Griz cross country heads to Bozeman for Big Sky Championship

The Montana cross country team will cross the Continental Divide this week for the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning in Bozeman. The teams will race at Bridger Creek Golf Course starting at 11:00 a.m. with the women's 5k followed by the men's 8k race at 11:35 a.m. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Grizzlies had a very successful regular season, culminating with 17 career-best performances at their last race two weeks ago in Lewiston, Idaho. Both Grizzly squads showed great improvement from the start of the year with improvement up-and-down the lineup.

The forward momentum for the program has both the runners and head coach Doug Fraley excited to get to Bozeman on Saturday.

"The teams are really excited to head over to Bozeman," Fraley said. "They have been training all summer and all fall and had a great regular season to get to the point where we feel very good about going into the championship meet fit, healthy, and with some momentum."

Last year at the Big Sky Championship, Montana had a men's runner crack the top 20 for the first time since 2011. Carson Steckelberg ran a 24:31.7 time in Pocatello to finish 17^th overall in what is always a highly competitive race with some of the nation's top athletes competing.

Steckelberg has improved during his junior season and could be in line for another top 20 finish, but this year he has some company within his own squad. He has finished as Montana's top runner once in the first five races of the year.

Zachary Giesch has had a breakout junior season. He's been the top Grizzly at the previous two events, placing 4^th overall at both the Whitman Open and the LC State Invitational. Giesch's season-best time of 24:00 at the 8k distance would have been good for a top 15 finish at last year's Big Sky Championship.

Luke Mest has also made a case that he belongs in the top grouping this weekend. Mest, a sophomore from Boulder, has been right with Giesch and Steckelberg this season and was the top finisher for Montana the last time they were in Bozeman back on Aug. 29. He has a season-best time of 24:18 at the 8k distance.

"A year ago, Carson was really our only weapon as far as having anybody that was able to break through in the top 20," Fraley said. "This year we feel like we have multiple guys that can do that. That's a significant improvement for any cross team is when you feel like you have three guys that can be in the top end of the race, that's a big advantage as far as how you're going to do team-wise."

The Grizzlies finished 7^th last season at the championship and were picked 7^th in the Big Sky Preseason Poll this year. In the past decade, the team's best finish is 6^th place in both 2015 and 2023.

They are hoping to exceed the preseason expectations this year and move up in the final standings. The Grizzly men haven't finished in the top half of the league since a 4^th place finish in 2011.

The Grizzly women finished 10^th last year and were picked 9^th in the preseason poll. Behind the return of Kayla Ingraham, who was injured last year, and the emergence of some young runners the women are also looking to beat the expectations placed upon them.

Ingraham has led Montana at all five stops this year and is in the midst of the best season in her career. She ran a career-best 5k time of 17:39 on Oct. 11 in Lewiston at Montana's last race, continuing to improve as she enters the final stretch of her Grizzly career.

Heidi Olson has been right with her all year, finishing 2^nd on Montana in four of the five races. Olson also ran a career best time in her last race as the whole lineup keeps improving.

Olivia Coll, Shay Pederson, and Libby Hartz have finished in the top five for Montana at every race they have appeared in this year, giving the Grizzlies a strong core of runners. The trio all ran PR times in Montana's last outing.

The top five runners score at the Big Sky Championship, and every single point will be important for Montana come Saturday. It's why the improvement of that area of the lineup has been so crucial for Fraley and the squad.

It's also true on the men's side where several young runners have grown throughout the year to give Montana plenty of scoring options. Freshmen Albert Turner, Elliot Stimpson, and Henry Sund finished 4-6 for the Grizzlies at the LC State Invitational.

"The 3-4-5 positions have really improved a lot this year. It gives us a much better chance going into a conference meet to do well team-wise," Fraley said. "Those athletes have really taken it upon themselves to try and get as close to the front end of our lineups as they can. The time differentials between the one and fives have slowly whittled down through the course of the year with our leaders running faster, so the back end of the scoring positions have improved tremendously to close that gap."

The Grizzly women have finished in the bottom three every year since 2019. The student-athletes that Fraley and distance coach AJ Eckmann have brought to Missoula have started to shift the culture this year.

"I think that's one of the things that I've been most pleased with is just seeing the competitive nature of our young athletes on these teams," Fraley said. "It wasn't nearly as good when I first got here, and I think the people that Coach Eckmann is recruiting have really increased our competitive spirit and that goes a long way in producing the results that our teams have produced this year."

The Grizzly men defeated Idaho at the LC State Invitational and have competed well against others in the Big Sky this season. Northern Arizona, nationally ranked for both the men and women, will be the heavy favorites in Bozeman.

Weber State (#8), Montana State (#9), and Idaho State (#12) are all ranked in the Mountain Region on the men's side. Idaho State (#11), Weber State (#12), and Montana State (#14) are regionally ranked on the women's side.

They will compete towards the top but following those four teams things are open for Montana to potentially move up. Fraley said it will need to be a true team effort for the Grizzlies on Saturday.

"The key is going to be our top people running the way they have all year. Obviously, you need sticks up front that are going to score low, but it's a combination because you're only as good as your weakest link in cross country," Fraley said. "It's important on both ends of the scoring lineup. You need your lead runners to run well and the 3-4-5 closing the gap timewise, that's how you have success in cross country."

In Fraley's fourth season at the helm, the Grizzlies have continued to grow every single year. After a successful regular season, he's ready for his team to put together a strong performance at the Big Sky Championship.

"I think that the way things have developed throughout the regular season, we're giving ourselves a chance to have some improvement this year," Fraley said. "Ultimately, the bottom line is to show improvement from year-to-year, season-to-season, and I think we're ready to do that."

Griz cross country heads to Bozeman for Big Sky Championship

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Players Mentioned

Olivia Coll

Zachary Giesch

Libby Hartz

Kayla Ingraham

Luke Mest

Heidi Olson

Shay Pederson

Carson Steckelberg

Elliot Stimpson

Henry Sund

Albert Turner

University of Montana Athletics