Montana State junior Patrick Casey finished 144th overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championship, Monday afternoon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.

Casey (Laurel) covered the 10-kilometer course in 31:32.0 in his first-ever NCAA cross country meet.

“Patrick ran very well in the first half of the race,” said MSU head coach Dale Kennedy. “The second half was a different story and he had tired legs. I don't think he ever recovered from his first 10K a week ago at the Mountain Region meet.

“Patrick struggled and it wasn't one of his best races,” Kennedy said. “However, he had a tremendous cross country season and did an excellent job leading our team. He still has another year of eligibility and the sky is the limit.”

Samuel Chelanga of Liberty won the men's individual title for the second straight year in a time of 29:22.2, while Oklahoma State captured the men's team title. The Big Sky's top team, Northern Arizona, finished ninth in the team standings.