Steckelberg's top 20 finish highlights Big Sky Championships

Friday, November 1

Pocatello, Idaho

11:00 AM

Montana

Big Sky Conference Championship

Steckelberg's top 20 finish highlights Big Sky Championships

11/1/2024 4:48:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Results

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana cross country teams competed at the Big Sky Championships in Pocatello, Idaho on Friday afternoon. Sophomore Carson Steckelberg had a fantastic day with the best finish by a Griz in over a decade as the men finished in 7^th and the women 10^th.

Northern Arizona, Big Sky powers and nationally championship contenders, won both competitions. They had a perfect score of 15 on the women's side, and won with a score of 25 on the men's side.

The Montana men finished in 7th place overall despite going into the meet shorthanded. They were missing several top runners, including Henry Ballinger, a sophomore that led Montana across the finish line in the first three events this season.

The performance from another sophomore was the story of the day as Carson Steckelberg put together the best race of his young career. He's been coming on all season, and put the pieces together in the highly competitive field on Friday.

Steckelberg ran a time of 24:31.7 to finish in 17^th place overall in a field that includes three regionally ranked teams.

"I'm really proud of Carson. For him to be the top Griz finisher in the Big Sky Conference since 2011 is really a great performance for him," head coach Doug Fraley said. "The Big Sky is such a dominant cross country conference, so to get a top 20 in this league is really spectacular. I'm proud of his performance and the way he's progressed throughout the season."

It's a personal best time for Steckelberg at the 8K distance, and it's also one of the best conference championship performances for a Montana men's runner in a very long time. The last time that a Grizzly finished in the top 15 at the Big Sky meet was when Lynn Reynolds finished 4th in 2011.

He kept up with the lead group through the first kilometer or so of the race, and never lost track of the main pack of top 10 or so, fighting until the very end with the best of the best when it comes to distance running.

"He ran his race that AJ had put together for him and stayed right in that top 20 the whole race," Fraley said. "He didn't give in in the last kilometer when it gets tough, and it was really a banner performance for him carrying out the strategy and, plain and simple, being able to hang with those guys at the top of the conference."

A pair of freshmen were next across the line for the Grizzlies as Luke Mest and Lane Krautschun. Mest finished 42^nd at 25:49.8 and Krautschun followed him right across the line at 25:50.2 for a 43^rd place finish.

There was another gap in Grizzly runners before Zachary Giesch and Morgan Amano. Giesch, a sophomore, finished 59^th at 27:05.1 and Amano, a freshman, came in at 63^rd with a time of 27:15.7 to round out the scorers.

Colin Shaules also finished in 68^th with a time of 28:17.7.

"I thought that was a very positive performance on the men's side considering that just in the last week we lost our numbers two and three guys to injury," Fraley said. "I thought the job that Luke Mest and Lane Krautschun did stepping in today was really good for a couple of freshmen in their first college season."

Abigail Case led the women for the fourth time in six races this season. She just missed out on the top 50 with a time of 18:47.5.

Shay Pederson was the second Grizzly across the line for the second consecutive race, finishing 56^th with a time of 18:55.8. She was the leader of a trio of Griz finishing one after the other as Abigail Kotran and Heidi Olson finished 57^th and 58^th.

Iris McKean started strong, but dropped in the pack toward the finish and came across the line in 19:07.4 to finish 63^rd. Olivia Coll, Sofia Hinderman, and Libby Hartz, all freshmen, finished 67^th, 68^th, and 69^th, respectively.

"Very steady for Abigail (Case) and it's been good to see her lead as she's done all season running steady at the front of our group," Fraley said. "It's a very inexperienced group on the women's side, and we're looking for a lot of growth in that area.

"We certainly weren't pleased with the result teamwise, but we've got young pieces and they gained a lot of valuable experience this cross country season. We're looking forward to them as they mature as college athletes in the future."

Carson Steckelberg had the best finish by a Montana men's runner since Lynn Reynolds in 2011 to highlight the Big Sky Championships today in Pocatello!#GrizXC | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/iSirL6xMG1
— Montana Griz TF & XC (@MontanaGrizTFXC) November 1, 2024

MONTANA MEN'S RESULTS
1. Carson Steckelberg (17^th, 24:31.7*)
2. Luke Mest (42^nd, 25:49.8)
3. Lane Krautschun (43^rd, 25:50.2)
4. Zachary Giesch (59^th, 27:05.1)
5. Morgan Amano (63^rd, 27:15.7)
6. Colin Shaules (68^th, 28:17.7)

*Denotes PR

MONTANA WOMEN'S RESULTS
1. Abigail Case (52^nd, 18:47.5)
2. Shay Pederson (56^th, 18:55.8)
3. Abigail Kotran (57^th, 18:57.2)
4. Heidi Olson (58^th, 18:57.8)
5. Iris McKean (63^rd, 19:07.4)
6. Olivia Coll (67^th, 19:36.6)
7. Sofia Hinderman (68^th, 19:45.9)
8. Libby Hartz (69^th, 19:50.8)

MEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Northern Arizona – 25
2. Montana State – 49
3. Weber State – 68
4. Eastern Washington – 135
5. Idaho State – 143
6. Idaho – 159
7. Montana – 214
8. Sacramento State – 250
9. Portland State – 251
10. Northern Colorado - 257

WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Northern Arizona – 15
2. Montana State – 54
3. Weber State – 78
4. Idaho State – 150
5. Eastern Washington – 151
6. Idaho – 164
7. Northern Colorado – 189
8. Sacramento State – 205
9. Portland State – 262
10. Montana - 270