MEET INFO

COLFAX, Wash. – Idaho cross country is back at it this weekend.  The team will make the quick trip over to the Colfax Golf Club, the site of the 2019 NCAA Cross Country West Regional, on Friday night for the Cougar Classic, beginning at 5:15 p.m.
 
--
 
Malaina Thacker joined the Vandals ahead of last season.  A high school volleyball player, Thacker was new to the world of cross country.
 
"I was playing volleyball year round, so running was just kind of a side gig.  I had never done cross country," Thacker said.  "But Travis Floeck saw the potential in me as a runner. By my junior year I had decided that I didn't want to play volleyball in college and that running was what I wanted to do.  He reached out to me, we went through the recruiting process, and I ended up here.  It was a big shock, coming here for cross country."
 
There was no time for growing pains.  The Vandals needed Thacker on opening day at the Clash of the Inland Northwest in Missoula.
 
"It was just a shock," Thacker recalled.  "I had obviously trained over the summer and everything, but I was running by myself.  And the girls were great, I went to camp with them and we bonded really well.  But the first meet, I was a little overwhelmed.  I definitely shed some tears before the race, I was really nervous.  But that's how races go.  You get nervous and then the gun goes off."
 
"Malaina was incredibly nervous, which was understandable considering she had never run one and had probably never seen a cross country meet before," Floeck said.  "She was pretty rattled, but the cool part was that once the gun went off, she ran great.  She's an incredible competitor.  There are always going to be nerves, but it was confirmation that she can do this.  She's a cross country runner."
 
She continued her success throughout the year, scoring for the Vandals in the next three meets.  This year has been no different, as she took fifth overall at the season-opener two weeks ago.
 
If the expectations are high for Thacker, they're even higher for the team.  With the deepest women's squad in recent memory at Idaho, the Vandals are looking to make a big splash in the Big Sky and the West.
 
"It's incredibly exciting," said Floeck.  "The great teams are interchangeable.  That's what I've tried to get through to all of them, that there's no pecking order and it's just super exciting to be a part of this.  I think the best part about it is that they're not just strong physically, but they're incredible people and amazing teammates.  Because they're such great teammates, they get excited for how each other is doing.  They're just fired up that other people are doing well too."
 
"We're very deep.  We're all right up there, neck-and-neck," Thacker said.  "Andie (Condie) is definitely right at the top, but we're all just right there.  The seniors are a force to be reckoned with.  And we all put in the work, we train together and I think it could go either way every race.  There's no pecking order.  We're a really strong team."
 
--
 
The Vandals will see the Cougars, ranked three spots ahead of them in the West Region, for the first time in 2018.  Two other Big Sky teams will be competing, with Eastern Washington and Portland State making the trip out.
 
Idaho brings mostly the same lineup as the season-opener, with a few changes.  The women's side will be without Erin Hagen and Krista Story, who finished third and fourth, respectively, at the Clash of the Inland Northwest.  The men will add Dwain Stucker and Drew Schultz, competing for the first time this year.
 
To stay current on all Vandal Athletics visit GoVandals.com, or follow the Vandals on Twitter, @Idaho_Vandals.
 
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho track and field/cross country by following the team on Twitter @IdahoTrack.