Cross Country Begins Season with MSU Bobcat Twilight

Friday, September 4

Bozeman, Mont.

7:20 p.m.

Montana State University

MSU Bobcat Twilight

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

9/3/2026 2:41:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Live Results

Montana State seeks to defend individual and team titles after sweeping last year’s meet

By: Pershelle Rohrer

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State cross country program kicks off its 2026 season by hosting the MSU Bobcat Twilight at Dyche Field on Friday evening.

The Bobcats will look to finish on top of the team and individual leaderboards at the meet for the sixth-straight year when the take the course on Friday, with fifth-year Sam Ells seeking his third-straight win in the men's race. The meet will begin with a Community, Alumni, Faculty, and Staff 3k at 6:30 p.m. MT, with the collegiate 5ks to follow with the men's race at 7:20 p.m. and the women's race at 7:45 p.m.

Live results from the MSU Bobcat Twilight will be available here. The meet will not be live streamed.

"The Bobcat Twilight is a fun way to start the season," Dale Kennedy Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Lyle Weese said. "It is an on-campus race, the first race of the season for everyone on the team, and for some the first time putting on the MSU jersey. Additionally, the community really tends to come out and support the team, which immediately connects the team to the great track & field and cross country community. There are a lot of newcomers to the men's and women's cross country teams. It will be exciting to see how they react to what is a low-key, but still a race, environment. The returners generally came off the summer prepared for a good season. On Friday evening, they will be able to display the fruits of the hard work they put in over months of training."

The Competition: Montana State joins eight other teams from the state of Montana in competing at Dyche Field on Friday evening. The Bobcats' competition includes Carroll College, Dawson Community College, Montana, Montana Tech, Montana Western, MSU-Billings, MSU-Northern, and Rocky Mountain College.

Bobcat Competitors: Thirteen competitors on each squad are expected to don the Bobcat uniform for the season opener. The men's team will be represented by returners Eil Boppart, Harvey Cramb, back-to-back MSU Bobcat Twilight men's 5k winner Sam Ells, Jackson Fagerlin, Ryan Harrington, Niko Mann, Quinn Newman, AJ Ringert, and Blaise Snow, as well as freshmen Tyler Blair, Camden Houchin, Kye McAbee, and Race Morrell. For the women, returners Stella Diaz, Samantha Geraets, Annie Kaul, Sophia Miller, Niamh Motley, Claire Rutherford, and Kaitlyn Skinner, and freshmen Gianna Cicora, Caroline Fender, Sofia Ledermann, Addi Lilyquist, Miranda Oblad, and Quinn Stranahan are set to toe the line for the Cats.

Bobcats in the Polls: Montana State enters the 2026 with high expectations, with the Bobcat men and women both ranked second in the Big Sky Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Polls after finishing third at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships a year ago. The Bobcats, who placed 11^th in both races at the NCAA Mountain Regionals in 2025, checked in at 10^th in the Mountain Region rankings on the men's side and 12^th in the women's poll in the first U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional rankings of the season.

Roster Rundown: Montana State will field a roster of 15 men and 18 women for the 2026 season. The men's team features nine returners and six newcomers, while the women's squad includes 11 returners and seven new members.

Both squads will return four of their five scorers from last season's conference championships, including 2025 All-Big Sky honoree Sam Ells, 2025 Big Sky Freshman of the Year Ryan Harrington, AJ Ringert, and Harvey Cramb on the men's side and Madi Siana, Eva Koos, Claire Rutherford, and Annie Kaul for the women. Other Bobcat returners include Eli Boppart, Jackson Fagerlin, Niko Mann, Quinn Newman, Blaise Snow, Stella Diaz, Samantha Geraets, Sophia Miller, Kalei Moravitz, Niamh Motley, Iris Rogel, and Katilyn Skinner.

New faces for the Bobcat men include include Iowa Western Community College junior transfer Pierre Carlier and freshmen Tyler Blair, Dylan Hill, Camden Houchin, Kye McAbee, and Race Morrell. On the women's side, fifth-year Kensey May and freshmen Gianna Cicora, Caroline Fender, Sofia Ledermann, Addi Lilyquist, Miranda Oblad, and Quinn Stranahan will compete in Blue and Gold for the first time in 2026.

Freshmen to Watch: Two Bobcats expected to make an immediate impact on the distance program are Tyler Blair on the men's squad and Caroline Fender on the women's team.

Blair joins the Bobcats out of Eagle Valley High School in Gypsum, Colo., where he finished seventh in the 800-meter run at the 4A Colorado State Track & Field Championships as a senior with a personal-best time of 1:52.99. He competed for Team USA at the International U18 Mountain Running Cup twice, finishing 11^th individually to guide the Americans to first place in Montaña Palentina, Spain, in 2024 before placing seventh at the 2025 iteration of the event in Donovaly, Slovakia, as Team USA placed third overall. Blair holds personal-best times of 14:53 in the 5k (XC), 4:13.76 in the mile, and 1:52.99 in the 800m.

Fender arrives in Bozeman out of Heritage High School in Littleton, Colo., where she was a three-time all-state honoree as a senior. She took seventh place in the 5A state cross country meet in 2025 before adding a sixth-place result in the 3,200m and an eighth-place finish in the 1,600m at the state track & field championships in 2026. She clocked a personal-best 3,200m time of 10:18.60 at the Arcadia Invite in California during her senior season.

Up Next: The Bobcats' regular-season schedule features six meets across five weekends during the fall. Following the MSU Bobcat Twilight, Montana State will split up for its second meet weekend of the season, sending competitors to the Montana Invite in Missoula, Mont., on Sept. 18 and the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., on Sept. 19. A packed October slate will feature the Frank Knott Classic in Spokane Valley, Wash., on Oct. 3, the Yellowjacket/Battlin' Bears Invite in Billings, Mont., on Oct. 9, and the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 16. Postseason competitions begins on Oct. 30 in Flagstaff, Ariz., as the Bobcats compete at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships, with the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships to follow in Albuquerque, N.M., on Nov. 13. Those who qualify will wrap up the season at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute on Nov. 21.

Follow the Bobcats
For the latest news, updates, and behind-the-scenes coverage of the Montana State cross country program, 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.