Griz eager for first true test of the season
9/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
Sept. 20, 2013
The Montana cross country teams will race for the second time this fall when the Grizzlies compete Saturday at the Bozeman Running Company Invitational at the Bridger Creek Golf Course in Bozeman.
The men's five-mile race starts at 9 a.m. The women's 3-mile race begins at 9:45 a.m.
A dozen teams will be competing, including five Big Sky Conference schools. In addition to Montana and Montana State, Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Northern Colorado will be racing.
Other teams competing will be Utah State, Utah Valley, the Utah women's team, Carroll, Great Falls, Rocky Mountain and Minot State.
The Montana storyline: The Grizzlies ran to rousing victories in both the men's and women's races two weekends ago at Carroll's Early Bird Invitational, with redshirt freshman Adam Wollant claiming the men's six-kilometer title and redshirt junior Keli Dennehy taking the women's four-kilometer race.
But, with only Carroll and Rocky Mountain sending athletes to the meet, Montana placing five in the top six overall in both races was to be expected. Saturday's race will be not just a step up in competition but an entire flight of steps.
Three of the men's teams that will be racing -- Utah Valley (8th), Utah State (12th) and Montana State (13th) -- are ranked in the latest USTFCCCA Mountain Region poll. Four women's teams -- Utah (9th), Utah Valley (10th), Utah State (11th) and Idaho State (12th) -- are ranked.
Montana is not ranked in either poll.
"I'm excited. I think we'll turn some heads," said Vicky Pounds, one of UM's cross country coaches. "We'll be running against better competition this weekend, and I think our kids will rise to the occasion."
On Thursday Pounds was most excited to talk about her women's team, which was right in the middle of an excellent week of practice.
Saturday will be a particularly good measuring stick for the Grizzlies, who were picked ninth out of 11 teams in the Big Sky Conference preseason coaches' poll. Montana was slotted behind Montana State (4th), Idaho State (5th) and Northern Colorado (7th) and one spot ahead of Eastern Washington (10th).
"Practice went really well this week. Our girls are jelling, and it's really exciting to see," Pounds said. "It's a tight pack. You can just feel the energy when they're running and working together as a team."
At the season-opening meet, Dennehy (14:12) defeated the field by 20 seconds to win her first collegiate race. Junior Carly Wilczynski (14:32) was second, freshman Reagan Colyer (14:37) third and redshirt freshman Sarah Hastings (14:49) fourth.
Junior Heather Fraley (14:58), a transfer from Flathead Valley Community College, was Montana's No. 5 runner and placed sixth overall.
Pounds had more of a wait-and-see attitude when talking about her men's team, because even she doesn't know for sure what she'll have on Saturday.
Junior Ben Williamson, a transfer from Colorado (who did not race for the Buffaloes), was finally cleared but hadn't yet trained with the team as of Thursday morning and will racing Saturday for the first time in a Montana uniform.
Sophomore Matt Barker missed the team's workouts this week because of class conflicts, and two others sat out most of the week because of illnesses.
"The men had some great workouts this week as well, but it was tough because Matt wasn't able to train with the team, and two guys were sick, so we had to rest them," Pounds said.
"But you could still see good things. Fitness levels are coming along, and if all the guys were present I think we would have a tight pack like we did at Carroll."
Winning that race was Wollant (19:09), who only made the team through a tryout the week before. Redshirt sophomore Mark Messmer (19:25) was second overall, Barker (19:35) was fourth, freshman Paden Alexander (19:43) was fifth, and redshirt freshman Cody Curtis (19:45) was sixth.
For both teams, the Carroll race was a good start, but a predictable dominance. Saturday will be a better gauge on how they stand up against their Big Sky rivals.
"Carroll was a good confidence-booster, but I get the feeling they need this meet to really prove it to themselves," Pounds said. "It just needs to be one step at a time, and their confidence will grow.
"I think they feel like they're better than they're ranked, and they're out to show that."
Big Sky Conference preview: Saturday's race drew so many Big Sky Conference teams because Montana State and the Bridger Creek Golf Course will host this year's conference championship race on Saturday, Nov. 2.
The Grizzlies race in Bozeman every fall, but with the team's youth, many will be seeing the course for the first time.
"When it becomes beneficial is when the athletes do their mental prep for the race in November," Pounds said. "Having been on the course before, they'll be able to visualize it better."
Upcoming: The Grizzlies will host the Montana Invitational at the UM Golf Course on Friday morning, Oct. 4.
