SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The 2016 cross country season came to a close on Friday with Idaho competing well at the NCAA West Regional at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.
 
The women finished 13^th overall out of 35 teams with 405 points, ahead of Gonzaga (16^th), Washington State (18^th), Eastern Washington (20^th) and Sacramento State (27^th).
 
"The women were ranked 15^th coming in and we always preach to them to try to beat your ranking," said director of track and field/cross country Tim Cawley.  "They went out and did that and finished 13^th.  The women finished 17^th last year and 21^st the year before that so it was a nice improvement."
 
Kara Story once again was Idaho's top finisher, taking 51^st overall with a time of 20:43.5.  Sierra Speiker was close behind in 62^nd at 21:00.4.
 
Halie Raudenbush placed 81^st at 21:19.9.  Andrea Condie and Emily Wesseling rounded out the scorers for the Vandals.  Condie took 101^st at 21:38.4 while Wesseling placed 117^th with a time of 21:49.7.
 
"Kara went out and led the team, looked fantastic," Cawley said.  "She ran like she had all year long, with a lot of confidence and poise.  Sierra was right there, they led the team the right way.  Halie and Andrea kept the team connected in the middle and had great races.  Emily had the best race she's had all year.  The whole women's team ran solid races.  They ran relaxed and confident, that's a big reason they had the success they had."
 
The men placed 21^st with 606 points and were the top Big Sky finishers at the race. 
 
"The men ran well," said Cawley.  "We were a little beat up coming into this one, but they went out and ran tough.  They finished strong, I'm very proud of all of them.  We didn't bring the full men's team last year and they came back this year and performed well."
 
Grayson Ollar returned to the top spot for the Vandals, finishing in 86^th with a time of 31:39.5.  The freshman had an incredible rookie season, finishing as Idaho's top runner in five-of-six meets.
 
"Grayson had an amazing season," Cawley said.  "He was the 10^th best freshman today, as a true freshman, that's incredible.  This was his first 10k.  He's really talented and he's going in the right direction."
 
Nathan Stark took 99^th with a time of 31:54.8, while Tim Delcourt placed 107^th at 32:05.7.  Drew Schultz earned 153^rd with a time of 32:50.3 while Austin Fred rounded out the scorers in 167^th at 33:30.1.
 
"Both sides, the men and the women, ran with confidence," said Cawley.  "It was just really neat to see them out there, with the Idaho jersey on, competing.  I'm proud of all of them."
 
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