Griz open season with home meet

Friday, September 1

Missoula, Mont.

Montana

Clash of the Inland Northwest

9/1/2017 8:38:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

By: Montana Sports Information

Results

It took Maryn Lowry, a fifth-year senior who transferred to Montana this summer from Iowa State, until her junior year as a Cyclone before she finally felt comfortable racing cross country.

And that's going to be a major benefit for the Grizzlies later this fall, when the weather cools, the races up in importance and the team is at full strength.

Lowry teamed up with Emily Pittis to give shorthanded Montana two of the top three finishers in the women's four-kilometer race on Friday afternoon at the UM Golf Course in Missoula as the season opened with the six-team Clash of the Inland Northwest.

Racing without Jessica Bailey, who could have raced but sat this one out as a precaution, Montana defeated Eastern Washington but fell to both Gonzaga and Idaho in close head-to-head duals.

But that's hardly of any significance on the first day of September.

"You can never judge a season off a first meet," said Lowry. "Our goal is to put up a really good showing at Big Sky Conference and regionals, and that's a long way away. I'm just looking forward to the October season when we're feeling good."

Pittis and Lowry moved into second and third midway through the third of four kilometers and held those spots to the finish line, both recording times of 14:20.

Idaho's Andrea Condie won the race in a time of 14:11.

"Coming into this team not knowing anyone was nerve-racking, so I've been running with Emily a lot," Lowry said. "We've been working really well together in workouts.

"When we got into second and third place, I thought we might continue to close the gap, but in the end it wasn't enough. (Condie) had a great race. Props to her. She ran a gutsy race."

Reagan Colyer also cracked the top 10, coming across in ninth place in a time of 14:42. Those were the only Griz runners in the top 30.

Madison Ward finished 33rd, Emily Cheroske came in 36th and Maeve Holman came across in 56th.

"Maryn and Emily looked great. They looked strong," said coach Vicky Pounds.

In the men's race, Montana was led by Paden Alexander, who finished 20th in a time of 19:24 for the six-kilometer course.

The Grizzlies lost all three of their Division I duals against Eastern Washington, Gonzaga and Idaho. The Bulldogs had six of the race's top nine finishers, including overall winner Jake Perrin, and had 11 across the line before Montana's first.

Dillon May ran second for Montana, finishing 37th. He was followed by Kyle Peterson, a freshman making his collegiate debut, in 41st, Jonathan Eastwood in 46th and Micah Drew in 50th.

Montana will next race at the Montana State Invitational in Bozeman on Saturday, Sept. 16.

Montana's women's finishers
2nd -- Emily Pittis (14:20)
3rd -- Maryn Lowry (14:20)
9th -- Reagan Colyer (14:42)
33rd -- Madison Ward (15:40)
36th -- Emily Cheroske (15:45)
56th -- Maeve Holman (17:17)

Montana's men's finishers
20th -- Paden Alexander (19:24)
37th -- Dillon May (19:48)
41st -- Kyle Peterson (19:56)
46th -- Jonathan Eastwood (20:03)
50th -- Micah Drew (20:14)
54th -- Kyle Kredo (20:27)
58th -- Jacob Lamb (20:42)
59th -- Noah Kells (20:49)
71st -- Noah Adams (22:12)