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BRADEN SHAW
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
BOZEMAN — Indoor track and field was a foreign concept to Jennifer (Cleary) Hoogesteger when she transferred to Montana State.
At her previous school — Foothill College in Los Altos, California — there wasn’t much of a concern for the weather. Hoogesteger felt naive when she started racing at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse during the 1992-93 season.
She found success indoors, setting up the opportunity to race in the women’s 3,000 meters at the 1993 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis.
“I remember feeling really scared, really nervous, being around all these other girls that I thought were probably much faster than me,” Hoogesteger said. “And (then-MSU head coach Dale Kennedy), he was just like, ‘Let it rip. Do what you can.’”
Hoogesteger led almost the entire race. She was passed on the home stretch by Wisconsin’s Claire Eichner (who took first in 9 minutes, 9.66 seconds) and Oklahoma’s Kay Gooch (second in 9:12.55). Hoogesteger finished third in 9:13.31 — an MSU indoor record that still stands 32 years later.
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“I was so proud,” Hoogesteger said. “There was nothing in the tank after, not a single shred of energy.”
That race was one of the defining moments for Hoogesteger’s short career as a Bobcat. During her time in Bozeman from 1992-93, Hoogesteger was a two-time All-American, winning the 1992 Big Sky cross country individual title and the 1993 Big Sky indoor titles in the 3,000 and the mile. For those accomplishments, Hoogesteger will be inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend.
Being inducted is “an honor,” Hoogesteger said, and she is looking forward to returning to Bozeman.
“Just because it was short, I think the quality of the time I spent there is definitely more important than the (quantity of) time,” she added.
Her lifelong love for running started back in Barrington, Illinois. Hoogesteger used to lose to a neighborhood girl in a 50-yard dash — her first taste of competition. It made her want more.
Hoogesteger was never flashy or fast enough for sprints, she said, so distance running became her calling. She enjoyed the “meditative approach” of running on trails and the distance running community.
“I was also OK in my own head,” Hoogesteger added. “I didn’t need to be on the pedestal. I didn’t need a group, an entourage.”
Her parents moved to California shortly after Hoogesteger graduated high school. Hoogesteger attended and ran cross country and track at Foothill College for three years. That’s where she met mentors Joe Mangan and Larry Eder, two members of local running club The Aggies. They were instrumental in educating Hoogesteger on distance running, she said, and also introduced her to her first husband Dave Bayliss.
Foothill was a stepping stone to Hoogesteger’s next stop — the Big Sky Conference. Hoogesteger initially wanted to transfer to Northern Arizona. But after a mishap with her application, Kennedy reached out and convinced her to come to Bozeman.
Training at elevation in a state that had Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks was “a runner’s dream,” Hoogesteger said, along with the support from MSU for student-athletes. But her connection with Kennedy is what sealed it.
“I always felt very heard, which is important,” Hoogesteger said. “As a young person running, you don’t know anything. You think you know, but you don’t.
“Some of his workouts that he gave me back then I still do. So I think his coaching knowledge and experience is results driven, and I very much like that.”
That fall, Cleary became MSU’s third women’s Big Sky cross country champion, winning the 1992 title in 17:12. She later earned All-American honors with a 32nd-place finish at NCAAs (17:58.3), which was the top finish for MSU until Camila Noe placed 30th in 2019.
On the indoor track, Hoogesteger ran a 4:49.91 mile that is still No. 6 all-time for MSU. She was named the Big Sky Women’s Athlete of the Meet after winning conference titles in the 3,000 (9:53.01) and the mile (5:04.19). Hoogesteger also became MSU’s first indoor All-American and Big Sky Athlete of the Year on the women’s side.
“I was getting paid to run, and that’s what I did,” Hoogesteger said. “Pretty militant on my end. Like, ‘I’m going to make sure that I pay them back. I’m going to be worth every penny and give them everything I got, because they’re giving me a gift of education.’”
Running took a backseat after MSU. Hoogesteger and Bayliss moved back to California and had four kids in four years. She eventually returned in her early 40s as a Masters runner, joining the San Francisco-based running club Impalas. That opened the door to the USATF circuit and racing again in the mile, 5,000, 10,000, half marathon and full marathon.
Hoogesteger, now 54, has made it part of her lifestyle. She trained for the Tokyo Olympic Trials in the marathon, missing the B Standard and suffering a stress fracture in her foot. She recently picking up ultra-marathons and trail running. She also runs boot camps and spin classes every weekday morning in Lafayette, California, along with coaching track and cross country at Bentley Upper School.
Hoogesteger has continued reaching “serious depths” as a Masters runner in recent years, she said. Her goals have always included breaking barriers, something she started doing while in Bozeman.
Her indoor 3,000 time “needs to get broken,” said Hoogesteger, who didn’t realize she still held the top mark at MSU. Current Bobcats have come close; Kyla Christopher-Moody ran a 9:13.46 (0.15 short of the record) at the Husky Classic last weekend.
“That would make me happy (to see it broken),” Hoogesteger said, adding, “Part of the reason for keeping at this still at the age I am, is that I really want to keep continuing to pave that way so that other athletes, men and women, can see what can be done. And I think that’s important.”
Braden Shaw can be reached at bshaw@dailychronicle.com or 406-582-2690. Follow him on Twitter @ByBradenShaw
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