Bengal Cross Country to Host Alumni Meet - IDAHO STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Oct. 22, 2009

ABOUT THE IDAHO STATE ALUMNI MEET
The Bengals will be out in full force Saturday, Oct. 24 as Idaho State hosts the annual Alumni Meet at ISU's Centennial Course beginning at 10 a.m. More than 40 people participated in the event last year. Former ISU athlete Saheed Khan flew down from Toronto and posted the fastest time for the men with a 3K time of 8:18.00. Gemma Maini, a junior at the time, posted the fastest women's time, completing the 2K course in 7:27.00. However, while Maini and Khan posted the fastest times, it was ISU Head Coach Brian Janssen and Sarah Skeem who won the men and women's title respectively using a formula that took into account each participant's age and performance. This will be Idaho State's last appearance at the Centennial Course this year as they will finish out the season at the Big Sky Conference Championships in Greeley, Colo., and the NCAA Mountain Regional at Albuquerque, N.M. In other ISU cross country news, the Bengal women advanced in the USTFCCCA Mountain Region poll this week from No. 12 to No. 10.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BENGAL MEN
The Idaho State men finished third at the Oktoberfest Invitational hosted by the Bengals Saturday, Oct. 17. The men were led by sophomore Keane Shuler who finished the 5K race sixth with a time of 16:08.00. It was Shuler's first top 10 finish of the season. The men had a total team score of 58, just two points behind second-place College of Idaho.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BENGAL WOMEN
The Bengal women decisively won the Oktoberfest Invitational with five runners finishing in the top 10. Junior Erica Wendt-Richardson led ISU with a third-place finish, completing the 3K course in 10:29.00. Wendt-Richardson, senior Gemma Maini (fourth, 10:41.00), sophomore Bradi Hutchison (sixth, 10:46.00), senior Kerynn Davis (seventh, 10:53.00) and freshman Chloe Palakovich (eighth, 10:54.00) combined for 28 team points to win the competition, defeating Weber State (37), College of Idaho (60) and Utah State (108).

COACH JANSSEN ON THE RETURNING ALUMNI
"I almost never know really who's coming back, ISU Head Coach Brian Janssen said. "It's kind of been traditionally this weekend and people wander into town. Sometimes I'm surprised at who shows up. The last three or four years the crowd has been much larger than I expected. I know there are some local people that will run. I expect some people back from Boise and up from Utah."

COACH JANSSEN ON THE ALUMNI MEET
"We've had some pretty good kids over the years and it's nice to give them a chance to come back and race, see the campus andparticipate," Janssen said. "We have a dinner afterward that gives me a chance to bum some money off of some of them for the program and it's just a great social event. We've kind of tied it in with a season-ending workout for the athletes that are competing."

DIRECTIONS TO CENTENNIAL COURSE
From I-15 Southbound (toward Salt Lake) Take Exit 69 to merge onto E. Clark Street, turn left at N. 15th Avenue, continue on Memorial Drive, turn left on E. Terry Street/Martin Luther King Drive, turn right on Alvin Ricken Drive, Centennial Course will be on the left hand side of the road.
From I-15 Northbound (toward Idaho Falls) Take Exit 67 for I-15/US-30/US-91, turn left at S. 5th Avenue/US-30 W/US-91 N, turn right at Barton Road, take a slight right to continue on Barton Road, turn left at Alvin Ricken Drive, Centennial Course will be on the right hand side of the road.