Griz to host Montana Invitational Friday evening

Friday, September 29

Missoula, Mont.

Montana

Montana Invitational

9/27/2017 6:56:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

By: Montana Sports Information

2017 Performance List

The Griz cross country teams will host their second home meet of the fall on Friday evening, the Montana Invitational at the UM Golf Course.

The women's five-kilometer race will start at 5 p.m., the men's eight-kilometer race at 5:45 p.m. Both races will start and finish in the area behind the golf course clubhouse.

The race comes on the eve of one of the region's largest cross country events of the season, the annual Mountain West Classic, a middle- and high-school event that draws teams from multiple states.

Most of the teams who will be competing on Saturday will be on site Friday evening, getting familiar with the course. They will add an extra level of excitement that was mostly missing when Montana hosted the Clash of the Inland Northwest in front of a few family and friends earlier this month.

"It happened where we could pair our home meet with the Mountain West Classic maybe five or six years ago, and it was really cool. It brings a lot of people and a lot of energy to the race," said UM coach Vicky Pounds.

Friday's races will be smaller than the Clash of the Inland Northwest, with Montana being joined by athletes from Montana State, Eastern Washington and Montana-Western.

The Montana women, shorthanded at both of their first two races this fall, defeated Eastern Washington at the Clash of Inland Northwest and placed fourth two weeks ago at the Montana State Invitational, well behind the host Bobcats.

Montana State is ranked eighth in the USTFCCCA Mountain Region and is the top-ranked team in the Big Sky Conference.

Maryn Lowry and Emily Pittis, who placed third and fourth two weeks ago, defeated Montana State's top runner, and Reagan Colyer came through in 13th place, but it wasn't enough to match the Bobcats' depth. MSU placed its top five in the top 11 overall.

After Colyer crossed the line, it was nearly two minutes before Montana's No. 4 runner came across.

"We had two minutes between our No. 3 and 4 runners at MSU. We have to close that gap if we're ultimately going to be the team that was voted third in the Big Sky poll," said Pounds.

Help should be arriving, but it's slow getting there. Jessica Bailey, the team's top runner at the Big Sky Championship last October, has yet to race for the Grizzlies this season. She is questionable for Friday.

If Bailey was healthy and in top form, Montana would have a formidable top four, the start of a championship team. Throw in Emily Cheroske's likely return on Friday, and the depth is getting there. But the calendar flips to October on Sunday, the month when things start to get serious.

"It does feel like we're starting to run out of time, but we have to keep a positive outlook and hope that things will come together," said Pounds. "It's out of my control and mostly out of the athletes' control. They are doing everything they can as far as their treatment goes."

The Montana men's team is coming off one of its most encouraging races in recent memory at the Montana State Invitational.

Micah Drew finished 10th, Andrea Baratte was 13th, and Paden Alexander came through in 19th. Throw in Kyle Peterson (23rd), Dillon May (28th) and Noah Kells (29th) and the Grizzlies had six runners place in the top 30, with just 33 seconds separating Drew and Kells.

"I know the competition wasn't near what it was the year before at that race, but as far as the guys looking like a team, I definitely saw something," said Pounds.

"They are starting to get a feel for pack running and starting to work together as a team instead of going out and racing the field and each other. They are doing a better job of being a team."

Montana finished third at the MSU Invitational, not too far behind Montana State, which is ranked 13th in the Mountain Region this week. And the Grizzlies are expected to have Jonathan Eastwood back racing on Friday after he sat out the race in Bozeman.

Montana also lost a head-to-head battle with Eastern Washington at the Clash of the Inland Northwest, meaning the Grizzlies will be the underdog in both Division I duals on Friday.

"I think both Montana State and Eastern Washington are beatable for our guys," said Pounds. "If we race like we did last week and continue to progress, we'll be solid."

Montana will race at Idaho State on Saturday, Oct. 14. The Big Sky Conference Championships will be held at Ogden, Utah, on Saturday, Oct. 28, with the NCAA Mountain Regional scheduled for Logan, Utah, on Friday, Nov. 10.