BOZEMAN — Montana State’s Lyle Weese was named Men’s Track and Field Coach of the Year for the Mountain Region by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, the organization announced on Friday.
Member coaches voted on regional honors after the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships last weekend in Eugene, Oregon, and considered performances throughout the season.
Weese, in his sixth year as MSU’s head coach, led the Bobcat men to their second-ever team title at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in May, winning six events that included the 4×400 relay that gave them a one-point advantage over No. 11-ranked Northern Arizona in the team standings after trailing by five points.
The Lumberjack men came to the conference meet in Bozeman having won three titles in a row and nine of the last 11, but were edged out by Montana State in thrilling fashion, 186-185.
People are also reading…
Montana State head track and field coach Lyle Weese celebrates with his team after the men won the 2024 Big Sky Conference Outdoor championship on May 9 in Bozeman.
Montana State qualified a program-record 23 athletes to the NCAA West First Rounds in Arkansas, advancing Rob McManus, Levi Taylor and Owen Smith to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase.
Weese was named the 2024 Big Sky Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year in May, becoming the second Bobcat coach ever to earn that award along with his predecessor, Dale Kennedy (2005).
The Dillon product completed his 10th season mentoring the program’s distance runners in 2023-24. Weese directed the MSU men’s teams to top three finishes in nine of 10 possible championship appearances, including four runner-up finishes, before breaking through with this year’s championship. The MSU women’s squad totals eight top-three finishes, including five runner-up showings.
Under his direction, six Bobcat individuals earned a total of 14 All-America honors, while MSU has claimed 52 individual Big Sky Championships and three relay titles.
Weese’s successful collegiate career at MSU spanned from 1998-2003. He was an All-American in the indoor 3,000 meters (twice), steeplechase and in cross country, earning him four total NCAA All-America awards. Weese was inducted in the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
