MSU's Ben Perrin Named Big Sky Men's XC Athlete of the Week

FARMINGTON, Utah – Ben Perrin was named Big Sky Men's XC Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced on Tuesday morning.

The redshirt junior from Kalispell, Montana, placed 11th individually at the prestigious Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational last Friday in South Bend, Indiana, leading the Bobcats to a 9th place team finish in a stacked field of ranked opponents.

The weekly honor marks the second career nod for the two-time All-Big Sky honoree, and the first since his performance at the same Joe Piane meet last year on the same course, where he took 20th.

Perrin becomes the third Bobcat to earn Big Sky Cross Country Athlete of the Week recognition this season, following Matthew Richtman (Sept. 19) and Kyla Christopher-Moody (Sept. 19).

Perrin's 11th place finish on Friday, along with Owen Smith's 15th place finish on the men's side and Kyla Christopher-Moody's 21st place finish on the women's side, highlighted strong individual performances for the Bobcats.

Montana State's men fell to ninth in Monday's USTFCCA Week 3 Mountain Region Rankings, while the women held steady at tenth.

MSU's cross country teams are next in action at Pre-Nationals, held in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, October 14, on the same course that will host the 2023 NCAA National Championships.