MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Idaho men's and women's cross country programs walked away from the Western Athletic Conference Championships two weeks ago with a WAC Coach of the Year honor, six all-WAC awards and a women's team title.
This weekend, the Vandals will try to add more accolades to their strong 2010 season at the NCAA West Region Championships at Eugene, Ore.
Idaho's women, who won their third WAC title in six seasons on Oct. 30, have their eyes set on the second NCAA bid in school history. To do so, they'll have to finish well in a 30-team women's 6,000-meter race that features five teams ranked in the top 30 nationally.
"Our goal is to try to qualify and be one of the at-large teams," Idaho coach Wayne Phipps said. "It may seem like a bit of a stretch, but with the way they've competed every week and stepped up to whatever challenges we've put in front of them, it wouldn't surprise me to see them finish that high, but I think a top-10 goal would be a great achievement as well."
Phipps said he thinks he has a pair of runners on the men's side who could also threaten for individual NCAA Championships bids in sophomore Barry Britt and junior Markus Geiger, who were both first-team all-WAC honorees this season.
The two runners have traded top finisher honors for Idaho all season long and Phipps said they should both aim to finish in the top 25 among individuals on the men's 10,000m course.
"Both Markus and Barry will definitely have a goal to finish in the top 25 and we'll do everything we can to help them get there," Phipps said.
With both races featuring some of the nation's top teams and individuals, Phipps said that the younger Vandals can also use this experience as a preparation for their future competitions.
"This is a great opportunity," Phipps said. "You take a lot out of it -good or bad - so that when you're a year older and in a position to be in the top 25, it's not you first experience running against nationally-ranked people, so this will really help their development for next year."
As always, the West Region will have many of the nation's top programs, as five nationally-ranked men's teams will compete and six top women's teams will be in the race.
"You've got three teams in the West that could be in the top four at NCAAs, but it's not just that, it's the depth," Phipps said of the competition. "It goes all the way down. If they're not ranked in the top 25, they're receiving votes, or they're very close. Year in, year out, if it's not the best region, it's one of the best, for sure, in the entire nation."
The women's race starts at 9:45 a.m. (PST), while the men's race will follow at 10:45.
