(Editor’s note: Montana State University media release)
BOZEMAN – A name that is familiar to those in the Bozeman area will join the Montana State University track and field program at the start of the 2019 spring semester. Former Bozeman High School student-athlete – and the 2017-18 Gatorade Montana Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year – Camila Noe has been admitted to Montana State and signed an athletic scholarship to join the Bobcat women’s track and field team.
Noe, who attended the University of Portland during the fall semester, has been granted her release from her National Letter of Intent and will be eligible to compete immediately for Montana State.
“Adding Camila to our team really gives our entire program a boost,” Montana State Director of Track and Field Lyle Weese said. “She competed at the highest level of the prep ranks over the past few years and developed into a truly elite high school distance athlete.
“Camila had many incredible performances, but her race in the 2-mile at the Brooks PR Invitational this past summer has to be one of the most outstanding performances ever by a Montana high school athlete in any sport. Camila is a very good student, has a competitive yet unassuming personality, and we are obviously excited to have her on our team.”
Noe brings an impressive cross country and track resume to an already strong distance group at Montana State.
The Bozeman native was a valuable member of three straight MHSA AA State Cross Country Championship teams that pushed the Hawks’ consecutive title streak to 11. She placed 10th as a sophomore at the AA State Championship, but improved to runner-up as a junior with a personal-best time of 16:51.4 in 2016. She earned individual championship honors as a senior in 2017 with a mark of 17:13.5.
Noe took first in seven cross country meets over the course of her prep career and finished among the top five finishers in 15 events. Her top exploits came at the Nike Cross National meets.
The Hawks went to the Nike Cross Nationals three times with Noe in the lineup. She finished a personal-best 35th at the meet as a junior and followed it with a 51st-place showing as a senior to help guide the Hawks to a fifth-place national showing. In 2016, Noe took seventh overall at the Nike Northwest Regional Championships. She topped that performance as a senior by setting a course-record time of 17:13.5 and taking first at the 2017 regional event.
The Bobcats will get a boost in its distance events during the track season thanks to the addition of Noe.
Noe claimed a Class AA State Track and Field title in the 3,200 and took second in the 1,600 with a lifetime-best mark of 4:53.93 in her final meet as a Hawk. She also was a member of Bozeman’s third-place 4×400 relay at the Class AA Championships as a senior. During the 2018 campaign, Noe set the state record mark in the two-mile race by crossing in at 10:21.76 in a triangular meet in Billings on May 5. Noe took second in both the 1,600 and 3,200 at the Class AA meet in 2017 after making her first state appearances in both races as a sophomore in 2016.
Before heading to Portland for her first collegiate semester, Noe made headlines at the Brooks PR Invitational in Washington. Noe finished second in the 3,200 with a personal-best time of 9:54.95. Her effort at the meet was the seventh fastest ever by a high school girl and the top mark of the year by an American girl. Noe completed her prep career by taking first over 15 times in track events for the Hawks.
Noe served as a volunteer for races in the community and for the local Special Olympics while attending Bozeman High School. She plans to major in nursing at Montana State.
“Having Camila sign is exciting for the current team, but also adds momentum to our recruiting efforts,” Weese said. “As a staff, we will work to continue to add impact individuals to our team throughout the winter and spring.”
The Bobcats also added two student-athletes to its program for the fall of 2019 with Bradley Graves and Casey Gunlikson signing their National Letters of Intent. Both signed during the month of December and will join MSU’s sprints event group, bringing the Bobcats’ number of additions for next fall to four during the national signing period which began in November.
Graves is currently a senior at Huntley Project High School and has accumulated multiple state podium appearances for the Red Devils. As a junior in 2018, Graves set lifetime bests en route to a first-place finish in the 110 hurdles (14.64) and runner-up showing in the 300 hurdles (40.25) at the MHSA Class B Track and Field Championships. He also claimed a gold medal at the state meet in the 4×100 relay and silver in the 4×400 relay. Prior to his stellar junior campaign, Graves finished third in the 110 hurdles, fifth in the 300 hurdles and second as a member of Huntley Project’s 4×100 relay as a sophomore at the state meet.
Graves had strong performances at the Montana Association and Region 11 Junior Olympic Championships to earn the opportunity to compete at the USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Championships this past July in North Carolina. He finished first in the 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles in Butte on June 16, then followed that effort by taking first in the 110 hurdles and second in the 400 hurdles the following week at the regional meet in Provo, Utah.
He was named the 2018 Athlete of the Year for the Montana Association of USA Track and Field. The award recognizes the top male and female athlete in each age division for hard work and commitment to excellence while competing during the Junior Olympic track and field season.
“We added the best short hurdler in the state of Montana to our roster,” Montana State sprints and hurdles coach Jay Turner said. “We are beyond excited for Bradley to join the MSU family. Bradley’s personality, competitive spirit and winning mindset will fit right in with his future teammates.”
Gunlikson was recently named an all-state performer on both sides of the ball to cap his prep football career and brings a championship-winning pedigree to Bozeman on the track. Gunlikson heads into his final track and field season for Sweet Grass County High School with gold medal accolades.
As a junior, Gunlikson completed first-place performances at the MHSA Class B State Track and Field Championships in the 100 and 200 races, as well as the 300 meter hurdles. He rattled off lifetime bests of 10.89 in the 100, 22.02 in the 200 and 38.85 in the 300 hurdles in 2018. The Big Timber native made his first Class B meet appearances as a sophomore, competing in four events and taking a personal-best second in the 100. Gunlikson has earned 44 first-place finishes in events over the past two years.
Gunlikson is a four-time letterwinner in football and track, while he’s also lettered three times in basketball. His mother Paula (1992-96) and grandfather Skip (1970-72) still have marks that are on the Montana State track and field all-time top 10 list. Gunlikson plans to major in business at MSU.
“Casey follows a long line of family members to MSU track and field,” Turner said. “His mom, Paula, and grandfather, Skip, are all-time greats. It was only right that we added Casey as well. Casey adds a swagger to the sprints group, as well as being hyper-competitive.”
