Griz open season with competitive races in Bozeman

Friday, August 30

Bozeman, Mont.

7:20 PM

Montana

MSU Bobcat Twilight

Griz Cross Country races during a cross country meet at the University of Montana Golf Course in Missoula, Montana on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.

Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/ University of Montana

8/30/2024 8:57:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Results

By: Montana Sports Information

FULL RESULTS

The Montana cross country program got its season underway in Bozeman on Friday night at the MSU Bobcat Twilight Meet. The Grizzlies finished second on the men's side and third on the women's in a field that featured both Montana D-I schools, Boise State, and several other non-D-I Montana teams.

There were 11 Grizzly runners donning the jersey for the first time, and it was a positive first result for all involved.

"I'm pleased with the competitiveness of the group," head coach Doug Fraley said. "I enjoyed watching the newcomers get a first race under their belt in a Griz uniform. I thought the results were on the positive side and it gives everybody a really good idea of where they are at as we move forward toward the bulk of the season."

The men started with a quick pace, putting several Grizzly runners in the top 10 through the first half on the grass course. Carson Steckelberg was in fourth place after 2K, and Henry Ballinger and Keagen Crosby were near at his heels.

But as the race went on the Grizzlies couldn't hang with some of the top runners on the nationally ranked Bobcats team. They fell off the pace through the middle ground, and Ballinger ended up bringing Montana home first with a 15^th place finish in a time of 15:27.18. The time was a personal best for the sophomore by nearly a full minute at the distance.

Steckelberg also finished with a personal best time of 15:28.58 to finish one spot back in 16^th. The freshman Luke Mest had the next best performance, finishing 21^st with a time of 15:39.19. There were several very strong finishes over the final hundred yards to make late passes in the race.

The Grizzlies finished second in the event. Montana State won with a perfect score of 15, while the Grizzlies narrowly edged out Boise State for second 79 to 80.

The women were led by a pair of newcomers in Abigail Case and Abigail Kotran. Kotran got Montana off to a fast start, running in second after the first kilometer. She would eventually finish in 21^st in her first race with a time of 19:18.5.

Case led all Montana runners, and finished very strongly with a time of 18:43.8. Case moved up several spots in the final kilometer with a great kick over the home stretch. Iris McKean finished in 23^rd with a time of 19:21.9 and freshman Heidi Olson was 25^th with a time of 19:24.5.

The women, similar to the men, finished fast down the home stretch. There was a strong mentality on display in the closing moments that Fraley hasn't seen in previous years.

"I think the thing that I was pleased with the most was that our kids were really battling hard down the stretch," Fraley said. "The last 30 seconds of a cross country race is a grueling experience, and we had kids that were digging deep to pass people in the last 100 or 200 yards to gain more points for the team. I was real pleased with the competitiveness I saw down the home stretch compared to what I've seen the last couple of years."

Fraley said before the meet that this would be a more low-key event for Montana and a chance to see where they stand. He likes the opening results, and now Montana will have a week of rest before they get back on the course at the WSU Cougar Invite on Sept. 13.

There were plenty of PRs from Montana's returners, and some great initial debuts from the freshmen despite running on an all-grass course that is a trickier surface than most that Montana will compete on this year.

"This is one of the slower courses that we run on because it's some deep grass, so you're not going to have really fast times here," Fraley said. "The times that we did have, for the kids that have raced her before, were in a lot of cases faster than ever before. We had several newcomers break their high school PRs at 5K, so it was just a very positive result for both teams."

Montana Men's Results (5K)
15. Henry Ballinger (15:27.18*)
16. Carson Steckelberg (15:28.58*)
21. Luke Mest (15:39.19)
27. Keagen Crosby (15:50.69)
36. Colin Shaules (16:10.26)
37. Lane Krautschun (16:13.25)
43. Truman Thompson (16:29.50)
45. Morgan Amano (16:41.16)

Montana Women's Results (5K)
12. Abigail Case (18:43.8)
21. Abigail Kotran (19:18.5)
23. Iris McKean (19:21.9)
25. Heidi Olson (19:24.5)
30. Libby Hartz (19:42.1)
31. Sofia Hinderman (19:45.8)
33. Lucy Thompson (19:53.0)
34. Olivia Coll (19:53.1)

*Denotes UM PR