Men's Cross Country
May, Clint
Clint May
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- clint.may@mso.umt.edu
- Phone:
- 243-4657
The 2021-22 academic year is Clint May’s third season as the head cross country coach at Montana and second as head coach of the track & field programs. After serving as an assistant track coach in 2020, May was elevated to interim head coach for the 2021 season, before being named the permanent coach in June 2021.
May came to Montana in August 2019 after coaching for three years at Southern Virginia, a Division III school in Buena Vista.
During a 2020-21 academic year that was abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, May helped guide Montana to strong finishes across the board. After the virus wiped out the team’s indoor season, the Grizzlies finally got to compete in late March. Montana had two individual champions at the 2021 Big Sky Outdoor Championships, with seven athletes then qualifying for NCAA regionals – Montana’s largest representation since 2017.
At the Big Sky outdoor championships, Montana’s men placed sixth while the women finished seventh. Encouraging for the future, 22 of Montana’s 26 scorers had remaining eligibility, with 14 of them only being freshmen. Eight athletes reached the podium at the Big Sky outdoor championships, led by champions Cade Johnstone (400 meters) and Tanessa Morris (hammer throw). Johnstone’s time of 46.58 was a school record, while Morris ranks second in school history, with a top throw of more than 200 feet. Also that spring, thrower Brent Yeakey set a school record in the discus, to go along with his records in the indoor and outdoor shot put. Distance runner Jacob Lamb, a 2020 Big Sky champion in the indoor 800 meters and 4x400-meter relay, qualified for NCAA regionals in the 800 meters, with an adjusted time of 1:49.36, the fastest time in the Big Sky in 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic also severely altered Montana’s cross country season, shifting it to the spring and cutting it down to just two races. In Montana’s first race in 15 months, the Grizzlies had eight of the top 11 finishers at the Idaho Orchards Invitational. Later that month, at the Big Sky Conference cross country championships, Montana’s men and women both placed eighth. The women were paced by Beatrix Frissell, who finished 12th, while the men earned its top finish since 2015 and had six runners among the top 50.
In addition to Montana's athletic achievements, Montana also took care of business in the classroom, with all four of May's teams (men's cross country, women's cross country, men's track & field, women's track & field) recording at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average in 2020-21. His athletes totaled 148 Academic All-Big Sky honors, with 89 athletes recording a 3.0 or higher during the Spring 2021 semester, and 47 being named to the University’s Dean’s List. The Grizzlies were once again recognized with the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, with six individuals also honored.
In his first year at Montana, May guided his women’s cross country team to a sixth-place finish at the 2019 Big Sky Conference Championships. June Eastwood placed eighth and Beatrix Frissell finished 10th to earn All-Big Sky honors.
At the 2020 Big Sky Indoor Championships, Eastwood won the mile and Lamb claimed the title in the men’s 800 meters. Emily Pittis, third in the 3,000 meters, and Frissell, fifth in the 5,000 meters, both had top-five finishes, and the women’s team’s distance medley relay squad finished second.
May is no stranger to the state of Montana. He ran for two years at Montana State in the early 90s and coached Bozeman High’s distance runners for nearly two decades before moving into college coaching.
He was an assistant under Montana Coaches Association Hall of Famer Mary Murphy for Bozeman High’s cross country program before taking over in 2006.
Over the next 10 autumns his boys’ team would win nine state titles and have four individual champions. His girls’ team also claimed nine titles and had five state champions.
In his final year at BHS, his Bozeman girls’ distance team won the Nike Cross Regionals Northwest title in Boise. The boys’ team placed second. At Nike Cross Nationals the next month, the boys’ team finished eighth, the girls’ team 19th.
May was raised in Salmon, Idaho, and ran one year at Boise State before serving a two-year church mission. Upon his return, he enrolled and competed at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. He spent his final two years of eligibility at Montana State and was part of the school’s first Big Sky Conference men’s cross country championship in 1993.
He earned a degree in health enhancement from Montana State in 1995.
He and his wife Mindy have four children: sons Colter, Tate and Dylan, and daughter Kensey.
May came to Montana in August 2019 after coaching for three years at Southern Virginia, a Division III school in Buena Vista.
During a 2020-21 academic year that was abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, May helped guide Montana to strong finishes across the board. After the virus wiped out the team’s indoor season, the Grizzlies finally got to compete in late March. Montana had two individual champions at the 2021 Big Sky Outdoor Championships, with seven athletes then qualifying for NCAA regionals – Montana’s largest representation since 2017.
At the Big Sky outdoor championships, Montana’s men placed sixth while the women finished seventh. Encouraging for the future, 22 of Montana’s 26 scorers had remaining eligibility, with 14 of them only being freshmen. Eight athletes reached the podium at the Big Sky outdoor championships, led by champions Cade Johnstone (400 meters) and Tanessa Morris (hammer throw). Johnstone’s time of 46.58 was a school record, while Morris ranks second in school history, with a top throw of more than 200 feet. Also that spring, thrower Brent Yeakey set a school record in the discus, to go along with his records in the indoor and outdoor shot put. Distance runner Jacob Lamb, a 2020 Big Sky champion in the indoor 800 meters and 4x400-meter relay, qualified for NCAA regionals in the 800 meters, with an adjusted time of 1:49.36, the fastest time in the Big Sky in 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic also severely altered Montana’s cross country season, shifting it to the spring and cutting it down to just two races. In Montana’s first race in 15 months, the Grizzlies had eight of the top 11 finishers at the Idaho Orchards Invitational. Later that month, at the Big Sky Conference cross country championships, Montana’s men and women both placed eighth. The women were paced by Beatrix Frissell, who finished 12th, while the men earned its top finish since 2015 and had six runners among the top 50.
In addition to Montana's athletic achievements, Montana also took care of business in the classroom, with all four of May's teams (men's cross country, women's cross country, men's track & field, women's track & field) recording at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average in 2020-21. His athletes totaled 148 Academic All-Big Sky honors, with 89 athletes recording a 3.0 or higher during the Spring 2021 semester, and 47 being named to the University’s Dean’s List. The Grizzlies were once again recognized with the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, with six individuals also honored.
In his first year at Montana, May guided his women’s cross country team to a sixth-place finish at the 2019 Big Sky Conference Championships. June Eastwood placed eighth and Beatrix Frissell finished 10th to earn All-Big Sky honors.
At the 2020 Big Sky Indoor Championships, Eastwood won the mile and Lamb claimed the title in the men’s 800 meters. Emily Pittis, third in the 3,000 meters, and Frissell, fifth in the 5,000 meters, both had top-five finishes, and the women’s team’s distance medley relay squad finished second.
May is no stranger to the state of Montana. He ran for two years at Montana State in the early 90s and coached Bozeman High’s distance runners for nearly two decades before moving into college coaching.
He was an assistant under Montana Coaches Association Hall of Famer Mary Murphy for Bozeman High’s cross country program before taking over in 2006.
Over the next 10 autumns his boys’ team would win nine state titles and have four individual champions. His girls’ team also claimed nine titles and had five state champions.
In his final year at BHS, his Bozeman girls’ distance team won the Nike Cross Regionals Northwest title in Boise. The boys’ team placed second. At Nike Cross Nationals the next month, the boys’ team finished eighth, the girls’ team 19th.
May was raised in Salmon, Idaho, and ran one year at Boise State before serving a two-year church mission. Upon his return, he enrolled and competed at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. He spent his final two years of eligibility at Montana State and was part of the school’s first Big Sky Conference men’s cross country championship in 1993.
He earned a degree in health enhancement from Montana State in 1995.
He and his wife Mindy have four children: sons Colter, Tate and Dylan, and daughter Kensey.
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