Montana State University
UM Invite
Bobcats Travel to Missoula for UM Invitational on Friday
9/14/2023 5:41:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
MSU Cross Country To Get Preview of Course That Will Host the Big Sky Championship in October
BOZEMAN, Montana – In an important early-season test, the Montana State men's and women's cross country teams head to Missoula on Friday to compete at the UM Invitational, hosted by Montana at University Golf Course.
The men's 8-kilometer race gets underway at 9:30 a.m., with the women's 5-kilometer race starting at 10:10 a.m.
The races will be an important preview for the Bobcats, as Montana State will return to the same course on October 27 for the Big Sky Championship.
Friday's meet will see the men's and women's teams of Eastern Washington and Montana both racing, with Weber State's women competing as well.
The meet will also feature a heavy Treasure State flavor, with Montana State-Billings, Montana Western, Carroll College, and Providence participating.
The Bobcats opened up the 2023 season two weeks ago in Bozeman, hosting the MSU Bobcat Twilight in a two-team meet against Montana and dominating across the pair of 5K races at Dyche Field, recording perfect team scores of 15 while finishing 1-5 on both sides.
Colorado transfer Kyla Christopher-Moody asserted her presence in her first race as a Bobcat, winning the women's 5K by a 28-second margin and crossing the line in 17:24.5. The depth of the women's side was on full display, as MSU was responsible for the first nine finishers.
On the men's side, 2022 All-American Matthew Richtman paced the field, winning the 5K with a time of 14:57.1. Six of the first seven finishers across the finish line wore Bobcat colors in a complete team performance.
Montana State last raced in Missoula in 2021, with only two men's runners competing, including current Bobcat Owen Smith. Eight women represented MSU, including Grace Gilbreth, who placed fourth, Alex Moore, who took seventh, and Kendra Lusk, who finished 10th to round out the Bobcats' top performers.
This year, the Bobcats will send a bigger contingent to Missoula, with ten men and ten women traveling.
Friday will mark MSU's first opportunity of the fall to compete against multiple Big Sky teams. Both the Bobcat men and women were picked second in the 2023 Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Polls, checking in behind front-runner Northern Arizona.
In the USTFCCCA Preseason Regional Polls, MSU's men were slotted at No. 5 in the Mountain Region, while the women were ranked No. 11. Nationally, the men enter the weekend ranked 26th in the USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll.
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