Idaho found repeated success on the course against Gonzaga Saturday in the Idaho/Gonzaga dual. The women’s cross-country team once again defeated Gonzaga 44-19 while the men fell short, losing 39-20 to the Bulldogs.
Idaho director of track and field/cross-country Tim Cawley said the women looked strong as a team on the course.
“I thought the teams ran absolutely fantastic…” Cawley said in a news release. “The women just ran spectacularly as a team, they ran really well and close together and just moved through the course nice and easy. They look like they’re in a great place right now, it was exciting to watch.”
The women had a strong day across the board, with 10 of the top-11 finishers.
Junior Andrea Condie came out on top for the second consecutive race in first with a time of 17:46.8 in the 5k race.
Junior Erin Hagen took third overall with a 18:19.9. Sophomore Maizy Brewer finished in fourth followed closely by freshman Malania Thacker with times of 18:21.6 and 18:23.9, respectively. Freshman Faith Dilmore rounded out the scorers for the Vandals with a sixth-place finish with a 18:27.9.
The men had a strong day but could not beat Gonzaga. Cawley said the men put up a good fight but still has some work to do.
“The men ran a solid race,” Cawley said. “Our top three guys ran a fantastic race and really ran hard, fought the whole way through. The back half of the team is still figuring it out, but they took some steps forward. Overall, I thought the team ran well, proud of the Vandals.”
Sophomore Grayson Ollar led the way for the Vandals, finishing fourth overall in the men’s 8k with a time of 24:35.9. Sophomore Dwain Stucker finished close behind in fifth place with a 24:38.0. Sophomore Fabian Cardenas finished with a time of 24:39.1 in seventh place.
Junior Skylar Ovnicek and junior Austin Fred topped off the scoring for Idaho with times of 25:25.1 and 25:34.6, respectively.
Idaho moves on to the Dellinger Invitational, hosted by the University of Oregon, Sept. 29 in Eugene, Oregon.
Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]