The Retort

Cross Country Competes at West Regional in San Francisco

November 20th, 2009 by MSUB Athletics For The Retort

The Montana State University Billings cross country teams had good showings at the NCAA West Regional meet on November 7 at the Golden Gate Park’s Speedway Meadow in San Francisco, hosted by San Francisco State University.

The women’s team placed 14th overall out of the 25 teams that competed in the meet. The Yellowjackets scored 352 points and were led by Lisa Minnehan who finished 40th overall in a time of 22:56.

Minnehan was followed by Leah Thompson who covered the 6,000 kilometer course in a time of 23:37 and finished in 67th. Behind Thompson were Sarah Jackson (23:46), Mykel Ler (23:51) and Kristen Yeley (24:14). The final two runners across for MSUB were Mary Owen and Katie Thiel who finished in times of 24:45 and 25:28, respectively.

On the men’s side, MSUB finished 16th out of the 20 teams that were in the 10,000 kilometer race. The Yellowjackets were led by Daniel Lombardi who completed the course in a time of 34:28, good for 70th overall. He was followed by Tyson Vanderby (35:18) and Taylor Canfield (36:06) who finished 88th and 102nd, respectively.

Mark Bolt was fourth across the line for MSUB, finishing in a time of 36:07, while Travis Buttleman (36:23), Ryan Blomback (36:33) and Travis Hutchinson (37:07) rounded out the scoring for the Yellowjackets.

In the team races, Alaska Anchorage took home the women’s crown with 35 points while the men’s race was won by Chico State with 42. Individually, the women’s race was won by Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler in a time of 20:08. The men’s race was won by Anchorage’s Marko Cheseto with a time of 30:42.

The West Regional meet completed the cross country season for the Yellowjackets. Runners on the team will now move to the indoor season for competition.