MOSCOW, Idaho - Just 15 days from Idaho's season opener in Spokane, the Big Sky Conference announced its 2026 Cross Country Coaches Poll, where the Vandal women were picked fifth, while UI's men were given the nod to finish seventh. 

Alex Terry and Constanze Paoli lead a veteran-heavy women's squad for Idaho that looks to build off a fifth place finish at the 2025 Big Sky Championship. A Boise native, Terry took first at last season's Montana Invite and earned Big Sky Athlete of the Week honors following a third-place finish at the Lewis Clark Invitational, while Paoli enters the 2026 cross country season after a standout track season that saw her become an All-American, conference champion, and school record holder in the 3000m steeplechase. 

One of the youngest teams in the conference in 2025, the Vandal men add three more prep standouts to their roster for 2026. Coeur d' Alene High School graduate Mitchell Rietze and SDHSAA Class AA State runner-up Miles Lechtenberg highlight the group, while Meridian native Koda Vandahlen looks to add depth to an Idaho roster that finished last season's conference meet in sixth.

The Vandals begin their five-meet 2026 regular season on September 4 at the Gonzaga-hosted Clash of the Inland Northwest.