BOZEMAN — The Montana State men's cross country team is coming of a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last November, the program's best finish since 2002.
The Bobcats have ascended to national prominence under coach Lyle Weese — who also guided MSU to the Big Sky Conference track and field championship in the spring — and began the 2024 season ranked 25th in the preseason national coaches poll.
At the MSU Bobcat Twilight meet on Aug. 30, the first race of the fall, the Cats went 1-2-3-4-5 to finish with a perfect score of 15 and also added runners 6-7-8. Sam Ells got the win, followed by Levi Taylor, Owen Smith, Ben Perrin and Rob McManus in the top five.
Weese and McManus join this week's edition of the Bobcat Insider, hosted by Montana State football play-by-play voice Keaton Gillogly and MTN Sports' Grace Lawrence. Weese and McManus talked about the strength of the cross country program, the brotherhood among the runners, last spring's Big Sky track and field championship, and Montana State's new indoor practice facility, which will be named in honor of legendary MSU track and field coaches Rob Stark and Dale Kennedy.
Watch this week's Bobcat Insider in the video above.