POCATELLO, Idaho- Coming off an impressive performance at Texas A&M, the Idaho State men's and women's cross country teams look to keep the momentum going as they compete Friday in the Big Sky Conference Championship in Hillsboro, Oregon.
The Bengals excelled in their performance at Texas A&M. Both the men's and women's teams exceeded Coach Houle's expectations.
"I had us projected to finish 11th on the women's and 16th for the men going into this so we improved on both of those," said Houle following the match at Texas A&M.
Out of the 32 teams in the women's 6k race, the Bengals finished 8th. The men's team finished 12th out of 32 teams in the 8k race. On the men's side, Zak Montoya led the way with a 12th place finish out of 261 runners. Cassandra Vasquez finished 32nd and Madi Kenyon finished 47th out of 267 runners for the women's team.
Specifically for the men's team, the Texas A&M race was huge considering that they did not get off to the best start in the first couple of races.
"Everything came together for the guys," Houle said. "They made a huge turn in the right direction. We hope to see a continuation of that this week and that guys 4-7 close the gap on our top 3."
Houle explained that the Texas A&M race was intended to be a preview of what we will see in conference play.
"It was our first exposure in a high intensity race and it was intended to help calm the nerves that accompany a big race." Houle said.
Following that race, the Bengals have changed up the way they practice to help prepare for the conference championship.
"Since that race we have brought down the intensity and volume in our practices so we can feel as good as we can." Houle said.
If that performance is any indication of what is to be seen on Friday, it is looking good for the Bengals. Both teams look to build upon that performance going into the Big Sky Conference Championship.
Going into the championship, the men are one of six Big Sky schools ranked in the Mountain Region rankings coming in at 14th overall. The women are 15th overall and are one of five Big Sky schools ranked in the Mountain Region rankings.
The women's 5k race begins at 11 a.m. PST and the men's 8k race begins at 12 p.m. PST. Fans can follow the proceedings with the link:
https://live.athletictiming.net/meets/11539.
