FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu October 7, 2016 Tune-up meet at Riverfront for women’s cross country MSUB Cross Country on Facebook | MSUB Cross Country on ISSUU | TFRRS Results Preview Interviews with sophomore Sarah Beatty and head coach Dave Coppock
Sarah Beatty and the Yellowjackets are competing a tune-up meet this Saturday at Riverfront Park.
The MSUB women’s cross country team is gearing up for a tune-up meet at Riverfront Park, hosting several regionallyranked NCAA Division II teams. BILLINGS, Mont. – A tune-up meet for the MSUB women’s cross country team has turned into a larger event for the Yellowjackets as this weekend’s home event has drawn regional interest. MSU Billings is hosting the Yellowjacket Open at Riverfront Park on Saturday, Oct. 8. The women’s race kicks off the competition on the 5K course beginning at 10 a.m., followed by the men’s 4-mile at 10:40 a.m. “Originally the intent of this meet was a short, fast tune-up prior to the GNAC championships later in October, but we had a lot of interest from some pretty highly competitive team, so it’ll be a little bigger effort for us this Saturday,” MSUB head coach Dave Coppock said.
Besides MSUB, this year’s Yellowjacket Open includes teams from Black Hills State, the University of Mary, Rocky Mountain College, and Montana Western. In this week’s United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national poll, the University of Mary was ranked No. 3 amongst NCAA Division II teams. Black Hills State was regionally ranked No. 9 in the South Central. The team from the University of Mary is led by the reigning national champion Alexis Zeis. The junior from Bismarck, N.D., led the Marauders to the team title at the prestigious Griak Invitational two weeks ago as she successfully defended her individual title on the Les Bolstad Golf Course. Zeis cruised to the victory, winning by a margin of 14.8 seconds over her nearest competitor. From Black Hills State, Christine Thorn was 17th at the Griak, finishing the course in 23:36, leading the Yellow Jackets to a 15th place team result in the Division II standings. With such a strong field of participants set to contend for the title on Saturday, the 2004 5K course record of 16:57 at Riverfront Park set by Chelsea Smith of BYU Hawaii will be in jeopardy. The MSUB women’s team is coming off a solid showing at the Rocky Mountain Shootout last week in Boulder, Colo. Senior Rio Frame led the ‘Jackets with a 37th place result, covering the 5.8K distance in 24:36. Junior Bailey Bomar had a standout performance in second for the team, finishing in 25:22. Nikki Aiken, Lydia Foster, and Catrina Schuchard were less than a minute apart at the finish line for the 3-5 MSUB runners. Sarah Beatty moved up into the sixth spot for the Yellowjackets as the gap is closing for the team into the late part of the season. “They’ve been packing up a little better,” Coppock said on the women’s team. “We still need to get faster overall, but the younger runners are starting to move up. Catrina is closing the gap a little every week between our 4th and 5th runners. Bailey has been running well lately and consistently in that 2nd and 3rd spot. “ Montana State University Billings / Yellowjacket Open Host Montana State University Billings Date Saturday, Oct. 8 Location Riverfront Park Start Time 10 a.m. Distance 5K Black Hills State, University of Mary, MSU Billings, Montana Western, Rocky Mountain Teams College Results msubsports.com COMING UP: MSUB heads to Western Washington for the GNAC Championships on Oct. 22. For the second time in its history, MSU Billings is hosting the NCAA Division II west region cross country championships. The regional meet is set for Nov. 5, at Amend Park with the women’s 6K beginning at 11:15 a.m. preceded by the men’s 8K at 10 a.m. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--