Stephanie Helm finished 2nd at the Montana Invitational
MISSOULA, Mont. - Both The College of Idaho men's and women's cross country teams had impressive outings at the high-altitude Montana Invitational this morning, as the squads each placed third in the event at the University of Montana Golf Course.
Stephanie Helm continued to prove she is one of the top runners in the Northwest, finishing second against the exclusively NCAA Division I field - just four seconds behind Katrina Drennen of Montana in a time of 17:56 on the 5,000-meter course at 3,500-feet of altitude. Tegan Troutner had a quality race for the Yotes, finishing 11th (18:53), as all seven C of I scorers finished under the 20-minute mark. Montana claimed the team title, followed by Gonzaga, the Lady Yotes, Montana State, and Eastern Washington.
The Coyote men finished behind Montana State and host Montana, but defeated quality NCAA Division I programs Eastern Washington and Gonzaga in the five-team meet. The Yotes tallied 87 team points, led by a tenth-place finish from true freshman Greg Montgomery (25:37) on the 8,000-meter course. Three others were in the Top-20 - Paul Sartin in 14th (25:48), J.J. Burk in 16th (25:55), and Andrew Hugill in 19th (26:05).
"I was really pleased with our efforts today on an extremely difficult course," said head coach Pat McCurry. "Our men ran an outstanding race, while Stephanie was right there for a victory in the women's race till the very end."
The Yotes return to action on Oct. 17, heading to Idaho State for a dual meet against the Division I Bengals.