Friday, September 30
Missoula, Mont.
Montana
vs
Montana Invitational
Bailey’s breakthrough race leads Grizzlies
9/30/2016 2:16:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Results
Montana sophomore Jessica Bailey, normally a cautious runner whose internal governor has never allowed her to lead the Grizzlies in a cross country race before, tried something different Friday morning at the Montana Invitational at the UM Golf Course in Missoula.
She threw caution to the wind.
The result: The Montana women's team is now three deep at the top of its roster. That depth allowed the Grizzlies to knock off Gonzaga in dual scoring and match Montana State, teams that defeated Montana at the Grizzlies' first two races of the fall.
Running with the leaders, which included senior teammate Reagan Colyer and sophomore Emily Pittis, from the start, Bailey held strong and finished third overall behind Gonzaga's Jordan Thurston and Montana State's Alyssa Snyder.
"I'm usually more conservative at the start, but I talked to my coaches before the race, and they both told me to go out with Emily and Reagan," said Bailey. "That's who I run with at practice, so I just needed to get it in my head that I could stick with them. It was a little bit of a risk, but it paid off."
Pittis, Montana's No. 2 runner for the third time in three races this fall, finished fourth overall in the six-team field, four seconds behind Bailey, who clocked a time of 22:09 in her first six-kilometer race.
Colyer, feeling the effects of a big block of training and a recent illness, was sixth in a time of 22:28. It was the first time this fall she hasn't been the first Grizzly across the finish line.
With a one-point win over the Bulldogs and a 28-28 deadlock with the Bobcats, who won the dual through a tiebreaker, it was Bailey who allowed Montana to compete with Gonzaga and Montana State for the first time this season.
"We told her she didn't have a choice today," said coach Vicky Pounds, "that she had to go out with Reagan and Emily. She's been having great workouts, so there was no reason she couldn't be running with them. I was super excited to see that."
Like Bailey, Pittis was also competing in her first collegiate six-kilometer cross country race. Colyer was more than a minute off her six-kilometer PR, which was both disappointing and impressive, considering she wasn't race ready.
"Reagan wasn't on her top form, but she's going to be there," said Pounds. "She had an off race, and she was still right there."
Sophomore Bridget Creel came through in 15th in a time of 23:13. Senior Madison Nagle was 20th in 23:40, sophomore Rosa Hardarson was 21st in 23:42.
In the eight-kilometer men's race, sophomore Jonathan Eastwood took the same tack as Bailey. But while Bailey was rewarded for her risk, Eastwood, who was with the race leaders through two miles, dropped off and finished 28th, the first time this season he didn't lead his teammates across the line.
"I was pretty relaxed through two miles, but I think I had some tightness in my calves from the last couple weeks of training, and my plantar tightened up. That kind of threw off my focus and form, and took me out of the race a little bit," said Eastwood.
Without Eastwood at his best, Montana had only one runner in the top 20: junior Paden Alexander, who finished 20th. Alexander and Eastwood were the only Griz runners in the top 40.
Not surprisingly, the Grizzlies lost their duals to both Montana State and Gonzaga by wide margins.
With Eastwood slowing over the back half of the race, Alexander's steady performance paid off. He moved up in the field and finished as his team's top runner for the first time since doing it twice in 2013.
"My plan was to start a lot faster than I normally do and be at the back of the front pack," said Alexander. "It felt good to start a little faster. The middle of the race was a little bit of a struggle, but the beginning and end were good."
Alexander, second to Eastwood at the team's first two meets, came through in a time of 26:44.
"This was by far Paden's best race as far as staying engaged and focused within the race," said Pounds. "Every time he ran by me, he seemed to be moving up. It was definitely a step forward for him."
Sophomore Dillon May placed 44th, junior Nathan Wellington was 51st.
Gonzaga and Montana State swept the race's first five spots. Troy Fraley, a Bulldog who was competing unattached, led from start to finish and came through in 24:55. He was followed by teammate Max Kaderabek in a time of 25:25.
Montana will compete at the Inland Empire Challenge in Lewiston, Idaho, in two weeks. The Big Sky Conference Championships will be held in Moscow, Idaho, on Friday, Oct. 28.
Women's Division I dual scores
Montana State def. Montana, 28-28 (tiebreaker)
Montana def. Gonzaga, 27-28
Montana State def. Gonzaga, 27-28
Men's Division I dual scores
Montana State def. Montana, 15-49
Gonzaga def. Montana, 15-50
Gonzaga def. Montana State, 23-35
Montana sophomore Jessica Bailey, normally a cautious runner whose internal governor has never allowed her to lead the Grizzlies in a cross country race before, tried something different Friday morning at the Montana Invitational at the UM Golf Course in Missoula.
She threw caution to the wind.
The result: The Montana women's team is now three deep at the top of its roster. That depth allowed the Grizzlies to knock off Gonzaga in dual scoring and match Montana State, teams that defeated Montana at the Grizzlies' first two races of the fall.
Running with the leaders, which included senior teammate Reagan Colyer and sophomore Emily Pittis, from the start, Bailey held strong and finished third overall behind Gonzaga's Jordan Thurston and Montana State's Alyssa Snyder.
"I'm usually more conservative at the start, but I talked to my coaches before the race, and they both told me to go out with Emily and Reagan," said Bailey. "That's who I run with at practice, so I just needed to get it in my head that I could stick with them. It was a little bit of a risk, but it paid off."
Pittis, Montana's No. 2 runner for the third time in three races this fall, finished fourth overall in the six-team field, four seconds behind Bailey, who clocked a time of 22:09 in her first six-kilometer race.
Colyer, feeling the effects of a big block of training and a recent illness, was sixth in a time of 22:28. It was the first time this fall she hasn't been the first Grizzly across the finish line.
With a one-point win over the Bulldogs and a 28-28 deadlock with the Bobcats, who won the dual through a tiebreaker, it was Bailey who allowed Montana to compete with Gonzaga and Montana State for the first time this season.
"We told her she didn't have a choice today," said coach Vicky Pounds, "that she had to go out with Reagan and Emily. She's been having great workouts, so there was no reason she couldn't be running with them. I was super excited to see that."
Like Bailey, Pittis was also competing in her first collegiate six-kilometer cross country race. Colyer was more than a minute off her six-kilometer PR, which was both disappointing and impressive, considering she wasn't race ready.
"Reagan wasn't on her top form, but she's going to be there," said Pounds. "She had an off race, and she was still right there."
Sophomore Bridget Creel came through in 15th in a time of 23:13. Senior Madison Nagle was 20th in 23:40, sophomore Rosa Hardarson was 21st in 23:42.
In the eight-kilometer men's race, sophomore Jonathan Eastwood took the same tack as Bailey. But while Bailey was rewarded for her risk, Eastwood, who was with the race leaders through two miles, dropped off and finished 28th, the first time this season he didn't lead his teammates across the line.
"I was pretty relaxed through two miles, but I think I had some tightness in my calves from the last couple weeks of training, and my plantar tightened up. That kind of threw off my focus and form, and took me out of the race a little bit," said Eastwood.
Without Eastwood at his best, Montana had only one runner in the top 20: junior Paden Alexander, who finished 20th. Alexander and Eastwood were the only Griz runners in the top 40.
Not surprisingly, the Grizzlies lost their duals to both Montana State and Gonzaga by wide margins.
With Eastwood slowing over the back half of the race, Alexander's steady performance paid off. He moved up in the field and finished as his team's top runner for the first time since doing it twice in 2013.
"My plan was to start a lot faster than I normally do and be at the back of the front pack," said Alexander. "It felt good to start a little faster. The middle of the race was a little bit of a struggle, but the beginning and end were good."
Alexander, second to Eastwood at the team's first two meets, came through in a time of 26:44.
"This was by far Paden's best race as far as staying engaged and focused within the race," said Pounds. "Every time he ran by me, he seemed to be moving up. It was definitely a step forward for him."
Sophomore Dillon May placed 44th, junior Nathan Wellington was 51st.
Gonzaga and Montana State swept the race's first five spots. Troy Fraley, a Bulldog who was competing unattached, led from start to finish and came through in 24:55. He was followed by teammate Max Kaderabek in a time of 25:25.
Montana will compete at the Inland Empire Challenge in Lewiston, Idaho, in two weeks. The Big Sky Conference Championships will be held in Moscow, Idaho, on Friday, Oct. 28.
Women's Division I dual scores
Montana State def. Montana, 28-28 (tiebreaker)
Montana def. Gonzaga, 27-28
Montana State def. Gonzaga, 27-28
Men's Division I dual scores
Montana State def. Montana, 15-49
Gonzaga def. Montana, 15-50
Gonzaga def. Montana State, 23-35
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
Griz Football weekly press conference 11-17-25
Monday, November 17
Montana vs Portland State Highlights
Monday, November 17
2025 Griz Volleyball Senior Feature
Sunday, November 16
Montana vs. Weber State - Big Sky Soccer Championship Highlights 11/9/25
Tuesday, November 11
