RENO, Nev. — Montana State cross country put a bow on successful season on Friday, recording a pair of top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Mountain Regional.
The Bobcat women began the day with a tenth place finish in their six-kilometer championship race before the men placed seventh in their ten-kilometer championship race at Washoe Golf Course.
Full results can be viewed here.
Both teams contended with frigid temperatures and falling snow throughout the morning and into the afternoon, gritting out stellar finishes despite the unfavorable elements.
Both teams also out-performed their USTFCCCA Mountain Region Ranking by two spots after the women entered the meet predicted to finish 12th and the men projected for ninth.
The women's finish was the best for the squad since 2017, with their point total of 287 the best since 2014.
Kyla Christopher-Moody (34th), Lindsey Paulson (47th), and Alex Moore (50th) all finished in the top-50.
Grace Gilbreth crossed the line as the No. 4 runner in 62nd, and Hannah Perrin was the final scoring runner for the Cats in 92nd.
Freshman Madi Siana and sophomore Annie Kaul ended the day in 109th and 111th, respectively.
No. 1 BYU took the regional team title with 52 points, while No. 4 Northern Arizona finished runner-up with 65 points.
"I thought our teams went out and competed really well," head coach Lyle Weese said. "The women started it off and got right into the race, did a great job and placed higher than they were expected to be coming in, placing higher than we have in a few years. I was definitely really happy and really proud with how the women's team started out."
Montana State's men delivered another gritty performance to cap a season that has been characterized by toughness and resolve in the face of adversity.
The Bobcats came up short of making their third consecutive NCAA Championships appearance, but a heroic push put the Cats on the brink of history.
Just a three-point swing separated Montana State (190) from sixth-place Wyoming (185), a gap that likely made the difference in who advanced on to the national meet in Wisconsin next Saturday.
The fact that Montana State got as close as they did despite season-long injuries to a pair of star runners in Owen Smith and Levi Taylor made the effort that much more remarkable.
Smith placed 28th as MSU's No. 3 at the Mountain Regional last year and Taylor placed 42nd as MSU's No. 5., but both have been sidelined since September.
On Friday in Reno, the Cats went 21-23-24-53-69 to close with 185 points.
"The men's team also got right into it and had a great performance, placed higher than they were predicted to coming into the meet," Weese said. "They put every single thing out there and I thought we ran a great race."
In the final competition of one of the most decorated careers in Bobcat history, Kalispell native Ben Perrin placed 21st to earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors for the third time in his career.
Rob McManus was right behind in 23rd and Sam Ells placed 24th to join Perrin in earning All-Region accolades.
"Those three have been so consistent the whole year, and they needed to be for our team," Weese said. "Every time we've raced they've showed up and done really well—that happened again today. This is such a strong region. Getting an All-Region award is really impressive."
Will Kelly placed 53rd for the Cats, while Harvey Cramb came in 69th round out the scoring runners for MSU. Eli Boppart placed 95th and Michael Schumacher came in 104th.
No. 1 BYU earned the regional team championship (52 points), with No. 6 New Mexico finishing in second (61 points) and No. 8 Northern Arizona placing third (71 points).
Montana State now turns its attention to the indoor track and field season.
