The Retort

Jackets Cross Country has Strong Showing on Home Course

October 22nd, 2010 by MSUB Athletics For The Retort

After a week off from competition, the Montana State Billings men’s and women’s cross country teams made the best of their well-rested legs as the men took second and the women took third at the Yellowjacket Invitational in Billings on October 16.

“This was a great meet for both our teams today,” said head coach Dave Coppock on October 16. “It was important to really see what they could do for the 8k and 5k distances. The course was fast, flat, dry and the field was very competitive with all the strong NAIA teams here. Anytime you have so many guys running in the 25 and 26 minute range for an 8k and women under 19 minutes for a 5k, it's a good sign.”

After a fun run at 9 am got the meet started, the women’s race kicked off the college team portion of the meet. During the women’s race, the top pack established an early lead as the group went around the pond at Riverfront Park.

MSUB’s Whitney Mickelsen (Aurora, UT) was in that front pack and started to pull away early with Carroll College’s Rhianna Grossman.

As the women came out of the wooded area and sprinted toward the finish line, Grossman led Mickelsen by nine seconds and won the event in a time of 18:06. Mickelsen finished in a time of 18:15.

Katie Thiel (Powell, WY) also had a strong showing with a top-five performance, finishing fourth with an 18:24. Sarah Jackson (Bozeman, MT) and Mykel Ler (Sidney, MT) were in the mix with an 18:51 and 18:54 in 12th and 15th, respectively.

Led by Grossman’s individual victory, Carroll College took the team event with 47 total points as four of the five scoring runners finished in the top-15. There were just 10 points between Carroll and MSUB in third, as Black Hills State was second with 52 total points.

The men’s race proved to be just as competitive after Gillette Community College’s Wesley Cheruiyot destroyed the old course record of 24:47 with a winning time of 23:57.

MSUB’s first runner across the line was Daniel Lombardi (Deer Lodge, MT) who broke the school record for an 8k race after posting a time of 25:33 and finishing seventh.

“Whitney Mickelsen's second place and Daniel Lombardi running a school record were definitely the big performances for us,” Coppock added.

Great Falls won the men’s race with 37 total points, while the Jackets were second with 96, just two ahead of Gillette and three ahead of Rocky Mountain College.

Brian Potter (Manhattan, MT) was MSUB’s second runner with a 25.54 and a 14th place finish, while Tyson Vanderby (Manhattan, MT) followed closely behind in 18th place, posting a 26:02.

“We're all healthy and I think we're setting up really well for the conference meet in a few weeks,” Coppock added. “No one has seen us out there yet this season and we've finally got an opportunity to run on a fast course so we can see a little better where we'd stack up with the rest of the GNAC. We've been competitive all season against a lot of the RMAC schools as well as these ranked NAIA schools, so we're definitely going to show up for the GNAC championship meet.”

The Yellowjackets will next compete in the GNAC Championship Meet on Saturday, November 6, in Yakima, Washington.