POCATELLO, Idaho – Senior Erica Wendt-Richardson made history Saturday as she became the first Idaho State woman to win a Big Sky Conference cross country championship. The only other Idaho State athlete to share the honor is Art Scott who won the men's championship back in 1964.
Wendt-Richardson completed the 5K course at Fairways Golf Course in Cheney, Wash., in 15:46.55 and was more than five seconds ahead of the conference favorite Katrina Drennan of Montana who had defeated Wendt-Richardson on two separate occasions earlier this season.
“I remember racing Katrina at Montana and she out-kicked me at the end,” Wendt-Richardson said. “So coming into the race, I knew that if she has the same kick, I need to take off a little sooner and not wait until the end to put in my kick. It was about two miles into the race and decided that if I was going to do something, I better do it now.”
Wendt-Richardson made the decision to really push herself both mentally and physically in her final Big Sky Cross Country Championship.
“I felt like Jell-o the entire race,” Wendt-Richardson said. “My legs were hurting pretty bad but I had a lot of adrenaline to keep me going. When I finished, I had to lie on the ground for about five minutes because I couldn't move.”
Wendt-Richardson, a traditionally slow starter since her cross country days at Skyline High School made a commitment to herself to change her technique and push herself more in the middle of the race than she had in past seasons.
“We started planning this process back in early October, trying to see if we could win this thing,” Idaho State Head Coach Brian Janssen said. “We made some slight adjustments and she just took the ball and ran with it.”
The technique paid off as she was able to pass Drennan around the two-mile mark Saturday and never looked back.
“I passed her on a corner and she was on the outside so after I went around the corner, I couldn't see her anymore,” Wendt-Richardson said. “That was the last time I saw her until the finish so I never really saw her reaction when I passed her but I remember hearing her on my heels for about 800 meters.”
The win marked Wendt-Richardson's fourth meet title of the season and her seventh top-five finish in as many competitions. It also marked the second top 10 finish at the conference championship during her career, earning her second all-conference honors after finishing 10th overall back in 2008.
Janssen also hopes that Wendt-Richardson's performance and leadership will inspire current and future Idaho State cross country runners to aspire for the same goals and accomplishments.
“It's a big thing when you have a repeat of a champion,” Janssen said. “I think it's easier once the ice has been broken. We're in a conference that has been very tough with Northern Arizona and Weber State being very strong in the past so to have somebody from our school do it, I think these younger runners will look at the success that Erica and Bradi have had and realize 'we're not that far off from where they are at.' and I think that's a big thing.”
Wendt-Richardson as well as the rest of the Bengals will take the next week to prepare for the NCAA Regional in Salt Lake City, Utah Saturday, Nov. 13., a meet Wendt-Richardson hopes will lead to a trip to Nationals.
“Bradi [Hutchison] and I have been talking about this and working together this season,” Wendt-Richardson said. “We thought that would be an amazing goal so we both really want to push it and work together to try to make it to Nationals.”
“Hopefully we can get Erica on to Nationals and maybe to Nationals a couple more times with track and field,” Janssen said. “I like to think there's an All-American certificate down the road for her as well.”
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