Cross country resumes racing at the WSU Cougar Classic

The Montana cross country teams will get back in action this week at the WSU Cougar Classic held on Friday, Sept. 13 in Colfax, Wash. The women will run a 6k beginning at 6:00 p.m. (MT) and the men will run an 8k at 6:45 p.m.

The young Grizzly team got off to a strong start to the season at the MSU Bobcat Twilight Meet. It was the first collegiate race for many on the roster, and the experience will hopefully help them as they get ready for the larger fields this weekend.

"It's been good to have two weeks of training since the meet up in Bozeman. It kind of puts the kids on a more even keel getting that first race out of the way," head coach Doug Fraley said. "They have a better idea of where they are truly at and so it's good to train for two weeks after that first time trial and get ready for a step up in distance and a big step up in the depth of the meet."

The distance will be the most important thing. The men will be running the 8K distance that they will see at the conference championship meet. It's the first race at that distance for the men this season, which in turn means it is the first time that many of them will be running it at the collegiate level.

The Grizzly men have five returners that have competed at the distance, but four newcomers that will be facing it for the first time.

"It's going to be another valuable experience," Fraley said. "For the guys, it's their first time at the 8K distance this year. They are running in a bigger race with a lot more people and better teams, so it's going to be adding another layer of experience to a young group."

The women are also increasing their distance from the 5K in Bozeman to a 6K race this weekend. It's a different story than the men as the women are actually running a longer event than they will at the Big Sky Championship, which is a 5K race.

The distance is used at the regional meet for the women.

Montana started the season with a second place finish on the women's side and a third place finish for the men. It was a pair of newcomers that led the way for the women as Abigail Case (12^th) and Abigail Kotran (21^st) had the top finishes of the day. They were two of seven newcomers that ran as Grizzlies for the first time. The only returner to run for the women in Bozeman was Iris McKean, who finished third on Montana and 23^rd overall.

The men had a good mix of returning talent and fresh faces. Henry Ballinger, coming off an outstanding track season in spring 2024, led the way with a time of 15:24.0 for a 15^th place finish. He ran alongside fellow sophomore Carson Steckelberg, who finished just a second behind in 16^th place.

Luke Mest had the top debut for the men with a time of 15:36.1 and a 21^st place finish.

Washington State will be hosting a talented field of runners for the event. Last season, they welcomed Gonzaga and Idaho along with a very good Lewis-Clark team to Colfax for the race.

Montana, meanwhile, were hosting the UM Invitational at this time last year in preparation for the 2023 Big Sky Championships in Missoula. The meet will take place later in the season this year, allowing the Grizzlies and potential other teams to run at the WSU event this year.

The lights might be a little brighter in Colfax with more teams and a deeper field of runners, but it should make for a natural progression for the young Grizzly squads.

"It's great to have that low-key meet in Bozeman to kind of get the nerves out and find out the level that you are at in a competition setting versus just running with the same people in practice all the time," Fraley said. "This is another step forward in our cross country season and we will have a better idea, especially on the guy's side, once we go to the true, 8K race distance."

Montana Men's Entries
Morgan Amano – FR
Henry Ballinger – SO
Keagen Crosby – R-FR
Zachary Giesch – SO
Lane Krautschun – FR
Luke Mest – FR
Colin Shaules – JR
Carson Steckelberg – SO
Truman Thompson – SO

Montana Women's Entries
Olivia Coll – SO
Libby Hartz – FR
Sofia Hinderman – FR
Abigail Kotran – FR
Iris McKean – JR
Heidi Olson – FR
Shay Pederson – JR
Lucy Thompson - FR

Cross country resumes racing at the WSU Cougar Classic

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Players Mentioned

Morgan Amano

Henry Ballinger

Abigail Case

Olivia Coll

Keagen Crosby

Zachary Giesch

Libby Hartz

Sofia Hinderman

Abigail Kotran

Lane Krautschun

Iris McKean

Luke Mest

Heidi Olson

Shay Pederson

Colin Shaules

Carson Steckelberg

Lucy Thompson

Truman Thompson

University of Montana Athletics