Grizzlies pass midway point of season with Montana Invite

Friday, September 19

Missoula, Mont.

5:45 PM

Montana

Montana Invite

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of Montana

Grizzlies pass midway point of season with Montana Invite

9/19/2025 9:26:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana welcomed good competition to the UM Golf Course on Friday evening for the Montana Invite. The Grizzlies finished in third place on both the men's and women's sides, coming in behind Big Sky foes Idaho and Idaho State on both sides.

The Idaho women claimed the team title while the Idaho State men finished atop the leaderboard. Montana's men were just two points behind Idaho for second, which gives them a good idea of where they stand in the conference with over a month still remaining before the Big Sky Championship.

"It was a really good race environment and a beautiful day out here today, and our teams got a good indicator today of where they stand against teams like Idaho and Idaho State," head coach Doug Fraley said. "We had some runners that ran really well and others who didn't, but the bottom line is that we've got a good barometer for where we're at with both teams. That will set up the attitude and we will move forward with a lot of motivation today."

Carson Steckelberg had the top finish by a Grizzly on the day. The junior came in third on the men's side with a time of 24:56.9. It's the best time ever for Steckelberg on his home course, which he's now run competitively four times counting the Big Sky Championships his freshman season.

It was a breakthrough for Steckelberg, who had finished narrowly in second for Montana at the first two meets of the season.

"It was pretty fun. Last year I ran a minute slower so it was pretty exciting to finally run fast on this course and kind of get my get-back on it since conference my freshman year," Steckelberg said. "This is a much harder course than what we ran last week and being 42 seconds off that time, I'm pretty ecstatic."

Luke Mest, who led Montana in the first race of the season, finished in second on Friday evening with a time of 25:04.6. Mest finished in 5^th place overall in a crowded field of Vandals, Bengals, and Griz at the top of the results list.

Zachary Giesch finished 3^rd on Montana and 13^th overall with a time of 25:38.5. The trio has finished 1-2-3 for Montana in all three meets this season. The gap closed in behind them as freshman Elliot Stimpson was in 18^th overall just 13 seconds behind Giesch. It's been a storyline to follow all season for Montana with different freshmen rising into the top five in different meets.

"On the men's side we continued to have youngsters step up," Fraley said. "Carson did a good job of leading us, Luke has been rock solid, Zach had another solid race, but really at four and five we've got young guys that are getting it done."

Junior Truman Thompson was 5^th for Montana with Lane Krautschun coming in 6^th. Then it wa a pair of true freshmen at 7^th and 8^th. The newcomers on Montana's roster have adapted well to the longer distances of the college races.

"Last week it was a different freshman than it was this week," Fraley said. "They are working their way into the scoring positions for our team and that's great to see. We have great leadership at the top, but we've got some young guys that have been impressive as they transition from the 5K distance at high school to 8K in college."

Kayla Ingraham led the women for the third straight race. She has had a remarkable return from a stress fracture that kept her out of competition last season to become Montana's top runner in 2025.

"It's great to be back this season," Ingraham said. "It was rough to be out for my senior season last year with a stress fracture. I didn't race until outdoor and was still getting back in shape, but I had a pretty good some and it's nice to put it together and see it pay off."

Ingraham ran a time of 19:20.0 to finish in 10^th place overall. Heidi Olson was Montana's next finisher four seconds later in 11^th place. Shay Pederson, Olivia Coll, and Libby Hartz all finished inside the top 20 for the Grizzlies.

The top five on the women's side all finished within 23 seconds of each other, which was a great sign for Fraley.

"I think on the women's side the thing we were most pleased with is that numbers two through five are closing the gap," Fraley said. "One of the things that's important is having the smallest gap possible between your scoring positions, and I thought our women did a great job. Kayla led us with a good effort like she has for the first three races, and today our time differential between one through five was less than it has been which is always positive."

Montana will now have a week off before heading to Walla Walla, Wash. for the Whitman Open on Oct. 4. Fraley said the team will continue working hard to establish consistency as they move toward the Big Sky Championships in November.

"At this point in the year, the biggest things are staying healthy, being consistent with your training, and being consistent with your mindset and effort," Fraley said. "We can use a race that fell a little bit short of what we were hoping for as motivation to move forward to the next one."

MONTANA WOMEN'S RESULTS
1. Kayla Ingraham (19:20.0, 10^th)
2. Heidi Olson (19:24.0, 11^th)
3. Shay Pederson (19:29.2, 13^th)
4. Olivia Coll (19:42.9, 18^th)
5. Libby Hartz (19:43.8, 19^th)
6. Abigail Case (20:05.9, 6^th)
7. Malia Bradford (20:20.4, 29^th)
8. Ashtyn Wagner (20:50.2, 36^th)

MONTANA MEN'S RESULTS
1. Carson Steckelberg (24:56.9, 3^rd)
2. Luke Mest (25:04.6, 5^th)
3. Zachary Giesch (25:38.5, 13^th)
4. Elliot Stimpson (25:51.5, 18^th)
5. Truman Thompson (25:59.8, 19^th)
6. Lane Krautschun (26:06.5, 20^th)
7. Albert Turner (26:13.1, 22^nd)
8. Henry Sund (26:15.4, 25^th)
9. Morgan Amano (26:25.3, 27^th)
10. Will Sandnes (27:00.3, 39^th)
11. Lane Cole (27:09.4, 41^st)
12. Colin Shaules (27:28.3, 45^th)
13. Samuel Jagodzinski (28:18.3, 51^st)

WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Idaho – 28
2. Idaho State – 36
3. Montana – 66
4. Montana Tech – 102
5. Carroll College – 124
6. MSU-Northern – 218
7. Walla Walla – 225
8. Dawson CC – 227
9. Montana Western – 238

MEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Idaho State – 30
2. Idaho – 56
3. Montana – 58
4. Carroll College – 101
5. Montana Tech – 129
6. Walla Walla – 192
7. Montana Western – 207
8. Dawson CC - 229