MISSOULA, Mont.- Rocky Men's Cross Country held its own against a field stacked with NCAA Division I talent on Friday, placing as the top NAIA program at the Montana Open in Missoula.

Men's Notable Results

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Senior Zachary Zwiesler spearheaded the effort, finishing 27th overall in 25:55.8 to claim the fourth-fastest NAIA time in the field. Rocky's scoring pack surged through the line shortly after, anchored by Caleb Tomac in 36th (26:17.1), Matthew Conrad in 39th (26:23.5), Ashtyn Rask (26:32.2), and Joseph Perkins (26:38.9).

John Spinti (65th; 28:07.4) and Stephen Stohl (69th; 28:12.2) rounded out the race for the Battlin' Bears.

Rocky finished sixth overall with 160 team points, trailing only NCAA Division I programs in the standings while topping five Frontier Conference rivals. The Battlin' Bears closed in on the Division I pack, finishing just 29 points behind fifth-place Idaho State.

Final Men's 5K Team Results

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1. Montana State - 19
2. University of Montana - 65
3. Idaho - 81
4. Eastern Washington - 112
5. Idaho State - 131
6. Rocky Mountain College - 160
7. Carroll College - 186
8. Montana Tech - 212
9. Montana Western - 285
10. MSU-Northern - 321
11. Dawson CC - 348
12. Providence - Inc.

Women's Notable Results

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A pair of freshmen continued to build momentum early in their collegiate careers. Samantha Krantz paced the women's side in 72nd overall with a time of 22:28.9, followed by Antoinette Adams in 79th place at 23:19.9.

Up Next

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Rocky XC travels to Butte next week to compete in the Butte Invitational on Thursday, September 24.