Bobcat runners pace victory at home meet

As the sun slipped below the Tobacco Root Mountains last Friday night, the crack of a starting gun rang through the crisp evening air — and with that the race was on. The MSU cross country team kicked off its 2024 season with a successful showing at the MSU Bobcat Twilight meet on Dyche Field. By the end of it all, the Bobcats achieved top finishes in both the men’s and women’s races, locking in a strong start to the season.

The track consisted of five laps of a one kilometer, mostly-level circuit. Deceptively simple, the tight corners combined with grass slickened by the evening dew made breaking away from the pack challenging. Around 300 friends and families of the competitors surrounded the track, some traveling from as far as southern Minnesota.

The men’s team delivered an impressive performance by taking the top five positions in their race, resulting in the best possible score of 15. They also had runners finishing sixth, seventh and eighth, outperforming competitors like Boise State University (BSU), University of Montana (UM), Carroll College, Carleton College, Montana Technological University, and University of Montana Western. MSU finished ahead of UM, which ended with 79 points, and BSU, which placed third with 80 points. Sam Ells led the Bobcats, finishing first with a time of 14:48.80. He was followed by Levi Taylor (14:49.30), Owen Smith (14:53.40), Ben Perrin (14:55.10), Rob McManus (14:56.40) and Will Kelly (14:58.10). MSU freshmen Ryan Harrington and A.J. Ringert also performed well, finishing seventh and eighth with times of 15:02.40 and 15:03.70, respectively.  

The women's team also put up a good fight, narrowly defeating BSU 29-26. UM finished in a distant third place with 86 points. The Bobcat competitors claimed five of the top ten spots, with Kyla Christopher-Moody winning the race with a course-record time of 17:18.60. Lindsey Paulson (17:34.50) finished fourth, Alex Moore (17:41.70) was fifth, Grace Gilbreth (17:57.20) took seventh and Hannah Perrin (18:16.80) finished ninth. Madi Siana, Annie Kaul and Ada Nelson also had strong finishes, placing 11th, 14th and 15th, respectively. Hopefully, the Bobcats can keep this impressive momentum and continue to smash the competition this season. 

To keep up with the team’s upcoming races, check out https://msubobcats.com/sports/mens-cross-country/schedule for the men’s team and https://msubobcats.com/sports/womens-cross-country/schedule for the women’s team.