Men's Cross Country | 08/29/24 | 9:56 AM
HELENA, Mont. – Carroll College Cross Country will kick off the 2024 season at the Bobcat Twilight Meet in Bozeman, Mont. on Friday August 30.
The meet will be the first of five regular season meets for the Saints and will be followed by the Tony Banovich Invite in Butte, Mont. on Sept. 9, the Montana Open in Missoula, Mont. on Sept. 20, the Yellowjackets/Battlin Bears Open in Billings, Mont. on Oct. 4, and the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Oct. 26. The Frontier Conference Championships will be held in Billings, Mont. in early November, and the NAIA National Championships will be in Columbia, Mo. on Nov. 22.
Last season the Saints women won the Frontier Championship for the 4th year in a row and placed 25th at Nationals. They lost two individuals from the Nationals team but return All-Conference selections Isabelle Ruff, Anna Terry, and Hannah Sempf. Four freshman join the Saints squad this fall, and 11 individuals total will race at the Bobcat Twilight this week. Ali Cunningham, Hailey Watkins, and Nikki Nau will race for the first time in a Saints uniform.
On the men's side the Saints also won the Conference Championship last year making three in a row, and they placed 20th at the national meet for their highest placing since 2015. The men graduated only one individual and return a strong group including Zack Gacnik, Connor O'Hara, Brycen Gardner, and Zach Rector who were All-Conference selections last season. The Saints added four freshmen (Jack Jensen, Brayden Sundquist, Scotty McIntyre, and Kyle Larsen) who will all race on Friday for a total roster of 14.
In the preseason polls, both Saints teams were voted to win the Conference. On the national scale, Carroll received the 26th most votes on the women's side. The men are ranked 15th overall, their highest in the past six seasons.
The Bobcat Twilight races will take place at the Montana State University practice fields south of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse with the Men's 5k at 7:20 pm and the Women's 5k at 7:45 pm.
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