Cross country kicks off 2006 season hosting UM Open
9/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
The University of Montana cross country teams will open their 2006 seasons this Saturday, Sept. 9, when the Grizzlies host the UM Open at Lubrecht Forest. The women's four-kilometer race will start at 9:30 a.m., with the men's six-kilometer race scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
Montana will be the only team competing in what will essentially be an intrasquad meet. There are also a handful of unattached runners who will be competing.
The meet will be one of four for the Grizzlies leading up to the Big Sky Conference championships, which will be held at Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday morning, Oct. 28.
"We'll be the only team competing this weekend, but we're just trying to get a race under our belts," said Montana cross country coach Tom Raunig, who is beginning his 20th year of cross country coaching, his 11th at Montana.
"You'll have a lot of jitters in the first meet when you haven't raced all summer. We'd like to get those bugs worked out at home rather than go down to Bozeman the next weekend (for the Montana State Invitational) for a scored meet against excellent competition for our first race of the fall. With this low-key meet, where the pressure is mainly coming from your own teammates, we can be a little more prepared for that meet.
"This meet will also be a chance to establish positions within the team. When we get into the latter part of the season, I'll need to narrow our travel squad (for NCAA Pre-Nationals, the Big Sky Championships and the NCAA Mountain Regional) down to seven, so I'll be looking at each runner's body of work throughout the fall and see who has run consistently strong.
"This gives me another opportunity to see what athletes can do and for them to show me how they handle competitive situations."
Women Picked Third, Men Sixth in Big Sky: The Montana cross country teams were picked for third- and sixth-place finishes in the 2006 Big Sky Conference preseason coaches poll the league office announced in late August. Northern Arizona topped both polls by narrow margins over Weber State.
The Griz women were picked for third, which would replicate their finish from the 2005 Big Sky meet. The top seven teams in the 2006 women's poll were all in the same position as the final 2005 championship results, with NAU followed by WSU, Montana, Montana State, Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Portland State.
League newcomer Northern Colorado was picked for eighth, while Sacramento State, which placed eighth at last year's conference meet, was picked for ninth.
The Lumberjacks earned five first-place votes, with the Wildcats picking up the other four.
On the men's side, the Grizzlies were selected for a sixth-place finish, which would also mirror their 2005 finish.
Northern Arizona picked up six first-place votes. The Lumberjacks were followed by Weber State (three first-place votes), Idaho State, Montana State, Eastern Washington, UM, Portland State, Sacramento State and Northern Colorado.
After NAU and WSU, the next four teams were all within six points in the voting.
Montana will be the only team competing in what will essentially be an intrasquad meet. There are also a handful of unattached runners who will be competing.
The meet will be one of four for the Grizzlies leading up to the Big Sky Conference championships, which will be held at Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday morning, Oct. 28.
"We'll be the only team competing this weekend, but we're just trying to get a race under our belts," said Montana cross country coach Tom Raunig, who is beginning his 20th year of cross country coaching, his 11th at Montana.
"You'll have a lot of jitters in the first meet when you haven't raced all summer. We'd like to get those bugs worked out at home rather than go down to Bozeman the next weekend (for the Montana State Invitational) for a scored meet against excellent competition for our first race of the fall. With this low-key meet, where the pressure is mainly coming from your own teammates, we can be a little more prepared for that meet.
"This meet will also be a chance to establish positions within the team. When we get into the latter part of the season, I'll need to narrow our travel squad (for NCAA Pre-Nationals, the Big Sky Championships and the NCAA Mountain Regional) down to seven, so I'll be looking at each runner's body of work throughout the fall and see who has run consistently strong.
"This gives me another opportunity to see what athletes can do and for them to show me how they handle competitive situations."
Women Picked Third, Men Sixth in Big Sky: The Montana cross country teams were picked for third- and sixth-place finishes in the 2006 Big Sky Conference preseason coaches poll the league office announced in late August. Northern Arizona topped both polls by narrow margins over Weber State.
The Griz women were picked for third, which would replicate their finish from the 2005 Big Sky meet. The top seven teams in the 2006 women's poll were all in the same position as the final 2005 championship results, with NAU followed by WSU, Montana, Montana State, Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Portland State.
League newcomer Northern Colorado was picked for eighth, while Sacramento State, which placed eighth at last year's conference meet, was picked for ninth.
The Lumberjacks earned five first-place votes, with the Wildcats picking up the other four.
On the men's side, the Grizzlies were selected for a sixth-place finish, which would also mirror their 2005 finish.
Northern Arizona picked up six first-place votes. The Lumberjacks were followed by Weber State (three first-place votes), Idaho State, Montana State, Eastern Washington, UM, Portland State, Sacramento State and Northern Colorado.
After NAU and WSU, the next four teams were all within six points in the voting.
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