Montana State University
XC23 Pre-Nationals
Men Place Fourth, Women Place 11th at Pre-Nationals in Virginia on Saturday
10/14/2023 10:36:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Matthew Richtman, Owen Smith, and Ben Perrin go 12-14-16 for the men to highlight strong showings from both squads
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia – The Montana State cross country teams turned in a pair of strong showings at one of the most talent-heavy meets on the collegiate calendar on Saturday, with the men placing fourth and the women 11th at XC23 Pre-Nationals in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Full results from the meet held at Panorama Farms, the future site of the NCAA Championships on November 18, can be found here.
"Both teams competed really well and at a higher level than we did at the Notre Dame meet two weeks ago," head coach Lyle Weese said. "This race should give both teams a lot of confidence as we head into the conference and regional championships in two and four weeks."
On the men's side, senior Matthew Richtman set a new personal-best (23:32.0) on his way to a team-high 12th place finish in the championship-distance 8K race.
MSU junior Owen Smith followed up his 15th place result at the Joe Piane Invite two weeks ago with a 14th place finish on Saturday in Virginia, crossing the line in a personal-best time of 23:34.1.
Reigning Big Sky Men's XC Athlete of the Week Ben Perrin rounded out the top trio of Bobcats with a 16th place finish, clocking in at 23:35.8.
All told, the top three Bobcat distance runners went 12-14-16 in one of the most competitive races in the country this fall, all finishing within four seconds of one another.
With junior Rob McManus (46th) and sophomore Sam Ells (49th) also running strong, receiving-votes Montana State finished fourth out of 23 teams in the field with 137 points, coming in only behind three ranked opponents.
"The men's really bounced back from Notre Dame," Weese said. "Matt [Richtman], Owen [Smith], and Ben [Perrin] were a great 1-3 punch. Rob McManus and Sam Ells really stepped up and ran solid races."
No. 21 Arkansas took the team title on the men's side (35), with No. 11 Tennessee placing second (89) and No. 10 Virginia placing third (112).
Montana State, who received eight votes in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, finished ahead of Purdue, Wyoming, Santa Clara, Virginia Tech, and Duke, among others.
On the women's side, graduate student Kyla Christopher-Moody paced the Bobcats for the fourth race in a row, placing 35th in the championship-distance 6K with a personal-best time of 20:47.4.
MSU junior Mya Dube finished only ten seconds behind Christopher-Moody, coming in 45th in a personal-best time of 20:57.4.
Grace Gilbreth crossed the line as the No. 3 Bobcat runner in 67th, setting a new personal record in the process (21:12.4).
"The women's team beat a number of teams that were in front of them at Notre Dame," Weese said. "Individually, Mya Dube and Grace Gilbreth had outstanding races. Kyla [Christopher-Moody] led the team again this week, but Mya and Grace really gave the team a boost with their performances.
Emma Tate (103rd), Kendra Lusk (120th), Elena Vandersloot (124th), and Eva Koos (127th) rounded out the top seven for the women.
Montana State placed 11th as a squad, coming in ahead of Pitt, Wyoming, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Missouri, and Vanderbilt, among others.
Up Next
The regular season complete, Montana State now turns their attention to the 2023 Big Sky Championships, hosted by the University of Montana in Missoula on Friday, October 27.
The Bobcats performed well earlier this fall at the UM Invite on September 15, held on University Golf Course that will host the Big Sky meet in two weeks. The men went 1-2-3-4-5 in winning the competition with a perfect score of 15, while the women dominated as well, going 1-5-6-7-11.
The Big Sky Championships will be streamed on ESPN+, with live results also available on msubobcats.com.
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