Another Group of Preps Ready to Become Bobcats
5/20/2013 3:41:00 PM | Cross Country, Track & Field
Five runners and a thrower highlight the next wave of Bobcat commitments
The Montana State Track and Field/Cross Country programs announced another slate of commitments for the 2013-24 year.
Lily Ball comes to Montana State from Boise, Idaho where she was a four-year letter winner in both cross country and track and field. A three-time team captain for the Timberline Wolves in track, she holds person bests of 5:20 in the mile and 18:54.80 in the 5,000. As a freshman, she was named the team's track MVP, as well as the Top Hurdler and Top Jumper awards.
On the cross country course, she was twice named the Wolves' Outstanding Runner and the Most Inspirational her junior season. She is a 2013 graduate of Timberline High School. Ball also has played the violin since age six.
Daryan Box, specializing in the jumps and sprints will head to the Treasure State from Ventura, Calif. where she garnered four letters in track and field and three each in soccer and dance. For the St. Bonaventure Seraphs, she was four-time captain of the sprint corps. As a junior, she set a new school record in the 100, while being named a second team all-league honoree for her efforts. Most recently in her senior season, she was named the Valley League Athlete of the Year and first team all-league in both the 100 and 200 dashes. She also ran the anchor of the 4x100 relay that advanced to the CIF finals.
Off the track, she was also a standout in soccer, as her team's top scorer in 2012. She also helped lead the Seraphs all the way to the California Semi-Final match. Academically, she's earned First Academic Honors all four years.
Dominique Cox will join the Bobcat spring corps after a 2013 graduation from Walla Walla High School in Washington State. For the Blue Devils, Cox earned three letters in soccer and four in track and field. She is a two-time All-Mid-Columbia Conference honoree, her sophomore and junior seasons as a part of the state participating 4x400m relay team. In her sophomore year, she was part of the program record 4x400 relay team, combining for a time of 4:01.25. Cox has participated in the State Track and Field Championships each season as a Blue Devil.
Also a very active member of the Walla Walla soccer team, she was a co-captain as a senior and has earned WIAA Scholastic Achievement Awards in each of her four prep years. Cox is a member of the honor roll and National Honor Society.
Cole Christiansen brings a wealth of distance experience to Bozeman beginning this fall. A 2013 graduate of Kodiak High School in Kodiak, Alaska, he earned four letters in both cross country and track and field. Most recently, this past fall, he placed second at both the regional and the state cross country meets. Christiansen competed in the state meet all four years for the Bears. His junior season, he won the regional meet and was then named Male Athlete of the Year for his performance. Also that season, he placed fourth at the state championship followed by being named the team's MVP.
In track, he placed first in the 1,600 at Regionals both as a sophomore and junior and placed as high as eighth his junior season. Christiansen boasts four appearances at both the regional and state meets, including a third place state finish in the 3,200 as a junior and sophomore. He also contributed to the state championship 4x800 relay team, last season.
When he's not running, Christiansen holds high marks in the classroom as a member of the National Honor Society.
Miles Knotek joins Christiansen for the Bobcat Men's team and hails from Moose Pass, Alaska. A 2013 graduate of Seward High School, he earned 12 total letters for the Seahawks including four each in cross country, Nordic skiing and track and field. Most notably, Knotek was named Alaska's Gatorade Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year for 2012. As a team captain, he finished as the 1A2A3A State runner-up, as well as the Region III Champion, earning him the title of Region III Most Valuable Runner for the second time of his prep career.
As a sophomore, he helped his team win the championship when he placed third in the 1,600 and 3,200 at States.
When not competing in sports Knotek, boasts a 4.0 Grade Point Average and is a member of the National Honor Society, as well as a volunteer for the Moose Pass Sportsmen's Club and the Alaska Mountain Runners.
Alexandra Rowland rounds of the latest slate of new Bobcats and represents the Treasure State in fine fashion. The Geraldine, Mont. product is a 2013 of Geraldine High School where she'll graduate with two letters in basketball, three in volleyball and four in track and field. For the Tigers, she specializes in the throws with personal bests of 36-06.50 in the shot put and 121-09 in the discus.
In track and field, she has earned four all-state academic awards and was most recently the team captain for the Tigers her junior season, and named the team's MVP, as well. In 2012, she was the Class C runner-up in the discus and the shot put.
Rowland is a member of the National Honor Society.
“Overall, each of these future Bobcats brings a lot to the table,” said head coach Dale Kennedy. “Each of them takes both their academics and their sport seriously and that's how we prioritize here, as well.”
Both Ball and Christiansen will also be a part of the Montana State Cross Country program in addition to track and field.
