Montana State University
Big Sky Conference Championships
Cats Finish Second at Big Sky XC Championships
11/1/2024 9:01:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Men put four in the top-11, women place five in the top-16 as both teams earn runner-up in Pocatello
POCATELLO, Idaho – Montana State cross country delivered a pair of standout team performances at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships on Friday in Pocatello, with both the men and women finishing runner-up for the second consecutive year.
The Cats' second-place results mark the second time since 1992 that both squads have finished in the top two at the same conference meet (2023).
The full results can be viewed here.
"I thought we had some really good results," head coach Lyle Weese said. "Even more than the results, I thought we had some incredible efforts across the board. The seven that started for the men and the eight that started for the women—they really went out there and competed well. They didn't let anything else impact how they were going to race, they just went out and raced their very best. It's exciting to have good results, but it's even more exciting to have great efforts across the board."
On the men's side, a quartet of Bobcats in the top-11 pushed the Cats to an easy second place team finish.
No. 8 Northern Arizona secured their 11th Big Sky title in the last 13 years, going 1-2-5-8-9 to close with 25 points.
(RV) Montana State finished second, going 3-6-7-11-22 to end with 49 points, comfortably beating third place Weber State (68 points).
The 49 points were the third-lowest team total since 2002, eclipsed only by the Cats' 41 points in 2022 and 45 points in 2023.
Montana State has now finished in the top two at three consecutive Big Sky Championships—a first in school history.
Kalispell native Ben Perrin delivered another signature performance in his final conference championships, finishing third individually for the second straight year to lead the Cats. The veteran joins Steve Bishop (1977-81) and former teammate Duncan Hamilton (2019-22) as the only Bobcat men to earn All-Big Sky honors in four cross country seasons.
"It means a lot to finish my last conference cross country race with this team, and I'm really happy to have finished all-conference," Perrin said. "We've had a lot of ups and downs this year, especially with a few of our top guys out with injuries, but the whole team has handled that really well and we have a lot of momentum going into regionals."
Perrin finished sixth in both 2021 and 2022 and placed third in 2023 and 2024.
Fellow Kalispell native Sam Ells finished sixth overall, crossing the line for the eight-kilometer race in 23:37.8. Last season's Big Sky Freshman of the Year stayed in the top-six the entirety of the race, getting out to a quick start and hanging with the lead pack.
Rob McManus was the third Bobcat to earn All-Big Sky honors, placing seventh with a time of 23:39.8. The native of Cashmere, Washington, joins Perrin and Ells to become the first trio of Bobcat men to finish in the top-seven at the conference meet since the Cats last won the Big Sky title in 2002.
"It was so exciting having those three in the top ten," Weese said. "And then Will Kelly was tenths of a second away from being in the top ten as well. To have four guys run up there towards the front of the race was really exciting."
Graduate student Will Kelly finished 11th, one spot out of earning an all-conference accolade.
Sophomore Harvey Cramb was the fifth and final scoring runner across the line for Montana State, finishing 23rd. Eli Boppart finished 29th, while Michael Schumacher finished 32nd.
In the second race of the day, the Montana State women impressed with a balanced team effort, scoring 7-9-10-13-15 to take second and finish with 54 points —their lowest total since they last won the Big Sky title in 1995 (40 points).
No. 3 Northern Arizona won their fourth straight title, ending with a perfect score of 15 points while going 1-2-3-4-5-(6).
Montana State's second-place total of 54 was well in front of third place Weber State, who ended the day with 78 points.
It marks the second straight year the Cats have finished runner-up—the first time since 1994-1995 that the Bobcat women have finished at least second at the championship meet in consecutive seasons.
Kyla Christopher-Moody used a late surge to finish seventh individually, following up her ninth-place finish from a year ago in Missoula. The three-time Big Sky Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week finished the five-kilometer course in 16:59.7, closing the last mile on a remarkable 5:19 pace. The graduate student earns All-Big Sky honors for the second year in a row.
Joining her on the All-Big Sky team again was Bozeman native Grace Gilbreth, who placed tenth overall in a time of 17:13.9. Gilbreth followed up her tenth-place finish in Missoula last year with another top-ten result—staying in the top-ten through every kilometer split of the race.
Christopher-Moody and Gilbreth are the first pair of Bobcat women to earn All-Big Sky honors running together in consecutive seasons since Theresa Zacher and Kathleen Monaghan in 1986-1987.
"Grace and Kyla raced really well today," Weese said. "They've raced well throughout the season. They're definitely leaders on our team that run well in practice, perform well in meets, and set the tone for the team as well."
Lindsey Paulson, a Belt native, placed 11th and just one spot out of all-conference honors. The No. 3 MSU runner on Friday crossed the line in 17:25.5.
Bozeman native and senior Alex Moore ran what Weese called "probably her best-ever cross country race," finishing 14th as the fourth Bobcat in 17:41.1.
Sophomore Annie Kaul placed 16th to finish as the fifth and final scoring runner in 17:51.1, helping keep the Bobcat point total to a minimum and the pack close together.
Senior Hannah Perrin placed 26th, freshman Madi Siana finished 29th, and freshman Niamh Motley finished 45th.
UP NEXT
Montana State travels to Reno, Nevada, for the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships, hosted by the University of Nevada on Friday, November 15.
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
