Season Opener — Utah State Alumni Challenge
Logan, Utah | August 30, 2025
Women's 5K Recap
The Idaho State women opened their 2025 campaign with a solid third-place team finish, showing strong pack running against competitive fields from Weber State and Utah State.
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Gabby Johnson led the way with a 13th-place finish in 18:45, setting the tone as the Bengals' frontrunner.
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Allie Lemons followed closely in 16th at 18:50, giving ISU a dependable 1–2 up front.
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Natalya Babcock (21st, 19:00) and Ashley Reeck (23rd, 19:00) worked well together in the middle of the race, crossing side by side.
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Olivia Kendell secured the final scoring spot in 27th with 19:22.
Head coach Zach Kughn noted the value of testing the Bengals early:
"It was good to get our season underway to know where we stand. Utah State and Weber State are both historically great programs and they showed that today. We want to be able to compete with programs like that so I'm glad we were able to go out there and try to matchup."
With their top five finishing within 37 seconds of each other, the Bengals displayed impressive pack strength that should translate well against larger, more competitive fields later in the season.
Men's 7K Recap
On the men's side, the Bengals also placed third as a team, highlighted by a strong front-runner effort and tight scoring support.
Kughn emphasized that while the Bengals showed grit, there's still progress to be made:
"That being said we know we have some work to do but I think we are just excited about the possibility of the future."
The 16-second spread from second through fifth man demonstrated the Bengals' depth, setting a solid foundation for growth through the season.
Takeaways & Looking Ahead
Both Bengal squads showed encouraging depth and cohesion in Logan, holding their own against familiar Big Sky rival Weber State and regional competition. With Johnson and Babbel establishing themselves as frontrunners, and both teams showing tightly packed scoring groups, the meet served as an ideal season opener.
As Kughn summarized:
"We recognize today was just a starting point and we are still focused on November, as always."
With that long-term vision, Idaho State leaves Logan knowing they can build from this strong opener and sharpen their edge as they prepare for the championship stretch of the season.
