BILLINGS, Mont. – A theme of steady improvement throughout the Montana State University Billings cross country team told the story on Friday afternoon at Amend Park during the 2022 Yellowjacket/Battlin' Bear Open.
 
Kailee Stoppel led the Yellowjacket women's team, placing seventh among a field of 52 runners with a time of 18:31.6 minutes to shatter her PR in the event. The senior's previous top mark in the event came on Sept. 17, 2021 at the Gage McSpadden Invitational, where she crossed the line in 19:56.2 minutes.
 
Alahna Lien continued the strong start to her collegiate career, and was the second Yellowjacket to cross the finish line in her first-ever 5k race. Lien took 18th place and posted a time of 19:38.8 minutes to establish a sub-20 minute mark in the event during her true freshman season.
 
Fellow freshman Kaylee Dalling, coming off being MSUB's top finisher at last week's Montana Open, placed 23rd with a time of 19:57.1 minutes in her second collegiate 5k race. Dalling's time Friday was a 90-second improvement upon her debut collegiate 5k, which she ran in 21:27.5 minutes at the Gage McSpadden Invitational on Sept. 10.
 
Senior Ally Whitmer logged a PR on Friday, finishing just behind Dalling in 25th place with a time of 20:06.3 minutes. Whitmer bettered her previous mark of 20:51.6 by nearly 50 seconds, and overall it was the third 5k she has competed in during her career.
 
A trio of Yellowjackets took places 29-through-31, with Madeline Severson, Carey Berendsen, and Kit Wiersema packing together throughout the race. Severson's time of 20:27.6 minutes was a nearly two-minute improvement on her 5k time of 22:25.7 minutes at last month's McSpadden Invitational, and Wiersema also notched a PR with a time of 20:30.0 minutes. Wiersema's third collegiate 5k event yielded a nearly two-minute improvement upon her previous best of 22:21.5 posted at the McSpadden Invitational.
 
Berendsen followed the lead of MSUB's upperclassmen, and built off her first 5k last month to run an improved time of 20:20.9 minutes on Friday. That cut more than two minutes off her time of 22:32.6 minutes at the McSpadden Invitational.
 
Junior Aspen Tolman recorded a PR in the 5k, as she finished in 39th place with a time of 21:17.3 minutes on Friday. Tolman's mark was a vast improvement on last year's time of 23:53.1 on Sept. 17, 2021 at the McSpadden Invitational. Finishing right behind Tolman was Madisan Chavez, who took 40th place in 21:41.1 minutes. Chavez's time was a 19-second PR compared to her 22:00.7 run at the 2021 McSpadden Invitational.
 
Freshman Toree Manning improved in her second collegiate 5k, crossing the line in 22:28.5 minutes and taking 43rd place. Manning's time was nearly a full minute faster than her 23:21.7 minutes at the McSpadden Invitational last month. Izzy Siegle completed her first collegiate 5k, and took 50th place with a time of 23:46.3 minutes.
 
"The women are getting better every week," said MSUB head coach Jonathan Woehl. "Kailee ran a very steady pace and moved up throughout the race to lead us again, and the rest of our top-seven is chopping off a ton of time each week. From our first meet to now, you can see that we nearly closed the gap with South Dakota Mines as we were just a little bit behind them today. After Kailee it is a pretty close pack that is getting better at working and running together."
 
Sydney Little Light of Rocky Mountain College rallied to take the women's title with a time of 16:58.1 minutes, jumping ahead of Alaska's Kendall Kramer for a six-second victory. Black Hills State claimed the team title with 49 points, with five runners finishing in the top-16.
 
Ase Ackerman led the way for the Yellowjacket men, placing fifth among the field of 63 competitors with a time of 25:20.4 minutes. It was the second-fastest 8k time of the senior's career, behind only his PR of 25:00.7 which he set at last year's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.
 
Logan Straus also eclipsed the 26-minute mark on Friday, taking 15th place with a time of 25:57.4 minutes. Like Ackerman, Straus's time was the second-fastest of his collegiate career in the 8k distance behind his mark of 25:36.5 minutes at last year's conference meet.
 
Bryant Edgerton put together a solid performance, taking 20th place in a time of 26:28.5 minutes. It was also his second-fastest collegiate 8k behind last year's GNAC Championships time of 26:18.7 minutes.
 
Competing in their first 8k at the collegiate level were Wyatt May, Gaven McColloch, and Kevin Graves. May took 24th place, with a time of 26:41.5 minutes to finish as the fourth Yellowjacket across the line. McColloch was close behind May in 31st place, running a time of 27:19.0 minutes in his first time through the 8k track.
 
Jordi Peiro finished just off his 8k PR, taking 41st place with a time of 28:16.6 minutes on Friday. Peiro's only other mark in the 8k distance came at last year's conference meet, where he ran a time of 28:11.2 minutes. Graves finished just behind Peiro in his debut 8k race, taking 43rd place with a time of 28:31.5 minutes.
 
Also competing for the Yellowjackets was sophomore Jackson Bailey, who placed 50th with a time of 29:50.8 minutes.
 
"The men are on the verge of a great performance," Woehl said. "Ase and Logan were close to their 8k PRs, Bryant is starting to run like we know he can, and Wyatt is doing great in his freshman campaign. Gaven is doing well, and this was definitely his best race of the season. The guys will put it all together soon when it counts."
 
Jackson Wilson of Rocky Mountain College won the men's race, crossing the line in a time of 24:44.2 minutes to top Timothy Brown of Black Hills State by just over one full second. BHSU had six finishers in the top-10, claiming the team title with a score of 26 points.
 
THE BUZZ: Whitmer and Edgerton were selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Runners of the Day.
 
NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets have their final meet before the 2022 GNAC Championships, as they'll compete in the NCAA D2 National Preview meet on Oct. 22 at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Wash. The event will give MSUB a look at the national championship course, which is scheduled for Dec. 2.