FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu September 22, 2016 Yellowjacket men’s cross country set to host west region preview MSUB Cross Country on Facebook | MSUB Cross Country on ISSUU | TFRRS Results Men’s Preview Interviews with Sophomore Tyus Mendoza and head coach Dave Coppock
Sophomore Tyus Mendoza is part of a strong MSUB squad competing during the NCAA preview meet at Amend Park.
The Yellowjacket men’s cross country team is racing at Amend Park this week during MSUB’s first 10K of the season. BILLINGS, Mont. – The MSU Billings cross country program is gearing-up to host the 27th Annual Yellowjacket Invitational and NCAA Division II West Region Preview Meet on Friday, Sept. 23, at Amend Park. Montana State University Billings is hosting the west region championships on Nov. 5, and the September race will serve as a warm-up on the course at the longer distance. “We’re excited to host the preview here in Billings this Friday,” MSUB head coach Dave Coppock said. “It will give us a chance to get a good run-through of the championship course as well as give our runners a chance to race the longer distances they’ll face at the championship meet.” The men will run a 10K, the first of the season for the team. The longer distance is usually only run at a regional, but Coach Coppock likes the longer distance in the early season to see how the team competes on the extended course.
“The men will run a 10,000 meters,” Coppock said. “That’s a big jump this season from our earlier events in that the student-athletes will be racing over a mile more than their regular-season race distance. This will give us a good indication as to how well we’ve prepared for a 10K and will help us focus on regionals in November.” The meet will include a field from four Division II schools competing, from three conferences and two regions; South Dakota Mines, Northwest Nazarene, San Francisco State and MSU Billings. The event has also drawn teams from MSU Northern, Central Wyoming and Gillette College. San Francisco State was ranked ninth in the west region in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll on Sept. 20. Friday’s race in Billings will be just the second event of the season for the Gators who participated in the Speedway Duals Sept. 15 against NCAA DII competitor Academy of Art as well as DI Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, and Sacramento State. For the Yellowjackets, junior Jorey Egeland has led MSUB in all three events this season. Egeland has two top-10 finishes this season and paced the ‘Jackets last week in Bozeman with a time of 26:16.33 at the Montana State Invitational. Garrett Love also has two top-10 finishes and has been just behind Egeland as the No. 2 runner for MSUB. Love finished in 26:25.20 on the 5-mile course last week. The top-5 finishers for MSUB were all within a minute of each other on the course last week, which signals a good early season top pack for the Yellowjackets. Mark Hovland, Josh Panasuk, and Tyus Mendoza have been consistent performers. Freshman Ronald Venema has been mixing it in with the top-5 and was just 13 second from MSUB’s fifth runner in Bozeman. Assisting the lead pack and improving each week are Ivan Colmenero, Liam McKay, Kyle McLaughlin, Isaiah Girard, and Jacob Marshall. “For our men, Jorey and Garrett continue to lead the team with strong finishes last weekend at Montana State,” Coppock said. “I think our team gets better the longer the distance, so we’re looking forward to racing at that longer 10k distance.” NCAA Division II West Region Preview / 27th Annual Yellowjacket Invitational Host Montana State University Billings Date Friday, Sept. 23 Location Amend Park, South Billings Start Time 10:00 a.m. Distance 10K Montana State University Billings, Northwest Nazarene, San Francisco State, South Dakota Teams Mines, Gillette College, Montana State Northern, Central Wyoming. Live Results competitivetiming.com --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--