order to maximize our team and individual performances."

Montana State is one of 39 scoring teams in the women's field while 35 teams will compete on the men's side. The Bobcats are among another stacked field in Columbia that features seven nationally-ranked women's teams and five men's teams ranked in the top 30 nationally. On the women's side, No. 1 BYU, No. 3 Florida, No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Villanova, No. 21 Missouri, No. 23 Boston College, and No. 30 Tennessee will be in attendance while No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Missouri, No. 22 Arkansas, No. 24 Ole Miss, and No. 30 Loyola Chicago will take the course for the men's race. Montana State will also face two of its conference rivals at the meet, with Idaho State and Northern Colorado competing against the Bobcats in both races.

Sixteen Bobcats are expected to compete in Columbia on Friday – eight in each race. The women's race will feature Samantha Geraets, Annie Kaul, Eva Koos, Niamh Motley, Hannah Perrin, Claire Rutherford, Madi Siana, and Hailey Watkins while Eli Boppart, Harvey Cramb, Sam Ells, Ryan Harrington, Quinn Newman, AJ Ringert, Owen Smith, and Blaise Snow will compete in the men's race.

The Bobcats are heading into their third and final meet of the regular season following the MSU Bobcat Twilight in Bozeman and the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, a meet in which Montana State faced a slew of nationally-ranked competition. Owen Smith led the Bobcats on the men's side with a time of 23:36.8 to finish 79^th in the 8k gold race while Madi Siana clocked a 6k time of 21:14.7 to finish 142^nd in the women's gold race. Both teams placed 31^st overall while testing the course against some of the nation's top teams.

Montana State heads into Friday's Pre-National Invitational ranked No. 11 in the Mountain Region on the men's side and No. 12 on the women's side.

The Bobcats will cap off the regular season in Columbia on Friday before returning to Bozeman for the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Bridger Creek Cross Country Course.

Follow the Bobcats
For the latest news, updates, and behind-the-scenes coverage of the Montana State cross country teams, follow the Bobcats on Twitter and Instagram at @MSUBobcatsTFXC. Information on the Montana State athletic program can be found online at msubobcats.com or by following the Bobcats on Twitter at @MSUBobcats, Instagram at @MontanaStateBobcats, and on Facebook at Montana State Bobcats.