Montana State cross country standouts Patrick Casey and Nick Atwood led the Bobcat men's squad to a 14th place finish at the Pre-National event, Saturday at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
Casey (Laurel) finished 42nd overall covering the 8000-meter course in 24:22.5, while Atwood (Otis Orchards, Wash) crossed the line 50th overall in 24:27.6.
“I thought we had a great effort,” said MSU head coach Dale Kennedy. “We could've been a little more disciplined at the start, but nonetheless it was a solid performance.”
Both Casey and Atwood led the race after the first kilometer, before falling back from the lead pack.
“They might have gone out too hard,” Kennedy said. “But in this race it is essential to get out in front of the mass of runners.”
Also contributing to the Bobcat attack were Seth Grossman, 71st, 24:39; Dan Jackson, 98th, 24:54; Carl Nystuen, 157th, 25:29; Trevor Polson, 161st, 25:35; and Jacob Kirk, 162nd, 25:35.
“We had a 1:08 split between Nos. 2-7,” Kennedy said. “I would like to see that down to 40-seconds at the Big Sky Conference championships.”
No. 1-ranked Stanford won the 'Blue Race' sweeping the top three spots led by individual winner Chris Derrick in 23:16.9. The Cardinal finished with 43 points.
Stanford was followed by Iona 127, Florida State 154, Northern Arizona 192, Princeton 196, William and Mary 204, Cal 233, North Carolina 336, Florida 350, Louisville 354, UCLA 375, Dartmouth 384, Ohio State 400, MSU 418, Illinois 441, Richmond 452, UTEP 499, Michigan State 521, Purdue 549, Binghamton 562, McNeese State 566, Dayton 566, Michigan 595, Nebraska 622, Georgia 641, Washington 643, Marquette 660, Mississippi 662, Colorado State 663, Baylor 669, South Dakota State 737, Clemson 902, Arizona 925 and Montana 987.
“We came in with the goal of knocking off some ranked teams,” Kennedy said. “The only squad we got was No. 20 Michigan State. However, it really won't matter how we finished until Nov. 13 when we see how everyone finishes at their regional championships.
“I'm very pleased with the way we performed at the national level,” Kennedy said.
The Bobcat women finished 40th in the 6000-meter 'White Race,' which was won by Georgetown.
Junior Heather Haug posted her best race of the season, finishing 158th overall in 22:20.9.
“I thought Heather had a great race,” Kennedy said. “She just continues to make good improvement as the season goes on.”
Haug was followed by Keely West, 229th, 23:07; Lauren Kuennen, 233rd, 23:11, Rebecca Sorenson, 237th, 23:14; Tara Will, 254th, 23:34; and Heather Demorest, 262nd, 23:52.
“In the next two weeks as we move towards the Big Sky Conference championship, we'll focus on getting our split tighter from 2-5,” Kennedy said. “It's nice to see a steady progression out of our women.”
The Bobcats will compete at the Big Sky Conference meet Oct. 30 at Eastern Washington.
