Cross-Country Preview:  PacWest Championships Highlight 2004 Season

BILLINGS, MT – The 2004 cross-country season will mark the beginning of PacWest Conference Championships in the sport, and the MSU Billings Yellowjackets will host the inaugural conference championship meet on October 23 at Riverfront Park.  Billings race fans will be able to watch some of the best collegiate runners in the West Region, as well as the defending NCAA II women’s individual champion.

“The highlights this year will certainly involve our hosting of the Pacific West Conference Championships on October 23 at Riverfront Park,” said Yellowjacket head coach Dave Coppock.  “The conference hasn’t held a cross country championship since 2001, and we’re looking forward to setting a standard for future meets.”

The Yellowjackets will kick off their season with their customary training camp near Cooke City in the Beartooth Mountains.  “Camp Kenya” will include twice daily runs up to 10,000 feet elevation on old mining roads and mountain trails followed by soaking in ice-cold streams.  Some of the team will run upwards of 50 miles during the camp.

Head Coach Dave Coppock will field one of the largest teams in his 16 year tenure as the Yellowjackets’ coach, with five men and 10 women expected to report at the end of August.  Along with solid numbers, the Yellowjackets will also have some experienced runners for the first time in several years.  Four men and five women will return from last year’s squad with a large number of newcomers adding depth to both teams.

“I’ve finally got a good core group returning who have trained sufficiently over the summer and off-season,” said Coppock.  “We’ve got four returning on the men’s side and five on the women’s side.  From what they’ve reported and what I’ve observed this summer, most all have been getting in some real good training.  I’ve been hounding them for months to be ready to go when they show up; first for a time trial in the opening week and then for high altitude conditions at our camp up in the Beartooths.  If the camp doesn’t provide incentive to show up in condition, nothing will.  The ones who’ve been through it will expect high mileage and high altitude (10-15 miles daily running at 7,500 to 10,000 feet elevation) for four days.”

The women will be led by senior Chelsea Lynnes (Miles City, MT), an All-Pacific West Conference runner, who has been a perennial top performer for Yellowjacket over the past three years.  She struggled through the latter part of last season with an injury, but has completely recovered for the 2004 campaign.  Tiffany Piplica, (So., Riverton, WY) who made great progress last year as a true freshman, has had a good summer of training and is expected be near the top of the field as well.  She ran a 25:30 at last year’s NCAA West Regional for the Lady Jackets’ second-best time.

Also returning for the women are Mandy Brown (Sr, Wolf Point, MT), Kendra Bebee (Sr., Dillon, MT) and Tracie Overberg (Jr., Dodson, MT). Newcomers adding depth to the women’s team will be Kristy Burns (So., Livingston, MT), Kisa Kron (Fr., Livingston, MT), Sarah Lord (Grad., Billings, MT), Heidi Robertson (Sr., Great Falls, MT) and Diana Davis ( Jr., Kalispell, MT).  Robertson starred for four years on the Lady Jacket soccer team and was named the school’s Outstanding Female Student-Athlete last year.

On the men’s side, senior Scott Brown (Billings, MT) should lead the way for an experienced group.  Brown posted a time of 37:25 at the NCAA West Regional to lead the Yellowjacket men.  Also returning are Ryan Archibald (Sr., Missoula, MT), Joe Kragt (So., Huntley, MT), and Sam Hartpence (So., Custer, SD).  Joining them will be freshman Jared Rensvold, (Wolf Point, MT).

“The core group of returning men – Scott Brown, Ryan Archibald, Sam Hartpence and Joe Kragt – have been getting some real decent mileage in this summer, in some cases up to 100 miles per week,” added Coppock.  “They are poised to show great improvement over last season.  Chelsea Lynnes, who is expected again to lead the women, has had a very solid off-season of training.  I’m expecting her to make a strong showing at the Conference and Regional meets. She will be in the running to make the All-Conference team as she did the last time we ran championships her freshman year.  Tiffany Piplica, who showed great improvement as a freshman last year, returns with a great deal more experience and will be a much stronger runner.”

Both teams will open the season at the South Dakota Tech Invitational on September 11 in Rapid City, SD.  The Yellowjackets will face some of the top NAIA teams in the country at Rapid City and again at the Black Hills State Invitational two weeks later.

The Rocky Mountain Shootout on October 2, hosted by NCAA Division I national powerhouse University of Colorado, is one of the country’s classic meets.  It will feature the two top teams in NCAA Division II, Adams State and Western State, as well as numerous teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  The annual event is always a great test for the Yellowjackets to see how they stack up against some of the best Division II teams in the nation.

Billings fans will have a great opportunity to see some of the best college runners in the country compete this fall when the Yellowjackets host the 2004 Pacific West Conference Championships October 23 at Riverfront Park.  The six-school conference includes BYU-Hawaii, Hilo-Hilo, Chaminade, Hawaii Pacific and Western New Mexico. 

The women’s race will feature Chelsea Smith of BYU-Hawaii, the defending West Region and NCAA II National Champion.  The men’s race favorite could be Hawaii Pacific’s William Ngetich of Kenya.  Ngetich is the defending West Region Champion and finished sixth at last year’s NCAA National Championships.

Following the Yellowjacket Invitational on October 30, both MSU Billings teams will cap their seasons at the NCAA Division II Western Regional hosted by Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.

“The NCAA Regional Championships is the other meet we’ll peak for,” concluded Coppock.  “A few of the seniors have raced on the Bellingham course before and it’s always an exciting race. We all really want to move up in the region, which is one of the toughest in the country, and put in a good showing as an NCAA Division II institution.”