Cross Country October 8, 2026 Claire Gay, UMW Sports Information

UMW Cross Country Competes at Yellowjackets/ Battlin’ Bears Open

DILLON, Mont. – The Montana Western men's and women's cross-country teams head to Billings, Mont., this weekend to compete at the Yellowjackets / Battlin' Bears Open. The meet, which is joint-hosted by Rocky Mountain and NCAA DII member MSU-Billings, will take place at Amend Park Soccer Complex.

SCHEDULE
Men's 8k – 11:00 a.m. MT
Women's 6k – 11:45 a.m. MT

RESULTS
Live Results can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT
Both the men's and women's teams placed fourth at the Butte XC Invitational Sept. 24.

Justene Santi placed fifth out of 41 runners with a 25:27.7 in the women's 6k while Ryker Zuffelato finished 10th out of 51 runners in the men's 8k with a 27:57.3.

TURNING BACK TIME
At last years iteration of the meet, the Bulldog men's team placed sixth and the women placed 11th.

The top women's finisher for UMW was Olivia Heiner, who placed 28th with a 24:32.3 in the 6k.

On the men's side, Brant Heiner ran a 27:02.2 in the 8k to take 35th.

OUT IN FRONT
Justene Santi's fifth place finish at the Butte XC Invitational was the best finish of her collegiate career.

ZOOMIN' ZUFFELATO
Freshman Ryker Zuffelato finished atop the Bulldog men's standings for the second time at the Butte XC Invitational. It also marked the first top-10 finish of his collegiate career.

TOP 25 TERRITORY
Six Bulldogs placed in the top 25 across both the men's and women's races: Justene Santi (25:37.7, fifth), Ryker Zuffelato (27:57.7, 10th), SheaLee Novak (25:46.9, 11th), Gavin Jasper (28:38.9, 15th), Madison Lohmeyer (26:46.1, 23rd), and Brody Henry (29:15.7, 24th).

THE LINEUP
Competing for the women's team in Billings are Cadence Cameron, Taylor Gable, Madison Lohmeyer, Tiara Norris, SheaLee Novak, Kaelyn Sangray, Justene Santi, Natalee Stevens, and Kylee Wyatt

Kreg Butler, Taylor Graham, Brody Henry, Gavin Jasper, Mason Lynch, Blake Olson, Noah Rovente, Tristan Von Bargen, and Ryker Zuffelato will take the course for me men's team.

THE OPPOSITION
14 programs will compete at the meet, including Rocky Mountain, MSU-Billings, Black Hills State, Carroll, Chadron State, Dawson CC, Dickinson State, Montana Tech, MSU-Northern, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish, Providence, U-Mary, Williston State, and Western.

ON DECK
The Bulldogs take to the course again Oct. 24 when they compete at the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic in Ashland, Neb.

For complete coverage of UMW Cross Country, be sure to follow us on social media at @umw_xc_track (Instagram), @UMW_XC_Track (X), and @Montana Western Athletics (Facebook) or visit our official website at UMWBulldogs.com.

#GOBULLDOGS!

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