Bobcats Secure Pair of Runner-Up Finishes at Big Sky Cross Country Championships

Friday, October 30

Flagstaff, Ariz.

11 a.m.

Montana State University

Big Sky Cross Country Championships

Final Results

Photo by: Jordan Fetterman

10/30/2026 5:55:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Final Results

Quinn Newman earns all-conference honors, Claire Rutherford leads Bobcat women

By: Pershelle Rohrer

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. --- The Montana State cross country program left Flagstaff, Ariz., with a pair of runner-up team results following the Big Sky Cross Country Championships, which took place at Buffalo Park on Friday.

Junior Quinn Newman used a breakout performance to earn All-Big Sky honors with a fifth-place result. He led the Bobcat men to second place with a total of 71 points as three Cats finished in the top 15 and four earned top-20 results in Flagstaff. No. 19 Northern Arizona took the team title with 20 points, while Weber State (79 points), Southern Utah (93), and Montana (134) rounded out the top five teams in the men's 8k.

Sophomore Claire Rutherford led the Bobcat women in 12^th place as Montana State tallied 77 points in their runner-up result. Four of the Bobcats' five finishers completed the race in the top 20 to lead a strong performance in Arizona. No. 5 Northern Arizona also earned the team title on the women's side, with Idaho (97) besting Weber State (97) in a tiebreaker for third and Southern Utah taking fifth with 136 points.

"We took steps forward from last year's conference meet and that showed with the second-place finishes," Montana State Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "Quinn Newman had an outstanding day and was the highlight for the men's team. Eli Boppart and Tyler Blair really stepped up as well, which boosted our men's team performance. Claire Rutherford had another great day and led the women's team, but really the story of the day was pack and depth. The group really moved up over the last mile, which secured the second-place team finish."

Newman led the Bobcat men across the finish line for the first time this season with his personal-best time of 24:02.0, finishing fifth overall for his best result of the season and All-Big Sky honors. AJ Ringert (12^th) and Sam Ells (13^th) were the Bobcats' second and third finishers, respectively, with times of 24:27.1 and 24:33.4. Ryan Harrington completed the 8k in 24:59.0 for 20^th place, and Eli Boppart crossed the finish line in 25:05.6 for 25^th place to round out the Bobcats' five scorers.

Rutherford was the top finisher for the Bobcat women for the fourth time this season with her 12^th-place result. She crossed the finish line in a personal-best 16:42.5 in the 5k to lead the Bobcats in Flagstaff. Annie Kaul and Eva Koos finished less than a second apart for 16^th and 17^th place, clocking times of 16:56.7 and 16:57.4, both of which marked personal bests. Freshman Caroline Fender took 19^th place in a personal-best 17:02.2, and Niamh Motley finished in Montana State's fifth and final scoring position with a 23^rd-place time of 17:16.7, marking a new personal best.

Full results from the Big Sky Cross Country Championships can be found here.

Montana State will continue its postseason at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., on Friday, Nov. 13, as it seeks to qualify runners for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 21.

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