Griz finish regular season at LC State Invitational

The Montana cross country program will conclude its regular season this Saturday in Lewiston, Idaho when they race in the LC State Invitational. The event will feature a 5k race for the women and an 8k race for the men at the LC State Cross Country Trail.

The women will run at 10:45 a.m. (MT) and the men will follow at 11:45 a.m. There will be no stream or live results available from the race.

The course has typically been a fast one for Montana and this year looks to be no exception with good weather and very solid competition on hand. The Grizzlies will run against a couple of Big Sky foes in Idaho and Eastern Washington in addition to powerhouse teams Gonzaga and Washington State.

The opponents, the course, the training, and the weather should all help Montana find a good rhythm in the final race before the Big Sky Championships.

"This is the last opportunity for our men and women to go out and really sharpen up their racing on a very fast course with top-level competition," head coach Doug Fraley said. "It's a great opportunity for us to put that final cap on the regular season and really fine-tune the last race before the Big Sky Championships."

Montana's men continue to be led race-after-race by a strong trio up front. Last week, Zachary Giesch was the top finisher at 4^th place overall in the Whitman Open. He was followed by Luke Mest in 6^th and Carson Steckelberg in 8^th. The trio have each been Montana's top finisher at least once this season with Giesch leading them across the line twice.

The men have a large group that all could possibly score at the Big Sky Championship. In Walla Walla, 4^th through 9^th on Montana's squad were separated by just 13 seconds. Three of those runners are true freshmen and five of the six are underclassmen.

It's a group with plenty of potential and Fraley is hoping to see some of that rise to the top as they finish up the regular season and get ready to head to Bozeman.

"We've been rock solid with Zach, Luke, and Carson on the numbers 1-3," Fraley said. "But really on Nov. 1 in Bozeman, how our team does is going to depend a lot on our 4 and 5 runners being closer to those top three."

The women have had the same top finisher in all four races this season. Senior Kayla Ingraham, who returned to UM for a 5^th year to run cross country this season after missing 2024 with an injury, has been in the best shape of her life and the results reflect that.

Ingraham won the Whitman Open outright last Saturday with a 6k time of 22:17.4. It was one year to the day from Montana's last win by Abigail Case.

The veteran has been steady at the top but the rest of the Grizzlies are starting to close the gap. Just like the men's squad is chasing the top three, the women's side is all pulling closer to Ingraham. That will be a key for Fraley's team at the Big Sky Championship.

Olivia Coll had her best career race last Saturday with a PR time of 22:46.0. She finished 2^nd on Montana and 3^rd overall in the race, both the highest finishes of her career. Heidi Olson also had a top five finish last week.

Shay Pederson and Libby Hartz finished 6^th and 7^th as the 2-5 runners on Montana's squad were separated by 19 seconds.

"We're looking for Kayla to continue her strong running in leading us like she has every meet. Then we are looking to continue to get numbers 2-5 moving into those races a little sooner to be closer to Kayla because it's so important in this sport, it's not just where your number one is, but especially where your number 2, 3, 4 and 5 are."

The course is particularly fast for Montana's women. While not all of them will be running on Saturday, there are nine different women who have career best 5k times at this race. Several Grizzly men have also had career days on this course.

"The Lewiston course historically is where we've had some of our better times throughout the season," Fraley said. "It's a fast course, the competition is always strong there, and so it's a great opportunity for both sides to get out, compete well, run a fast time and go into the break with momentum."

It is also another litmus test for Montana to see where they stand in the Big Sky Conference with a couple of other schools running. They feel out the competition at Eastern Washington and Idaho while also running against some schools that will mimic the top teams in the league.

"It's perfect for the last regular season because not only does it give you a measuring stick of where you stack up against a couple of Big Sky schools but it also gives you a level of competition to that is very similar to what we'll get when all 10 Big Sky teams get together," Fraley said. "It's good for our athletes to be exposed to that prior to going to the Championship."

The Grizzlies will look to get some momentum on Saturday that they can carry into an extended training period before the Big Sky Championships. Montana will have two weekends off before racing in Bozeman on Nov. 1.

"It's always good to go into a Championship meet coming off a competition that gives you a good feeling and an opportunity to run a fast time. That feeds into the final two week preparation for the conference meet.

University of Montana Athletics

Griz finish regular season at LC State Invitational

Players Mentioned

Abigail Case

Olivia Coll

Zachary Giesch

Libby Hartz

Kayla Ingraham

Luke Mest

Heidi Olson

Shay Pederson

Carson Steckelberg

Related Videos