Junior Jake Turner and freshman Caroline Hardin paced their respective teams at the Pre-National Cross Country Invitational, Saturday morning in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Turner, a product of Sentinel High School, was MSU' top runner finishing 87^th overall covering the 8K race in 25:22.8. Hardin, a true-freshman from Bozeman, placed 90^th with a clocking of 21:57.9 over the 6K event.

"Jake had an aggressive start and got himself into a good position," MSU Assistant/Cross Country Coach Lyle Weese said. "He had a very solid race.

"Caroline is having a great freshman year and has been a consistent performer," Weese said. "She also ran confidently and put herself into a good position to have a great performance."

The MSU women's team placed 36^th in a field of 43 teams, which included five top 25 squads. Northern Arizona was the top Big Sky finisher in 11^th place.

Rounding out Montana State's racers were Rachel Sullivan, 139^th, 22:19.5, Keely West, 146^th, 22:21.5, Jenette Northey, 209^th, 22:49.2, Louisa Serpe, 228^th, 22:59.4, Rachel Atwood, 262^nd, 23:27.3, and Michelle Cline, 276^th, 23:48.1.

The MSU men's team placed 39th^th in a field of 46 teams, which included four top 25 squads. Southern Utah was the top Big Sky finisher in 34^th place.

Turner was followed by Mike Asay, 145^th, 25:45.5, Matt Gotta, 194^th, 26:06.5, Ethan Wilhelm, 273^rd, 26:51.4, Zach Kughn, 282^nd, 27:00.2, and Matthew Tex, 300^th, 27:39.2.

"It wasn't our best performance of the year for either team," Weese said. "We'll look to regroup and how we respond will define the season as we look to the Big Sky Conference. We need to put our best foot forward."

The Bobcats will run at the Big Sky Championships, Nov. 1 in Grand Fork, North Dakota.