Griz racing Friday at NCAA Mountain Regional

Three runners from the Montana cross country teams will compete Friday at the NCAA Mountain Regional at Albuquerque, N.M.

Freshman Makena Morley will be in the women's six-kilometer race, which starts at noon. Sophomore Nathan Wellington and freshman Gavin Hasty will compete in the men's 10-kilometer race, which starts at 1 p.m. Both races will be held on the University of New Mexico's North Golf Course.

Women's Preview

Like she did at NCAA Pre-Nationals in mid-October, Morley will be competing on her own Saturday, with a pair of goals that are linked. Compete for the overall win and qualify for nationals, which will be held in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, Nov. 21.

To reach Louisville, Morley will need to finish in the top 25 and be one of the top four runners from teams that do not advance to nationals. Two automatically qualify, and the region will probably send at least two more as at-large selections.

New Mexico, which is the unanimous selection as the No. 1 team in the country in the latest national poll, is the favorite to win on its home course. Colorado is ranked second in the country. Also in the top 25 from the region are Utah (20), BYU (24) and Weber State (25).

It's the top runners from the other teams who Morley should be aware of and trying to beat, but that's just not her style.

"It's hard for her to run a race any other way than going out hard and pushing and competing. Anything else just makes it too complicated. Makena races best when it's really simple and when she knows she gets to be aggressive. I think that tactic will work just fine for her Saturday," said UM coach Collin Fehr.

"She needs to realize that it won't be like conference, where she goes out and is by herself the whole race. She'll have to run just as hard, but this time there are going to be people around her, and there may be people who are beating her."

Morley has raced just three times this year. She won the Montana State Invitational in mid-September, finished 39th at Pre-Nationals in mid-October while dealing with an injury and coming off limited training, and she won the Big Sky Conference title two weeks ago at Cedar City, Utah.

Though she missed the team's home meet in early October and some training miles because of a foot injury, that may have worked to Morley's benefit. She isn't over-trained or over-raced at the most important part of the season.

"I'm confident in where my training's been and how it's been going, and how everything has been lining up," she said. "I'm really excited to go out there and race."

And she echoes Fehr's thoughts on Saturday's tactics. "I don't even know who the top individuals are. I'm just going to see how far I can push myself and never stop pushing until I go across the finish line. If I do that, then I know I'll have put everything into the race."

Adds Fehr: "She still feels like she has a lot to give from the season because of the little hiccup in the middle."

Men's Preview

Like New Mexico on the women's side, the Colorado men picked up all 12 first-place votes in the latest national poll and will be the favorite on Saturday. BYU, ranked third, will be the Buffaloes' main challenger. UTEP (11), Air Force (21) and Colorado State (25) are also ranked in the top 25.

Morley raced six kilometers at Pre-Nationals, but Wellington and Hasty will be facing their first 10-kilometer race of the season. Wellington ran a 32:21 at last year's regional. He led Montana and placed 76th overall.

"It's 2k longer, and you definitely feel it, especially at altitude. That last 2k is a grind. You'll blow out if you go out too fast," he said. "You have to stay conservative through the first couple of miles. Last year I think I was a little too tense."

Wellington will be joined by Hasty, who has had an excellent freshman season. He's finished as Montana's top runner at three of their first four races and finished second to Wellington by three seconds at the Montana Invitational.

Wellington has three times finished second to Hasty. Hasty ran a 26:53.8 at conference to finish 27th. Wellington was 28th in a time of 26:54.2.

"With just two runners racing on Saturday, the only team dynamic is going to be them trying to beat each other, and that's great," said Fehr. "That should motivate them.

"I tell all the guys on the team that they should want to be the fastest guy on the team. They should all want to be No. 1. That's good, healthy competition. Nate and Gavin have been trading off all year. Now they get to settle it at regionals."

The step up to the eight-kilometer distance at the collegiate level was the first challenge for Hasty this fall. That gets bumped up two kilometers on Saturday when he does his first 10-kilometer cross country race.

"My goal for this race will be the same as it is for every race. Give my absolute 100 percent," he said. "The past few races I've been starting conservatively and working my way up. I think if I do that and keep picking people off over a 10k distance, I think I can be top 50."

Said Fehr, "There are not too many opportunities like this race, because the field is so strong and so deep. Everybody is at such a high level. What a great opportunity to try to beat as many people as possible. For the guys to shoot for top 50, that would be quite an accomplishment."

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Players Mentioned

Gavin Hasty

Nathan Wellington

University of Montana Athletics