MISSOULA — The dream season for Luke Mest continues.
Montana’s top men’s cross country runner won the LC State Invitational last weekend to become the first Grizzly men’s runner since 2013 to win an individual race. The victory has earned him a share of the Big Sky’s athlete of the week honor, the league announced Tuesday.
“We’re so proud and happy for Luke to get this award,” head coach Doug Fraley said. “The Big Sky is a fantastic cross country league and that is not an easy award to get."
Mest used a strong kick to overtake a couple of runners down the stretch in Lewiston, Idaho, over the weekend to get the win in a time of 24:06 in a field that included a very strong Gonzaga team.
The junior from Boulder, Mont., has made huge strides this season. He entered 2026 with a personal-best time of 24:33 at the 8K distance. He has beaten that time in all four 8K races this season.
Mest has led the Grizzlies at all five meets. In addition to last week’s win, he has a pair of third-place overall finishes and a pair of fourth-place finishes. He’s been in the hunt entering the final stretch multiple times this year already and picked up his big breakthrough win on Saturday.
“Luke has taken his running to a new level this year,” Fraley said. “He hasn’t just done it once or twice but has been doing it week in and week out at every race we’ve gone to so far this year. I think he’s very deserving of the honor and we could not be more proud of him in the way he has led our team thus far in the cross country season.”
It’s the second athlete of the week honor for Montana in the last two seasons after Zachary Giesch earned the recognition in 2025. He was the first to do so since Antony Ford in 2003.
Mest and the Grizzlies will head to Flagstaff, Ariz., on Oct. 30 for the Big Sky Conference Championships.
