LEWISTON, Idaho – In the final meet of the regular season the Idaho cross country team did not disappoint, with the women cruising to victory and the men taking third among a very challenging field at the Inland Empire Classic on Saturday.
 
"On the women's side I was very pleased.  Any time you win as a team you have to be very happy," said assistant coach and distance coach Travis Floeck.  "We went out very aggressively, maybe a bit too aggressive early on.  That maybe hurt some of the efforts, but I know we can make adjustments heading into the conference championships.  Overall, lots of positives on the women's side moving forward.
 
"On the men's side, we held out some athletes just as a precaution. But we had some strong performances on the men's side.  Grayson continues to be our front runner and he had another great race.  Then Stucker ran probably his best race of his college career. Overall, the team had a good opportunity with some guys sitting out and they stepped up."
 
The women dominated, with five athletes finishing in the top-nine en route to their third win of the season.  Kara Story and Sierra Speiker led the way, earning second and third respectively.  Story finished the race in 16:56, while Speiker was close behind at 16:58.
 
Halie Raudenbush earned seventh overall with a time of 17:29.  Andrea Condie and Maizy Brewer placed eighth and ninth, respectively, at 17:38 and 17:44.  Ally Ginther finished 11^th, while Emily Wesseling took 17^th.
 
The men took third, just one point behind Gonzaga for second.  Grayson Ollar took fourth overall with a time of 24:27.  Dwain Stucker was close behind in seventh at 24:38.
 
A group of Vandals rounded out the scorers, beginning with Christopher Black in 18^th with a time of 25:16.  Austin Fred and Santos Vargas earned 20^th and 21^st, respectively, with identical times of 25:18.  Skyla Ovnicek (31^st), Tim Delcourt (37^th) and Levi Wintz (39^th) rounded out the Vandal competitors.
 
The Vandals will take a week off then return for the Big Sky Championships on October 28 at the Idaho Golf Course.  Check back as the meet comes closer for more information.
 
"We'll put together two really strong teams in Moscow and we'll represent the University well," Floeck said.  "I'm just excited for them to be on that starting line and representing the University."
 
To stay current on all Vandal Athletics visit GoVandals.com, or follow the Vandals on Twitter, @Idaho_Vandals.
 
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