Men's Track and Field
- Title:
- Dale Kennedy Director of Track and Field
- Email:
- lyle.weese@msubobcats.com
- Phone:
- 406.994.7837
Lyle Weese – a former Bobcat standout that garnered four All-America honors, three Big Sky Conference individual championships and was named the Big Sky Male Outstanding Track Athlete of the Year as a senior – was appointed as Montana State's Director of Track and Field and Cross Country on August 16, 2018. The 2024-25 season will be his seventh as the director of the track and field program as well as his 11th heading the distance group at Montana State.
Weese’s tenure as the head of the program has brought the consistent success his predecessor – legendary coach Dale Kennedy whose named is formally connected to MSU’s head coaching position through a million-dollar endowment – created while also helping spur Bobcats to annual achievements at the national level.
Weese was named the 2024 Big Sky Outdoor Men's Track & Field Coach of the Year and the 2024 USTFCCCA Mountain Region Men's Coach of the Year after leading the Cats to their first outdoor Big Sky title since 2005 and their second-ever in the 60-year history of the league. On the back of the most memorable race in program history, the MSU 4x400 relay team closed out the 2024 Big Sky Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Bobcat Track & Field Complex in Bozeman with a win in school-record time, giving Montana State a 186-185 victory in the team totals over No. 11 Northern Arizona, who had won nine of the previous 11 championships.
Since Weese took over the reins in track and field, MSU men’s teams have accomplished top three showings in nine of ten possible championship appearances, with five coming in runner-up fashion (2019 indoor, 2021 outdoor, 2022 outdoor, 2023 outdoor, 2024 indoor).
The Bobcat women’s squad has totaled seven top-three finishes with a runner-up showing at the 2019 indoor meet before second-place finishes at each of the last five conference championship competitions (2022 outdoor, 2023 indoor, 2023 outdoor, 2024 indoor, 2024 outdoor).
Between the men and the women, the 2024 indoor and outdoor seasons saw 74 new all-time top ten marks get added to the record books, along with 11 new school records.
Weese’s cross country teams have also found their footing among their Big Sky peers in one of the toughest Division I distance conferences. Weese’s women’s squad has finished among the top three in the Big Sky six out of ten years under his guidance, including runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2023. His men’s team has placed among the top three in the Big Sky at the previous four conference meets, including runner-up performances in each of the last two seasons (2022, 2023) and third-place showings at the 2019 and 2021 championships.
Individual standout performances have become the norm for the Bobcat track and field program under Weese as of late.
In cross country, Weese has had 10 all-Big Sky performances between seven athletes. At the 2019 meet, Camila Noe won the Big Sky women’s championship – the first Bobcat female to achieve the feat since 1992 – while also claiming Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors. That same championship saw the Bobcat men have three runners earn All-Big Sky accolades (Collin Buck, Duncan Hamilton and Ty Mogan) which was the most for the program in 17 years. The distance squad’s fall achievements have been stretched further on to the national level. MSU currently has an active streak of three years in which an athlete has advanced to the NCAA Championships (Ty Mogan 2018, Camila Noe 2019, Duncan Hamilton 2020-21). Noe placed 30th at the 2019 meet in Terre Haute, Ind., becoming the women’s team’s first ever All-American in cross country.
After a three-year run out of the NCAA Championship picture in track and field, the Bobcats made waves at the national level during the 2020-21 academic year.
Duncan Hamilton earned All-America honors both indoors and outdoors, with his NCAA highlight being a fifth-place fifth in Eugene in the 3,000 steeplechase. He earned First Team All-America status by breaking Weese’s previous program record in the event, then shattered it at the ensuing Olympic Trials in which he advanced to a finals appearance. Hamilton’s three NCAA showings during the 2020-21 campaign boosted him into a category with the likes of Shannon Butler (1990-91) and Weese (2002-03).
Lucy Corbett became MSU’s second All-American in Weese’s program as she placed 12th at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the women’s high jump.
The distance group has had several strong performers over the years that have highlighted Montana State’s efforts. During his span as the head of MSU’s distance group, Weese has helped guide MSU to a combined eight individual gold medals and four in the distance medley relay between the men’s and women’s teams indoors, while he’s watched 12 gold medal efforts outdoors. He’s also oversaw 27 all-Big Sky showings for the women’s team and 19 by the men while heading the distance squad.
Before taking over the reins from Kennedy in 2018, Weese’s full-time tenure opened in the fall of 2014 guiding the distance group. From that time on, he had multiple individuals earn trips to NCAA meets including Cristian Soratos (2015 indoor and outdoor), Heather Demorest (2015 outdoor), Alyssa Snyder (2017 outdoor) and Diego Leon (2018 indoor). Each earned All-America honors with Soratos claiming two First Team honors – which featured a near NCAA title in the mile when he took second at the 2015 indoor meet – and Snyder taking fourth in the 10,000.
In his tenure as the lead of his premiere event group, Weese’s athletes have set a combined four of the men’s and women’s indoor distance school records along with a combined eight outdoor records.
Weese made his start as a coach on the Bobcat staff as a volunteer assistant in 2009 following a stint at Hartnell Community College. He originally made his way to Bozeman after completing a stellar prep career at Beaverhead County High School in Dillon, Mont. His abilities on the track became even more noticeable when he joined the Blue and Gold.
The Bobcat distance runner earned his first All-America award as a junior when he placed 10th overall in the 3,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. His next All-America honor came as a senior on the MSU cross country team.
Weese helped lead the Bobcats to a conference championship by taking fifth at the Big Sky meet in 2002, then placed fourth individually at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships to help propel the squad to the NCAA Championships. Weese, serving as a captain on the team, led the Bobcats with a 19th place individual showing while the team took 11th overall at the meet. It's Montana State's best team performance all-time on the national stage.
His success continued as he moved into the track and field indoor and outdoor seasons. Weese completed back-to-back All-America finishes during the indoor slate by taking seventh in the 3,000 at the NCAA meet. He added a Big Sky championship to his individual achievements that season in the 5,000. He completed his collegiate career during the outdoor season by capturing two titles at the Big Sky meet during the outdoor season, winning the 5,000 and 3,000 steeplechase. He also earned his highest finish at an NCAA Championship event and completed his fourth All-America showing when he placed fifth in the steeplechase at the national outdoor meet in 2003.
Weese’s program record in the men's 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 8 minutes, 33.35 seconds held firm until the 2021 NCAA Championships when pupil Duncan Hamilton broke it en route to an All-America performance. Weese still sits among the best in the Bobcat record book in several events. Weese is currently seventh in the mile (4:04.21), second in the 3,000 (7:54.35) and fourth in the 5,000 (14:06.66) on MSU's all-time indoor top 10 list. He sits seventh in the 1,500 (3:45.05) and third in the 5,000 (13:50.33) on the outdoor list.
Weese's successful collegiate career at MSU spanned from 1998-2003. He was an All-American in the indoor 3,000 (twice), steeplechase and in cross country, earning him four total NCAA All-America awards. Weese was inducted in the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
After graduating from MSU, Weese continued his distance running career training with Team USA Minnesota in Minneapolis and Big Sur Distance Project in Monterey, Calif. He competed in the steeplechase at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. Prior to Montana State, Weese served as an assistant coach at Hartnell Community College in Salinas, Calif., from 2007-09.
Weese received his degree in Business in 2003 and earned a Master’s in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia (CA) in 2010. He is also a United States Track and Field Level One certified coach.
Weese resides in Bozeman with his wife, Sierra and their two sons, Rowan and Caz.
