NCAA Mountain Regional cross country race Friday
11/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
2014 Performance List 
The Montana cross country teams will conclude their fall season this week at the NCAA Mountain Regional. The races will be held Friday at Albuquerque, N.M.
The women's six-kilometer race will start at noon, the men's 10-kilometer race at 1 p.m. Both races will be contested on New Mexico's North Golf Course.
Both teams will have just five representatives. The women's team will be made up of redshirt senior Keli Dennehy, seniors Heather Fraley and Carly Wilczynski, redshirt sophomore Lauryn Wate and freshman Christina Seas.
The men will have senior Ben Williamson, redshirt juniors Mark Messmer and David Norris, redshirt sophomore Adam Wollant and freshman Nathan Wellington.
The Griz men are coming off a seventh-place showing at the Big Sky Conference championships at Grand Forks, N.D., on Nov. 1. The women were eighth.
"Friday's races are about achieving potential," said UM coach Collin Fehr. "Obviously we're not going down there trying to win, but we do want to have a solid race and finish the season on a high note so we can take some confidence into the indoor track season.
"We're hoping to have a solid team performance and walk away knowing everybody ran well individually and we had a good team effort."
There will be 17 men's teams competing Friday, and Montana is ranked 15th in the region. The Grizzlies did not crack the top 15 until their showing at the Big Sky championship.
The Mountain Region is loaded on the men's side, with six teams -- Colorado, Northern Arizona, New Mexico, BYU, Air Force and Southern Utah -- ranked in the top 30 nationally. The Buffaloes are the nation's No. 1-ranked team. NAU (10), UNM (13) and BYU (15) are also in the top 15.
"If we ever want to get to the point where we compete at that level, we've got to be exposed to it. It can be deflating, but it can also be very motivating. There are some of the best runners in the country there, so it's really an eye-opener for everybody on the team," said Fehr.
"It's a yearly reminder to me that we've got to put some work in and get that kind of runner to Montana to be able to compete at that level. But it's exciting, because i think it's totally doable."
Messmer has led the Montana men's team at three of its four races this fall. He placed 36th overall at the Big Sky championship.
The Mountain Region is not as strong on the women's side. New Mexico, at No. 9, and Colorado, at No. 12, are the only teams ranked in the top 30 nationally. Rounding out the top three in the region are BYU, Northern Arizona and Wyoming.
Dennehy has been the women's team's top runner at all four fall races, with an 11th-place finish at the Big Sky championship. Fraley has been second to Dennehy at the last three meets.
