Big Sky cross country championships Saturday at Bozeman
10/31/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
Oct. 31, 2013
The Montana cross country teams will compete Saturday at the Big Sky Conference championships in Bozeman. The races will be held at the Bridger Creek Golf Course, with the women's three-mile race starting at 10 a.m., the men's five-mile race at 11 a.m.
Women's Preview
Montana finished 10th at the Big Sky championship last fall, its lowest finish in program history, but first-year coaches Vicky Pounds and Collin Fehr have the Grizzlies back in position to challenge for a top-three finish in 2013.
Northern Arizona, which is ranked No. 4 in the USTFCCCA Mountain Region, and Weber State, ranked No. 5, are likely to finish in the top two spots. The fight for No. 3 will include a number of teams, including Montana and Montana State.
The Bobcats have defeated the Grizzlies twice this fall, once in Bozeman and once in Missoula, but Montana was not at full strength for either race.
On Saturday the Grizzlies will have their full roster competing and athletes who are mostly at full health: redshirt junior Keli Dennehy, juniors Heather Fraley, Allie Parks and Carly Wilczynski, redshirt freshmen Sarah Hastings and Lauryn Wate and freshman Reagan Colyer.
Dennehy led Montana at the Carroll Early Bird Open on Sept. 6 but missed the Grizzlies' next two races with a calf injury. She returned at not yet 100 percent for the Santa Clara Invitational two weeks ago and finished as UM's No. 4 runner.
In Dennehy's absence, Colyer stepped in and took over top-runner status. Colyer led Montana at MSU's meet, finished second to Parks at Montana's home race and once again led the team at Santa Clara.
All seven athletes on Montana's roster have posted a top-three finish within the team this fall, giving the Grizzlies tremendous balance and depth and even a small margin for error on Saturday, at a race where the top five times count in the team standings.
"I think our women are going to do well," Pounds said. "Actually I know they will. Any of those girls can step up and be in our top five. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to be top three, and that's still our goal."
The Montana State women are ranked No. 8 in the region, the Montana women 11th and Northern Colorado 15th.
The Grizzlies defeated Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington and Idaho State head-to-head at Montana State's meet and beat Southern Utah and Idaho State at Santa Clara's race.
Montana finished in the top three at the Big Sky championship six times in eight years between 2003-10 before slipping to fifth in 2011 and 10th a year ago under former coach Courtney Babcock.
Men's Preview
The Montana men won't be matching the women's high finish, at least not this year, according to Pounds.
"That's probably not a realistic goal for the men's side quite yet, but we'll definitely achieve that down the road," she said.
"Everybody on this year's team is moving in the right direction, and everybody is improving and running career-best times. What more could we ask for?"
Northern Arizona, which is ranked No. 2 nationally and has won 13 of the last 15 Big Sky titles, will be untouchable Saturday, and Montana State, which is ranked No. 9 in the region, has a good chance of running its way to second on its home course.
Weber State is ranked No. 13 in the Mountain Region, Montana 15th. Eastern Washington defeated Montana at Montana State's race, and the Grizzlies came in behind both Sacramento State and Idaho State at Santa Clara.
Montana's most consistent racers this fall have been a pair of newcomers: redshirt freshman Adam Wollant and true freshman Paden Alexander.
Wollant was the race's overall winner at the Carroll meet, and he's finished second for Montana at the Grizzlies' last three races. Alexander was No. 4 for Montana at Carroll, No. 3 at Montana State and at home and the Grizzlies' top runner at Santa Clara.
What could make a big difference Saturday would be season-best races from redshirt sophomore Mark Messmer and sophomore Matt Barker. Both have finished as high as No. 1 for Montana and both have finished as low as No. 5.
Redshirt freshman Cody Curtis has also finished in Montana's top five at all four races this fall, twice finishing fourth, twice coming in fifth.
"It does seem to shuffle around a little more with the men (than with the women)," Pounds said. "You see that even in practice. You never know who might be on that day, or who might be a little bit off.
"We just have to trust that it's all going to come together on race day."
The five aforementioned athletes will be racing Saturday, as will junior Ben Williamson and freshman Micah Drew. Sophomore Reid Longley will also make the trip and be ready as an alternate should the need arise.
Montana finished sixth last year, and outside of Lynn Reynolds in 2009, '10 and '11, the Grizzlies haven't had an individual finish in the top 10 since 2004. The Grizzlies have not finished higher than third at the championship since 1989.
Players Mentioned
