EUGENE, Ore. - Idaho Cross Country competed against multiple other Division I teams at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, with the women securing a seventh place team finish in the 6K. The men finished eighth overall. 

HEAR FROM COACH
"It was a great test at the Bill Dellinger Invite. I thought our teams competed hard yet we still have more to give. We are three weeks away until the Big Sky Championships which is our main focus. We saw a couple Big Sky schools today and I thought we competed well comparative to them. But we know championship season is right around the corner and that is what we are ready for. Overall solid day but we are excited to enter the post season."

WHAT HAPPENED
The men started the meet today with a few strong performances. Senior Zac Knapp came back after a meet off with a season best in the 8K, finishing with a time of 24:44.8. Knapp was the top finisher for the Idaho men, followed not far behind by freshmen Miles Lechtenberg in 36th. Junior Ralston Graves was another athlete to point out as the third Vandal to cross the finish line, securing a personal best time of 25:01.9. 

Following the men, the Idaho women had some very big results today in the 6K. Senior Constanze Paoli stayed steady throughout the race and came in hot at 20:13.9, acquiring a 4th place title and a new personal best time. This was Paoli's first race back after her gold finish at the Montana Invite last month, defending her previous race very well. 

Another major performance came from junior Jesse Redding, who's also been dominating her season so far. Redding finished 12th overall and ran her best 6K yet at 20:58.3. 

"I thought my race went well today. I pushed myself really hard and followed through with my goals of staying engaged. I liked the course, it's straightforward and good for seeing ahead of you. I am proud of our team for pushing through a mentally tough race and giving their all," Redding says.

Rounding out the women's top-three athletes this weekend, junior Alex Terry excelled to finish 22nd overall.

Terry says, "I thought that I did my best today but I know I can run a lot faster and might just need to be patient…Everyone is on a different journey right now and it feels like we're all on the come up!"

This was Idaho's biggest and most competitive meet of the regular season, and the athletes are ready to keep their energy high as they move into conference championships later this month.

UP NEXT
The Vandals will get ready to finish out their regular season at the LC State Invite. The meet will be held on Saturday, October 17 in Lewiston, Idaho.

FOLLOW THE VANDALS
To stay up to date with Idaho Cross Country and Track and Field, follow the team on Instagram (IdahoTrack), X (IdahoTFXC), and visit govandals.com.

RESULTS