Bengals Start Season Strong at Utah Valley Invitational

Full Results

Orem, UT - Idaho State Cross-Cross Country kicked off the 2024 season today at the Utah Valley Invite in Orem, UT. 
As a season opener, any sport's first event of the year always has a little extra hype surrounding it. In today's case, it also marked the head coaching debut for Zach Kughn, who arrived to Pocatello only a few weeks prior and implemented a detailed course of action for the Bengal runners in the fall. 

This strategy appears to be already paying dividends, as ISU produced encouraging results across the board, laying a solid foundation for a team on the rise.

In the three-mile run, the Bengal men outperformed expectations that Kughn had already deemed to be "quite high," recording a third-place team finish, and were led by Seth Babbel (14:32.5), Sunny Gunn (14:40.9), and Cade Smith (14:45.8), who all finished inside the top 20 in a race of 118 athletes. The senior and duo of juniors were among a men's squad that impressed their new coach from start to finish.

"Our top five all reached their goals today, which is quite rare but a sign of good things to come. Sunny Gunn and Brandon Walker really shined today and showed the jumps in fitness they took over the past year," stated Kughn on the men's performance.

The Bengal women finished fifth as a team in their respective three-miler, finishing as a tight pack despite attacking the race differently. The pack was led by sophomore Alivia Johnson (17:46.8), who Kughn recognized after a strong week of work and performance.

"Alivia just continued to move up. I'm proud of how hard she raced today." 

Raegan Borg (17:51.7), Sulette Ferreyra Serna (17:56.2), and Cassandra Vasquez (17:56.9) came next in line for the orange and black, all finishing in an eight-second span. Saylor Erickson  (18:15.7) joined Borg with an impressive collegiate debut. 

"Saylor really impressed me today, being our #6 right on the heels of our #5," quoted Kughn

Overall, Kughn was encouraged by his squads' first outings but knows that the last thing to do is be complacent.

"It's a great starting point for us, we are certainly improved, but more important than that will be where we go from here. We will dial in the training based on today's results for each individual and continue to add elements that will help us be successful in November."

Up next, the Bengals will return home for the Big Sky Preview at the Riverside Golf Course on Friday, September 20.