Grizzlies looking to be competitive at cross country Championships

The Montana cross country teams have reached the pinnacle of their seasons, with the Big Sky Championships taking place Friday morning from Cheney, Washington.

The races – an 8k for the men, beginning at 11 a.m. MT and a 5k for the women, starting at noon – will be held at the Fairways Golf Course near the campus of Eastern Washington.

Montana was picked to finish seventh out of 10 teams in both the men's and women's preseason coaches' polls, which were announced prior to the start of the season. Northern Arizona, which ranks in the top four nationally, is the favorite to win both races.

The Big Sky Conference is stacked across the board. In addition to NAU's national ranking – the Lumberjacks rank third in the most-recent men's poll and fourth in the women's – Montana State's men also rank 21^st in the country.

From a regional perspective, NAU (second), Montana State (fourth) and Weber State (10^th) are all in the top 10 of the men's Mountain Region – the Grizzlies' region – with Portland State ranking 11^th in the West Region. NAU (second, Mountain), Montana State (12^th, Mountain), Portland State (12^th, West) and Weber State (13^th, Mountain) are also regionally ranked on the women's side.

"Conference championships are different," head coach Doug Fraley said. "With every other race, you're looking at how your time compared to your previous time. What time did I run? Have I made progress? When you get to the Big Sky meet, it's not about what the clock says but about how many people in other jerseys you beat.

"The message to the team is to go out there and be competitive, and whether or not you're having your best race, your job is to beat as many people in other jerseys as you can. At the end of the day, they'll tally up the scores and we'll see where we stand."

Despite the stiff competition, Fraley is excited about where his teams are at heading into the conference meet.

The Grizzlies have been off since Oct. 8, allowing them to get rested and healthy, and many of the athletes have seen steady progression since the season-opening meet on Sept. 2.

"The great thing about having a couple of weeks between the last meet and the Big Sky Championships, is that, it not only gives you a chance to train well, but it gives you a chance to get some members of the key group healthy. The majority of the kids who will be competing are healthy and fit and ready to run their best races of the season."

Montana isn't expected to realistically compete toward the top of the conference this weekend, but the hope is to see a few athletes in the top tier of the individual field.

Annie Hill, perhaps, has the best chance to do so. The senior transfer from Colorado, who is originally from Kalispell, has seen steady progression throughout the fall, winning Montana's last two races with times in the low 17-minute range.

For the men, junior Nathan Carter has been the Grizzlies' top runner in all three meets he has competed in, beating the 24-minute threshold in his most-recent meet, which was a PR.

"Annie has been progressing well and she's the type of talented athlete that we should expect to be in the top-quarter of that race," Fraley said. "Nate, he has been running really good, steadily progressing, and if he runs a good race, there's no reason that he can't be in the top-third of the men's side."

Competing for Montana's men are: Carter, Lane Cole, Will Dauenhauer, Rogelio Mares, Cooper Morris, Maxwell Scott, Colin Shaules and Brady Woods. Montana's women's field includes: Bridget Boyle, Beatrix Frissell, Jaylyn Hallgrimson, Hill, Kayla Ingraham, Iris McKean, Shay Pederson and Abby Sherwood.

Montana will bus over to Cheney on Thursday, have a workout on the course and enjoy a meal together before competing on Friday morning. Following Friday's action, Montana will have one more meet, running at the NCAA Mountain Regional Nov. 11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Grizzlies looking to be competitive at cross country Championships

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Players Mentioned

Bridget Boyle

Nathan Carter

Lane Cole

Will Dauenhauer

Beatrix Frissell

Jaylyn Hallgrimson

Annie Hill

Kayla Ingraham

Rogelio Mares

Iris McKean

Cooper Morris

Shay Pederson

Maxwell Scott

Colin Shaules

Abby Sherwood

Brady Woods

University of Montana Athletics