cross-country
Saints show well at UM Invite
Both the Carroll College Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams competed well against some larger programs this weekend at the UM Open meet in Missoula Montana. Participating teams included NCAA D1 powers Montana, Montana State, Eastern Washington, Washington State, and Gonzaga. The Non division I schools included MSU-Billings, Rocky Mountain College, and Carroll College.
According to head coach Bill Ballinger, both squad made significant strides in their competitiveness and are looking strong as they begin to focus on NAIA level competition for the rest of their season. Both the Men’s and Women’s Racing Saints squads scored against NCAA D1 Gonzaga and Eastern Washington.
Top finishers amongst the Men’s team were Taylor Gregory and Peter Fey. The Racing Saints top women’s runner was Jade Johnstone.
“Cross Country is a unique sport in that we have the opportunity to regularly compete against such large NCAA programs, I don’t know if any other Carroll sports teams have faced Washington State and Gonzaga in the recent past," said Ballinger. "I’m really proud of how well our athletes competed; it’s good for us to face these level programs.”
Amongst Frontier Conference Teams the Carroll Men are currently ranked 3rd behind UGF and LCSC and the women are ranked 2nd behind LCSC. They will compete every weekend from now through the end of October .
Men’s Team Scores: UM 38, MSU 54, Gonzaga 110, Carroll 199, MSU Billings 268, Rocky 281
Women’s Team Scorers: Washington State University 15, UM 90, Montana State 67, Gonzaga 132, Eastern Washington University 147, MSU Billings 237, Carroll 249, Rocky 331.
Racing Saints Leading the Pack.
Both the Men’s and Women’s Carroll College Racing Saints ran strong at the MSU Invitational on Saturday in Bozeman, Montana. The high level meet hosted strong NCAA programs and a host of NAIA schools such as Dickenson State, UGF, Rocky, and Westminster.
The Carroll Women’s team came out on top of all the non-NCAA schools in addition to beating NCAA DII program MSU-Billings. Led by Junior Jade Johnstone and up and coming frosh Jamie Greene the squad competed well despite a long week of training.
“We didn’t let up on our mileage on bit for this competition.” Said Coach Bill Ballinger. “Both our Men’s and Women’s teams are coming off high mileage and long interval training less than 48 hours before competition. I am very happy of the competitiveness our squads ran with today.”
The Carroll Men were led by Sophomores Taylor Gregory, Peter Fey, and Andy Burns. The men came in 3rd of 7 small schools falling to nationally ranked Dickenson State and UGF. The women competed in a 3 mile race while the men ran in the first full 8 KM race of the season.
Both teams are off next weekend and return to competition on October 4th at the UM Invite in Missoula, MT. stats
Saints harriers shine at meet
By JEFF WINDMUELLER - Indepedent Record - 09/14/08
The Carroll College cross-country teams placed first and second against other participating colleges at the Carroll Open Saturday morning.
The Saints women finished with 44 points to beat the University of Great Falls with 98, while the men’s squad fell to the Argonauts 26 to 43 more
Saints harriers to face locals in Carroll Open
By JEFF WINDMUELLER - Independent Record - 09/12/08
It will be the young guns versus the mavericks when the Carroll College cross country team hosts the Carroll Open Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
The Saints have invited not only some of the top distance runners in the region, but also local athletes to compete in the
5-kilometer race which serves as their season opener.
“It’ll be fun to see how a fast old guy will do against some young guys,” said Saints head coach Bill Ballinger. “You can’t count those guys out. Some of them are former collegiate runners that are pretty good in their own right.”
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Saints Sign Oregon Prep
Carroll College Cross Country Coach Bill Ballinger has completed recruitment for the 2008 Racing Saints with the signing of Tara Higgins from Portland, Oregon.
Higgins is an accomplished athlete from St. Mary's Academy, one of the most prominent high school Cross Country programs in the Northwest.
This past fall she helped lead her team to 1st place in the elite Nike Team National (NTN) Western Region Championships and 10th place the following week in the NTN National Championships. She has competed at the varsity level in Cross Country for four years and three years in track and field.
"We are extremely fortunate to have landed an accomplished athlete this late in the 2008 recruitment year.", remarked Coach Ballinger. "We had an athlete decide to not come back to Carroll next fall which enabled us to open up some scholarship dollars for Tara. She will make and immediate contribution to our Women's squad this fall."
Higgins graduated with a 3.4 GPA and plans on majoring in Education. Her high school coaches were Mike Bojorquez and Mike Bergmann (father of current Racing Saint Taylor Bergmann).
Her parents are Michael Higgins and Mary Kay Gaffney.
Carroll Cross Country currently has 25 athletes on the roster for this fall, consisted of 14 Women and 11 Men.
Brooks Signs with Saints
Helena-MT. Carroll College Cross Country has signed one of Montana's top high school distance runner's for the 2008 season. Robert Brooks of Missoula Sentinel has signed a letter of intent for the Racing Saints and plans on studying pre-med beginning this fall.
Robert is a 2-time Montana AA All-State Cross Country Athlete. This past season he finished 5th out of 308 in the Mountain West Classic, one of the premier high school Cross Country meets in the Northwest which draws top level competitors from Montana, Washington, and Idaho. This winter he finished 9th overall and was the 2nd fastest Montana athlete in the 3200 meters at the prestigious Simplot Games in Idaho. Last weekend he won the Snow-Joke Half-Marathon in Seeley Lake with a 1:17:28. This USATF event is considered the Montana Half-Marathon championships and Brooks is one of the youngest winners in the events 29 year history. more
Carroll Signs Frenchtown Recruit
Caitlin Amundsen of Frenchtown, MT has signed a letter of intent to join the Racing Saints next season. She has competed for the Frenchtown Broncs in both Cross Country and track for the past 3 years at the varsity level. She is currently a varsity member of the Broncs Basketball team and has earned a combined total of 7 Athletic and one Academic Letter Awards. She maintains a 3.6 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society.
"In terms of academics, athletics, and attitude, Caitlin is exactly what we are looking for in Carroll athletics. During her recruiting visit she made a positive impression on our team and I know she will make an immediate impact on our program next fall. I'm excited that she has chosen to join our program." said Ballinger.
Caitlin's parents are Greg and Jeri Amundsen. She has been coached throughout high school by veteran coach Dennis Normand.