Pocatello, Idaho – The Bengal Cross Country teams came home this weekend, hosting just their second meet on the refurbished course. The Bengal Invitational showcased impressive marks for both the Men's and Women's teams, highlighted by Allie Lemon's 8th place finish and
Jackson Koontz' 13th place mark.
Allie Lemons once again showcased her high-caliber racing as she finished as the fourth collegiate runner and 8th overall in a time of 18:48.
Natalya Babcock and
Ava Berg continued the scoring for the Bengals, as they finished in 19:13 and 19:16, in places of 15th and 18th.
Alivia Johnson was the next to come through the line, in 20th with a time of 19:21 and following close behind her was junior
Raegan Borg in a time of 19:37. Rounding out the top seven were senior
Kamber Scott and junior
Kaitlyn Blackham. The women's close grouping showed that running and pushing each other as a team pays off and will look to push even further as the season progresses.
The men also continued to make noticeable improvements, as the top runner got shaken up again this week with
Jackson Koontz leading the way for the team in 13th place with a time of 25:48 over 8k. Coming in right behind him were seniors Jacob DeTemple and
Sam Jeppsen, with times of 25:55 and 25:58 for 15th and 16th place. Freshman
Champ Ransom finished fourth for the team after a strong outing the previous meet, and rounding out the scoring
Brent Clark came in 30th with a time of 27:02. The men mirrored the women, as they also kept an extremely tight pack, which although didn't lead to beating Weber or Utah State, did set them up well for the rest of the season.
With Idaho State's one and only home meet having been concluded, the Bengals now look ahead to the East Coast, as they travel to the Princeton Classic in two weeks time for their final in-season meet. They will look to see how they stack up against ranked national competition as a tune-up before the Big Sky Conference Championships in Flagstaff on Oct. 30.
