Reno, NV - In what felt like an instant, the most exciting season in years has come to an end for Idaho State Cross-Country.
Fifteen weeks to the day after Zach Kughn was hired to lead a new era in Pocatello, his first season at the helm came to an end at the NCAA Mountain Regionals, and it was a slate that included highlights that the Bengal runners hadn't seen in some time.
The Reno Regionals featured longer races than the orange and black had run all year, with the women starting the day with the 6K. Cassandra Vasquez was the top finisher for the Bengals with a time of 21:14.9 in her final career race. Alivia Johnson came in second for the ISU women with a time of 22:09.9.
In the men's 10K, Seth Babbel had the top time for the Bengals, clocked at 31:03.9. In his final collegiate race, senior Brandon Walker finished with a time of 31:52.1 and was followed by Sunny Gunn at 32:15.
"Brandon and Cass probably had the two best races of the day, which was great to see," said coach Kughn on his seniors. "I really feel like those were the best races of both their careers so I'm super happy for them to end things on a high note."
Looking ahead, what comes next for the Bengal runners is the indoor track and field season, where they will join the rest of the loaded squad in preparation for the 2024-25 slate. Despite losing 800m school record-holder Presley Timmons to graduation, ISU returns multiple Bengals set to make statements in the distance events. Seth Babbel currently sits at fourth all-time in the school's top-10 in the 10,000m, and Cassandra Vasquez sits at fifth in the 5,000m.
ISU is set to host four meets during indoor season, including the inaugural ISU Winter Open in just a few weeks on December 6, 2024.
