Nation's top runners come to Missoula on Friday

Big Sky Conference Championships
University of Montana Golf Course
Women's 5K – 11 a.m. / Men's 8K – 12 p.m.
Watch / Live Results / Free Entrance

LIVE ON ESPN+
For the first time in the history of the Big Sky Conference, the league's cross country championship meet will be live streamed for a national audience. Grizzly Athletics worked with the conference to set up a stream that will feature a multi-camera broadcast, including a drone, and live results of the action.

Bryson Lester, Director of Communications for the Big Sky, and Jason Humble will be on the broadcast.

"It's really groundbreaking for the conference and it is huge for us at the University of Montana to be able to be the first school to provide that in conjunction with the Big Sky Conference to where the whole country can watch it," Montana head coach Doug Fraley said. "It will be great exposure for a great cross country league, and we're real excited about that."

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTER

For more information on the race including team rosters and race maps, visit the Championship Center.

PREVIEW

This is a date that has been circled by many in Missoula and across the northwest for months. The Big Sky Cross Country Championships, a meet that will feature some of the very best distance runners in the country, has finally arrived.

Montana will host the rest of the Big Sky Conference on Friday morning at the University of Montana Golf Course. It's the first time that the Griz have hosted the event since 2007, and just the fifth time in the history of the program.

"We're honored as a program to be able to host this meet. The Big Sky Conference is such a strong cross country conference," Fraley said. "We've got the number one teams in the country coming in and other ranked teams in national and regional polls. It is a really big-time event that's coming to Missoula and we're really excited to be able to host."

Northern Arizona enter as the favorites in not only this meet, but also for the National Championship. The Lumberjacks made history in the most recent USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll by becoming the first school since 2008, and the first Big Sky school ever, to be ranked No. 1 in both the men's and women's polls.

They will lead a fast pack that also includes a nationally ranked Montana State men's team. Weber State (No. 11/Mountain) and Idaho (No. 15/West) both have regionally ranked men's teams. The Bobcats (No. 9) and Wildcats (No. 13) are both ranked in the Mountain Region on the women's side as well.

Montana have made significant strides this year under second-year head coach Doug Fraley, highlighted by a great meet to cap off the regular season in Lewiston, Idaho on Oct. 14. Montana saw career- and season-best times from a majority of the roster.
In last year's Big Sky meet, the men finished eighth and the women ninth. They are looking to improve upon those finishes in the 2023 version of the meet on their home course.

"There is nothing bigger than the Big Sky Championships for our squad. To be able to run on our home course having made the progress that we have on both sides throughout the season is very exciting," Fraley said. "Our goal coming into this season is improving in the Big Sky standings from what we did a year ago. I think we are on pace to do that.

"We still have to go out and run the race because nothing that you did beforehand matters in the final tally of the Big Sky Championships, but I think we've put ourselves in position to have excellent progress from 2022 to 2023 and that is the team goal," Fraley said.

The Grizzly men finished second at the Lewis-Clark Invitational, but were first among the three Big Sky schools represented. Maxell Scott's third-place finish, with a career-best time of 24:09 in the 8K, highlighted that but it was good runs from the entire roster that allowed for the low point total.

Cooper Morris (11^th), Nathan Carter (14^th), Rogelio Mares (30^th), and Zachary Giesch (43^rd) were the other points scorers. It was a breakout run for the freshman Giesch and a season-best from the veteran Mares, who were both crucial to the team score.

The women finished fourth in the meet, their highest placement in a full-field meet this year. Jaylyn and Jade Hallgrimson once again led the group of Griz with 9^th and 12^th-place finishes, respectively, and Iris McKean finished third for the fourth consecutive meet for a 22^nd overall finish.

Similar to the men, however, it was a breakout run from a freshman and an improved performance from a veteran that shored up the team score. Layne Lathrop finished 32^nd overall and Bridget Boyle 40^th in the best 5,000-meter performance for both in 2023.

Fraley is hoping that level of team success will continue this weekend.

"Our top runners should be in the front third of the races and that's what they've done all year, and that's what we expect this week," Fraley said. "But really, at this meet, it is how many of those eight can come together and run well to create a good top five score. That, ultimately, is the biggest factor and the most important thing over any individual accomplishment."

Montana not only enter the meet running well, but they also get to race on a course that is very familiar to them. The Grizzlies hosted a race on the exact same course back in September, giving them an advantage on a large portion of the field.

"Everybody on our squad that is running this meet has run this course and that's a big benefit," Fraley said. "There are parts of this course that are very challenging and so being able to run that regular season race here, and also to have some time training on the course, there won't be any surprises for our group."

The course is fairly challenging, featuring a steep hill that takes the runners over the third tee box on the University Golf course, up the base of Mount Sentinel and back down into the sixth fairway.

The weather forecast should provide an additional challenge. There is snow expected in Missoula Wednesday through Friday with temperatures right around freezing expected. It adds just another layer to a grueling and mentally challenging sport.

"If we get out there and it's really cold or windy or raining or snowing, it's going to be the teams that accept that and fight through the adversity that are going to do the best," Fraley said. "You will have some teams that thrive in that because they are able to handle it mentally and you will have some teams that will falter because of that."

Friday morning has all the makings for a memorable day in Missoula. A loaded field featuring some of the best distance runners in the country on a tough course and in tough conditions. It's an opportunity that rarely comes around in Missoula, so break your winter coat out of storage, throw on a pair of boots, and come out to the University of Montana Golf Course.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bridget Boyle

Nathan Carter

Zachary Giesch

Jade Hallgrimson

Layne Lathrop

Rogelio Mares

Iris McKean

Cooper Morris

University of Montana Athletics