The 2020 Montana Tech Cross Country Team

Digger Athletics

Cross Country

2020 was our inaugural cross country season here at Montana Tech and, pun intended, we hit the ground running.

Both our men’s and women’s teams received votes in the national poll. We had multiple Frontier Conference Runner’s of the Week and even had a National Runner of the Week as well. We had a couple athletes qualify for the national meet and also get selected for All-Conference.

Butte is an amazing place to be a distance runner. Our campus sits at 5,771ft making us the highest altitude NAIA school in the country. We have endless miles of trails and countless 10,000ft peaks surrounding our campus. We even have a 10-square mile rec area right out our backdoor that makes for a runner’s paradise. 

We are looking for passionate, dedicated distance runners who want to live the running lifestyle while pursuing their degrees.

 

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A place to complete and a place to cheer.

Whether you’re in the labs learning, on the field competing, or in a group collaborating on an assignment, Montana Tech success is a team effort.

There are lots of ways to stay fit at Montana Tech, and our athletics program is just one of them. As a Division I school, you don’t need to search long for a game or match to attend. From football to golf, tennis, cross country, and more, there's plenty to be proud of as an Oredigger.

Students looking for less of a commitment can also join a club team; from hockey to judo, skiing and rodeo, Montana Tech clubs are more specialized, and often more adaptable to a student’s busy schedule.

If sports altogether aren’t your thing, look for any of our other dozen activities, and ignore the teams outright. Whether you’re a player, a fan, or just simply looking for something to do over the weekend, there’s something for you within Montana Tech athletics.

Head Coach
Zach Kughn
zkughn@mtech.edu
(406) 496-4175

Zach Kughn, the university's first full-time head cross country coach, was hired on December 19, 2019 to begin the Oredigger men's and women's cross country programs by Director of Athletics Matt Stepan. 

Kughn was previously the head coach at NCAA Division II Winona State and Dakota Wesleyan of the NAIA before coming to Butte. Kughn was a four-year letterman for Montana State running cross country and track for the Bobcats. Kughn was a consistent Big Sky Conference Championship qualifier including winning a Big Sky Championship as part of the Distance Medley Relay. 

Kughn ran prep for coach Mike Scannell at Grand Blanc High School in Michigan who has coached numerous state and national champion distance runners. 

Winona State named Kughn the head cross country coach prior to the 2018 season and he also served as an assistant coach for the track and field program. Kughn produced the first national qualifiers for NCAA Division II in school history for the Warriors in Distance Medley Relay and the Indoor Mile. The women's cross country team finished one spot from making nationals with a 4th place finish at the Central Region Cross Country Championship last season. Kughn was a finalist for the Women's Coach of the Year for the Central Region.

Kughn is an academic achievement award recipient graduating from Montana State with a degree in health and human performance in 2016. Kughn received his master's degree in Educational Policy and Administration at Dakota Wesleyan.