The Montana State men's cross country program received a vote in this week's USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Coaches' Top 25 poll. The Bobcats are the 35th ranked squad in the nation.

In addition, based on its first place showing at the MSU Invitational, the Bobcat harriers moved from sixth place to fifth in the Mountain Region poll, released on Monday.

“We're really excited and the kids are really pumped to be recognized in the top 25 poll,” said MSU head coach Dale Kennedy. “It's one of those things we need to do to get our name out there. Our next opportunity to move up will be at the Montana Invitational, and then we hit the Pre-National meet where we really need to show improvement.

“I think the move up the Mountain Region poll was reflective of our performance last week,” Kennedy said. “Placing five guys in the top ten and six in the top 11 caught the eye of our region representative.”

Historically, the Mountain and Great Lakes regions have been the dominant areas in the country.

“We're reminded of the 2002 MSU men's team that finished 11th in the nation,” Kennedy said. “They finished fifth in the Mountain Region that year, so we're keeping that thought in the back of our mind. The region is just so strong.”

In this week's poll four Mountain Region teams are ranked, including No. 4 Northern Arizona, No. 6 Colorado, No. 11 New Mexico and No. 16 BYU. Stanford is the No. 1-ranked men's team.

MSU's next race will be at the Montana Invitational Oct. 2 in Missoula.