Young Montana squads eager to open cross country season

There is a theme this year with the Montana cross country program. As the athletes reported on campus, there was a common trait that could be noticed across the board with both the Grizzly men and women. The athletes were young, and not just for college student-athletes.

Head coach Doug Fraley, now in his third season at Montana, has reinvested in the program and brought in plenty of fresh talent to the program. The Grizzlies have 19 total underclassmen on a 26-athlete roster between the men and women.

There are plenty of freshmen that are helping to fill out the ranks of the largest roster under Fraley, and also some talented returners from his first recruiting class. It is a squad that, while unexperienced, also screams of potential.

"The thought is that we are in the middle of a youth movement on both sides. We have a lot of new faces this year," Fraley said. "We graduated several upperclassmen in the last two years so really we look at this as a new beginning for the cross country program because we are really heavy on underclassmen. It's really exciting."

Montana will open the season on Aug. 30 at the MSU Bobcat Twilight meet in Bozeman. It's stop one of five for the Grizzlies during the regular season. They will head to Colfax, Wash. for the WSU Cougar Classic on Sept. 13.

The Grizzlies will host their lone event of the season on Sept. 20 at the UM Golf Course. The UM Invite will begin with the women's race at 6:00 p.m. The final two trips of the year are on Oct. 4 in Billings, Mont. and Oct. 19 at Lewis-Clark State.

The Big Sky Championships are on Nov. 1 in Pocatello, Idaho and the NCAA Mountain Regional will take place on Nov. 15 in Reno, Nev.

While hosting the conference meet last year, the Grizzly men had their highest finish (6^th) at the conference meet since 2015. They lose the top finisher in that race, Maxwell Scott, along with some others but bring back five of the eight men that ran.

There were plenty of younger runners who had breakout performances in the outdoor track and field season as well, a trend that Fraley hopes will continue into their sophomore and junior seasons in cross country.

"Some of the guys that competed on the track last year in the middle distances showed that they've got the talent to compete in the Big Sky," Fraley said. "We're looking to see that translate into cross country this year. A lot of them are in year two or three, and they are getting used to higher mileages and the things that come with being a D-I cross country athlete."

The women finished in 8^th place in the conference in 2023, but bring back a top 50 finisher in Iris McKean to go along with several other young athletes.

Montana also brought in some transfers that could be key to a successful season. A pair of runners join the ranks on both the men's and women's squads, with varied experience at the collegiate level.

Kanoa Blake (Western Oregon) and Keagen Crosby (Colorado State) bolster the men's roster. Crosby is familiar with Montana as a graduate of Sentinel HS in Missoula, and returns home for his sophomore season. Abigail Case (College of Southern Idaho) and Abigail Kotran join the women's roster.

"I'm pleased with some of the transfers we were able to get over the summer," Fraley said. "Kanoa Blake and Keagen Crosby are two talented guys that we're looking forward to getting into the mix. Abigail Case and Abigail Kotran are two ladies that will definitely be upgrading our talent and helping us along as the youngsters develop."

It all goes back to the youth of the squad. The men will have four freshmen, six sophomore, and three juniors on the roster. They do not have a single senior on the roster. The women have six freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors, and just one senior.

The teams are not only young, but also very deep. They are not even a week into practice, but Fraley is excited for the competition that will come along with so many athletes competing for a spot on the Big Sky roster.

"We want to create an environment where we've got kids battling it out for spots in that top seven and top five, and the more depth that you have, the more of a challenge that presents," Fraley said. "It's always a good thing within a cross country team to have numbers where you are deeper and there is good competition for spots. I think in any sport that helps move people along and challenges the athletes. I think everybody gets better because of that."

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If Montana is looking to make a push toward the middle of the Big Sky Conference and build upon last year's successful results as host of the conference championship meet, they will need the young runners to make progress in the right direction.

It's difficult to predict exactly what this young team is capable of this season, but Fraley knows that they are building a base that will allow Montana to contend in the Big Sky for years to come.

"We're going to go through some growing pains as these kids develop into collegiate cross country runners," Fraley said. "But we're really excited about the level of talent that we have and we are looking forward to developing these kids over the next few years."

THE RETURNERS
The Grizzly women return four athletes that competed at the Big Sky Championships last fall. Iris McKean is the top returner with a 47^th place finish in a time of 19:04.90. They also bring back Shay Pederson (61^st, 19:29.40), Layne Lathrop (68^th, 19:51.10), and Kayla Ingraham (76^th, 20:32.20).

On the men's side, five runners return from the team that finished 6^th at the Big Sky Championship. They return the second-fastest from last year Cooper Morris (28^th, 25:13.80) along with a group of athletes that finished tightly bunched.

Truman Thompson (51^st, 26:03.20), Lane Cole (53^rd, 26:09.90), Carson Steckelberg (55^th, 26:21.00), and Zachary Giesch (60^th, 26:57.60) all are back this year. Henry Ballinger ran in just three cross country meets last year before a breakout season on the track, and he should contend for a top five spot this season.

There is a chance that Montana may redshirt a few athletes as well with the depth that they possess.

NEW LOOK ROSTER

Montana will have a lot of new faces on the course this year. The men's team has six newcomers (four freshmen and two transfers) while the women's team has eight newcomers (six freshmen, two transfers).

There will be plenty of opportunities for the newcomers to break into Montana's rotation of runners. Fraley and his staff are excited about the potential of the team not only this year, but in the years to come.

Men's Newcomers
Morgan Amano – Beaverton, Ore. / Fr.
Kanoa Blake – Corvallis, Ore. / So. / Western Oregon
Keagen Crosby – Missoula, Mont. / So. / Colorado State
Lane Krautschun – Spearfish, S.D. / Fr.
Luke Mest – Boulder, Mont. / Fr.
Will Sandnes – Seattle, Wash. / Fr.

Women's Newcomers
Abigail Case – Hyrum, Utah / Jr. / College of Southern Idaho
Olivia Coll – Edwardsville, Ill. / Fr.
Libby Hartz – Runnells, Iowa / Fr.
Sofia Hinderman – Helena, Mont. / Fr.
Abigail Kotran – Mullica Hill, N.J. / So.
Heidi Olson – Mobridge, S.D. / Fr.
Brianna Plant – Helena, Mont. / Fr.
Lucy Thompson – Iowa City, Iowa / Fr.

THE PRESEASON POLLS
The Big Sky Conference released its annual preseason coaches' poll on Thursday. Montana's men slotted in at No. 6 in the poll, while the women were tied for 8^th in the league standings.

It reflects Montana's 2023 finishes at the Big Sky Championship meet held in Missoula. The men outperformed expectations to a sixth place finish while the women finished in eighth, narrowly defeating Idaho State.

The Grizzly men return five of the eight runners from last year's conference championship team, while the women return four runners that competed in Missoula.

"I think they are pretty appropriate, and that's kind of the area that we feel like we want our kids to be at or improve upon," Fraley said of the polls. "We've got a lot of young athletes, so a lot of it depends on how the freshmen and newcomers adjust and perform."

Northern Arizona was the unanimous favorite on both sides as they look to continue a dynasty that saw both teams finish as runner-up at the National Championship meet in 2023.

"It's a big challenge being in the Big Sky, which is one of the best cross country leagues in the country, so we've got our work cut out for us," Fraley said. "But we feel good about where the level of talent on our roster is going to lead us here in the next two or three years."

2024 Men's Cross Country Coaches' Poll
1) Northern Arizona (10) – 100
2) Montana State – 90
3) Weber State – 80
4) Idaho – 67
5) Eastern Washington – 61
6) Montana – 50
7) Idaho State – 36
8) Northern Colorado – 30
9) Sacramento State – 20
10) Portland State – 16

2024 Big Women's Cross Country Coaches' Poll
1) Northern Arizona (10) – 100
2) Montana State – 89
3) Weber State – 78
4) Idaho – 71
5) Eastern Washington – 58
6) Northern Colorado – 41
7) Sacramento State – 36
T8) Idaho State – 31
T8) Montana – 31
10) Portland State – 15

University of Montana Athletics

Young Montana squads eager to open cross country season

Players Mentioned

Morgan Amano

Henry Ballinger

Kanoa Blake

Abigail Case

Lane Cole

Olivia Coll

Keagen Crosby

Zachary Giesch

Libby Hartz

Sofia Hinderman

Kayla Ingraham

Abigail Kotran

Lane Krautschun

Layne Lathrop

Iris McKean

Luke Mest

Cooper Morris

Heidi Olson

Shay Pederson

Brianna Plant

Will Sandnes

Maxwell Scott

Carson Steckelberg

Lucy Thompson

Truman Thompson

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