Smith, Ells Lead Bobcat Men to 11th Place at 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

Smith, Ells Lead Bobcat Men to 11th Place at Pre-National Invitational

10/17/2025 1:31:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Final Results

Bobcat duo places in top 25 individually as cross country wraps up regular season

By: Pershelle Rohrer

COLUMBIA, Mo. --- Owen Smith and Sam Ells each posted top-25 individual finishes at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo., on Friday to lead the Montana State men's cross country team to 11^th place at the Pre-National Invitational, hosted by the University of Missouri.

The Bobcat men tallied 296 points in the 8k to finish just three points outside of the top 10. In the women's 6k earlier that morning, Montana State posted 918 points to finish 36^th. On the men's side, Georgia took the team victory with 119 points as No. 19 Missouri (164), No. 24 Ole Miss (178), Texas (183), and No. 30 Loyola Chicago (192) rounded out the top five teams. No. 1 BYU won the women's race, dominating with 25 points, with No. 19 Villanova (170), No. 21 Missouri (216), No. 30 Tennessee (219), and Florida State (255) finishing second through fifth.

"In the last race before the conference championships, I feel like both teams took a step forward," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "The men's team put together a really nice race. Owen Smith continued his outstanding senior season with another great race. Sam Ells rebounded after struggling with sickness at the Gans Creek Classic a few weeks ago to put together a really good race. Madi Siana continued her outstanding season with another quality race in Missouri after a really nice run a few weeks ago on the same course. This race helps us build momentum and confidence, as well as gives us some things to fine tune as we look forward to competing at home for the conference championships in Bozeman."

Smith clocked a personal-best time of 23:32.3 to lead the Bobcats across the finish line for the second-straight meet, placing 17^th overall. The graduate student opened the race in 17^th at the 1,000-meter split and remained in the top 20 for the duration of the 8k. Ells followed close behind in 21^st place with a time of 23:44.7 to finish as Montana State's second scorer. Blaise Snow was third across the line for the Bobcats with a season-best time of 24:25.5 to finish 77^th overall. Harvey Cramb clocked a 24:30.9 to finish 85^th, and Ryan Harrington placed 105^th with a time of 24:47.6 to round out MSU's scorers in Columbia.

Madi Siana, who was Montana State's top finisher at the Gans Creek Classic three weeks ago, posted the Bobcat women's fastest time on Friday with a 6k mark of 21:10.7, a new personal best. The sophomore placed 110^th overall to lead the Bobcats across the line. Hannah Perrin earned Montana State's second scoring position with a time of 22:00.6 to finish 212^th. Claire Rutherford placed 232^nd with a season-best 22:08.1, Eva Koos finished 249^th in 22:17.2, and Annie Kaul clocked a 22:24.5 to cross the line in 257^th to round out the Bobcats' scorers on Friday.

Full results from the Pre-National Invitational can be found on PrimeTime Timing.

The Pre-National Invitational marked the conclusion of the regular season for the Bobcats. Montana State will return home to open postseason competition in two weeks at the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships. The meet is set for Saturday, Nov. 1, and will take place at Bridger Creek Cross Country Course in Bozeman.

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