Montana State University
MSU Bobcat Twilight
Bobcat Cross Country Starts Season on Right Foot at MSU Bobcat Twilight
9/2/2023 10:49:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Matthew Richtman and Kyla Christopher-Moody win 5K races at Dyche Field on Friday to highlight perfect team scores from both the MSU men's and women's teams
BOZEMAN, Montana – Kicking off the season during golden hour on Dyche Field, the Montana State cross country teams hosted Montana in a pair of 5K races on Friday evening, coming out on top in dominant fashion.
Both the Bobcat men and women finished with perfect team scores of 15 points in the season opener, representing each of the top-five individual finishers on both sides.
Reigning All-American Matthew Richtman won the men's race (14:57.1) while Colorado transfer Kyla Christopher-Moody won the women's race (17:24.5) by a 28-second margin.
"The team has been really impressive in practice, but it was fun to get them in their jerseys out there competing, and they showed really well," head coach Lyle Weese said.
For the MSU men, who were ranked 26th in the preseason USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll, Ben Perrin (15:05.5), Rob McManus (15:07.3), Sam Ells (15:08.2), and Owen Smith (15:08.9) rounded out the scoring runners, with 1-5 for the Bobcats separated by just 11 seconds.
"On the men's side, I thought our returners ran really well and were really solid," Weese said. "Newcomers did a good job in their first collegiate races or their first race here at Montana State. Overall a good team performance. We've got some work to do, but definitely the base is there for a really great men's season."
In the women's race that followed, nine MSU runners crossed the finish line before any other competitors, with Christopher-Moody's eye-popping run setting the table.
Emma Tate (17:52.1), Alex Moore (17:58.4), Kendra Lusk (18:11.8), and Mya Dube (18:25.5) joined Christopher-Moody as scoring runners for the Bobcats, with Grace Gilbreth (18:26.1) and Elena Vandersloot (18:41.8) right behind. Hannah Perrin and Lindsey Paulson, running unattached, finished eighth (18:50.4) and ninth (18:51.2), respectively.
"The women's race was really impressive," Weese said. "Our women's team is so much improved over last year, so that is really fun to see. Certainly Kyla ran a great race, Emma ran a great race, and Alex ran really well, so it was great to see those three out in front really pushing it, and then we had a nice pack that was working together, and they just kept moving their way up throughout the whole race."
Up Next
Montana State will stay in the Treasure State and travel to Missoula on Friday, Sept. 15, for the UM Invite hosted by Montana.
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