In cross country, the top five runners for each team count toward the team score based on their finish in a given race. For the Idaho women, that meant that one runner needed to step up and be that fifth scorer on a team with four veteran runners if the Vandals were to win their third conference championship. On Oct. 27, that runner was freshman Halie Raudenbush.
Hayden Crosby | Argonaut
Cross country runner, freshman Halie Raudenbush, practices with teammate Alycia Butterworth Tuesday on Paridise Path.
After the first four Vandals crossed the finish line, Idaho needed Raudenbush to pass two runners in the final straightaway to secure the WAC title. With her coach cheering her on, Raudenbush started her kick and had enough strength at the end to pass the two runners. She finished the race at 16th overall.
“It was an amazing performance,” Idaho coach Wayne Phipps said. “For a true freshman to come in and perform at that level in their very first conference meet is just outstanding. We really needed one person out of our good freshman group to be able to step up…and Halie, on that day, really was that person.”
Unlike some of the other Idaho freshmen, Raudenbush came into the program without many high school cross country credentials. She was a three-sport athlete in high school, competing in soccer, track and field and one year of cross country at Timberline High School in Boise. Raudenbush, a walk-on at Idaho, finished 51st at the 2011 Idaho 5A State Cross Country Championships as a senior.
“This is my second year doing cross country and Phipps was the only person who would take me as a walk-on,” she said. “So that’s part of the reason why I came (to Idaho).”
Raudenbush attributes her success in college thus far to staying healthy, working hard and doing everything her coaches tell her. Injuries limited her potential through high school.
Raudenbush has been the leader of the strong freshman group for most of the 2012 season. Her 2012 season resume includes a second place team finish at the Inland Northwest Championships (19th overall), fourth place team finish at the prestigious Dellinger Invitational (44th overall), third place team finish at the Sundodger Invitational (24th overall) and first place team finish at the Clash of the Inland Northwest (ninth overall). Raudenbush and the other freshmen stepped up throughout the season when some of Idaho’s top runners weren’t at 100 percent or didn’t compete in a meet.
In addition to Raudenbush, the other Vandal freshmen have added depth to the four Idaho juniors — Hannah Kiser, Alycia Butterworth, Emily Paradis and Holly Stanton — who have been the face of the women’s cross country program for the last three years. The whole team will return next year, but the freshman group that has been pushed into action in 2012 will be race-ready for the next several years. The Idaho freshmen runners for 2012 include Raudenbush, Marquita Palmer, Stephanie Rexus, Alex Sciocchetti and Abby Larson.
“I think everything (the freshmen) are doing right now is going to set us up for an amazing year next year,” Butterworth said. “Right now you can tell their practices — at least in the earlier races — weren’t quite translating to (the meets). But as they get more and more used to racing at a college level, they’re getting better and better at it and more comfortable.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]