By Kyle Paul
Idaho cross-country will head to Springfield, Ore., for the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Sept. 21.
Hosted by the Oregon, the Dellinger Invitational will feature nationally ranked cross-country teams, No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 8 Oregon for men and No. 17 Oregon for women. The meet will also feature multiple regionally ranked teams.
The invitational will be held at the Springfield Country Club in Oregon, 20 minutes outside of Eugene and will feature a 5000 meter race for the women and an 8000 meter for the men. This will be the teams’ first race this season at said distances and it can be expected that both will be in midseason form, with only one meet remaining before the WAC Championships on Oct. 29.
This meet comes at a pivotal time for the Vandals, who just jumped in the West Region rankings to No. 13 for women and 12 for men. The West Region, which is ranked by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, includes the Pac-12, Big West, WAC, WCC and Big Sky athletic conferences. This jump comes after the University of Idaho cross-country’s performance at the Sundodger Invitational on Sept. 17 in Seattle. The women’s team finished second behind No. 11 Washington Huskies team, and the men’s team placed four runners in the top nine overall, finishing seven spots behind Washington, No. 6 in the West Region.
At the Sundodger, UI sophomore Hannah Kiser finished first among college level competitors, posting a school record 6000 meter time of 20:58.43 and junior Barry Britt took third in the men’s race with a time of 24:14.36.
The Vandals hope to keep things going as they face one of their toughest challenges of the season this weekend in Springfield. The women’s 5000 meter will begin at 10:30 a.m., and the men’s will follow at 11:15 a.m.