Defending champions picked second in preseason poll
8/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
Aug. 24, 2011
The University of Montana women's cross country team, which won the 2010 Big Sky Conference championship, the program's first title since 1984, was picked second in the 2011 preseason coaches' poll the league announced this week.
The Griz men's team, eighth place last fall, was picked for a sixth-place finish.
The surprise of the women's poll was that Weber State, which picked up five of the nine first-place votes, wasn't a unanimous first-place selection. The Wildcats, who were second to Montana last fall, placed four in the top 13 last October at Cheney, Wash., and all four were underclassmen.
Montana picked up a pair of first-place votes, as did Northern Arizona, which finished an uncharacteristic fifth in 2010 and was third in this year's poll.
Four of Montana's seven athletes running at the conference meet last fall were seniors. That included Katrina Drennen, who finished second overall to Idaho State senior Erica Wendt-Richardson.
Kara DeWalt and Brooke Andrus, also seniors in 2010, placed 14th and 17th, respectively, to round out the Grizzlies' top five at the championship.
Headlining Montana's returners are senior Kesslee Payne and sophomore Keli Dennehy. Payne was seventh in 2009 to earn All-Big Sky honors, and she placed just outside of the top 10 a year ago in 12th.
Dennehy was fourth as a freshman and in Montana's top three at all five fall races.
The other non-senior on last year's championship roster was current sophomore Annie Moore, who finished 24th.
Coach Courtney Babcock made up for the losses by adding a pair of freshmen she expects to contribute in their first season of eligibility.
Allie Parks, from Greeley, Colo., was the 2009 and 2010 Colorado Class 4A state cross country champion.
Carly Wilczynski, from South Hill, Wash., made her mark in track, where she was a 5:03.04 1,600 meters runner as a senior.
That's five names, and five runners score at the Big Sky and NCAA Mountain Region championships. What that doesn't leave this fall is much margin for error (or injuries).
"We have a really good crew of girls on this team, but what we'll lack this year is the depth we had last season. We lost four seniors from our top seven, which is pretty significant," Babcock said.
"We just don't have the little bit of leeway for getting injured that we had last year. Keeping everybody healthy and running at their best is going to be the key this year."
The Montana men's team in 2010 was Lynn Reynolds and (waiting, waiting, waiting ... still waiting) everybody else.
Reynolds, now a senior, was Montana's top finisher at all five of the team's races in 2010, and he outraced his closest teammate by over 90 seconds at each race, a substantial margin over courses that ranged from five miles and 10 kilometers in a sport that preaches the power of running in a pack.
"We had a series of events that led to a down year last fall, but I'm excited about the men's team. I think we're going to surprise a lot of people," Babcock predicted.
"A lot of the returners have stepped up, and we have a lot of great incoming freshmen and transfers who I expect to be right in there."
Among the returners junior Cody Lund was Montana's No. 3 runner at the Big Sky meet, and junior Casey Weinman was No. 4, though that meant finishing 45th and 49th at the championship.
Junior Max Hardy entered fall camp running a close second to Reynolds, and he finished in Montana's top three at the season's first two meets, but a midseason injury put an end to any chance of extending those performances to early November.
Babcock's two transfers are sophomores Connor Williams, who ran last fall for Eastern Washington, and Jordan Collison, a steeplechaser like Reynolds who should be strong as well in cross country. Collison most recently ran for the University of Windsor.
Freshman David Norris, from Hayden, Idaho, is a two-time Idaho Class 5A state champion in the 800 meters, and freshman Sam Willis, from Canyon Country, Calif., is a 4:16.47 1,600 meters runner.
"I think it's going to be a cohesive group this year that's going to work together really well," Babcock added.
"The guys are excited and have been working together already. That kind of group mentality can really produce a strong team."
Montana is still more than three weeks out from its first race of the season. The Grizzlies will open at the Montana State Invitational in Bozeman on Saturday, Sept. 17.
2011 Big Sky Conference Women's Poll
1. Weber State (5) ... 76
2. Montana (2) ... 66
3. Northern Arizona (2) ... 65
4. Idaho State ... 60
5. Sacramento State ... 48
6. Montana State ... 35
7. Eastern Washington ... 25
8. Portland State ... 16
9. Northern Colorado ... 14
2011 Big Sky Conference Men's Poll
1. Northern Arizona (9) ... 81
2. Montana State ... 67
3. Weber State ... 66
4. Sacramento State ... 49
5. Eastern Washington ... 42
6. Montana ... 35
-- Idaho State ... 35
8. Portland State ... 19
9. Northern Colorado ... 11
Players Mentioned
