Badger cross-country opens season with great meet at Post Falls

September 5, 2014

Badger cross country kicked off the 2014 campaign by shaking off the rust at Kiwanis Park in Post Falls on Thursday. The team sports nine new and eight returning runners this year, including senior captain Jacob Perkins who finished 11th at the State Championships last season. Five freshmen boys also joined the team, most having ran in middle school under coach Melody Braden for 2 seasons. The new-look Badgers ran a 5k (3.1 mile) course with 3 loops and an intersection they had to run through 5 times. The Post Falls course crew did an excellent job of including a variety of features such as hills, turns, and different terrains in the technical course. Early season racing usually affords the opportunity to gradually introduce new runners to competition. Post Falls offered a “citizen’s race” to give spectators and newer athletes a chance to run the course without the pressure of team scoring or times. Standouts in the “citizen’s race” included first-time runners like junior Jack Wade and sophomore Nicole Donn. Wade was the first Badger to cross the line in the citizen’s run. Donn was the first Lady Badger and the third girl overall in the race to finish. Both appear to be poised to be great contributors to the Badgers this season. Other runners for Bonners Ferry included sophomore Alex Urbaniak, junior Hannah Lysne, and sophomore Makailah Dowell. Two freshmen, Nick Magdaleno and Andrew McCoy ran in the boys junior varsity race. In their first high school race, Magdaleno and McCoy ran a 27:21 and 32:41 respectively. Assistant Coach Mike Tymrak praised their positive attitudes before and after the race as well as their determination during competition. The boy’s varsity squad saw freshmen Will Colson and Dawson Thomas running with veterans such as seniors Tucker Cavender and Jacob Perkins. Against mostly 4A and 5A schools, such as Moscow and Lake City, the Badgers finished 4th in team scoring. Perkins led the way, running in at 18:25, good for a 4th place finish in the first meet this season. After Perkins, Cavender finished in 20:30. Junior Alva Swanson, who ran with Cavender for most of the race, finished just behind him at 20:32. Nolan Stidham finished in 21:52 followed by Eric Ellis at 21:59 to round out the scoring 5. The freshmen Colson and Thomas ran well, especially given it was their first competition against very tough opponents. Thomas finished in 25:13 and Colson at 26:56. The Badgers next meet will be Saturday, September 6th at Hayden Canyon for the Coeur d’Alene Jamboree.