The
first Bonners Ferry competitors to race on
Thursday were the boys JV team. The team
featured two freshmen, Sam Gorton and Jamin
Bontrager, who both ran in middle school, as
well as senior Louis Balcaen who returned to the
team this fall. Testing the course that featured
a variety of turns, hills, sand, packed dirt,
and some pavement, the JV runners found early
successes. Coming into the last 400 meters
Bontrager found himself in 14th place, but after
careful maneuvering finished 10th overall in his
first high school race. Bontrager finished with
a solid 20:59. Fellow Freshman Sam Gorton
crossed the finish at 22:23. Veteran Alex
Urbaniak, a junior, also showed toughness in a
final kick at the finish.Next up were the varsity Lady Badgers, who return only two members from last year’s team. Senior captain Hannah Lysne and junior captain Nicole Donn anchor a team that features three-first time cross country participants. Sophomore Jordan Young, a state competitor in the 800m in track last spring, led the way with a 23:15 in her first race. Young finished 13th overall. Hannah Lysne would also build off a strong track season, finishing in 24:34. Ada Bonnell, who ran cross country in middle school, would come in at 25:38. At the start of her second season, Nicole Donn had to dig deep on the second loop and ground out a 26:21 finish. First year runner, freshman Lauren Stidham, would find her pace to a 28:13 finish.
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The boys’ varsity team would be the last team to toe the line. Senior captain Alva Swanson and fellow senior Nolan Stidham would both post solid times for the Badgers. After trailing Timberlake’s entire varsity team at one point The Badgers tracked down some of the Tigers and moved back into competition. Stidham would be the fastest Bonners Ferry runner with a 19:44, with Swanson only three places behind at 19:53. Dawson Thomas would come up less than 30 seconds short of breaking the 20 minute barrier for the first time this season, running a 20:26 for the third place spot on the team. Junior Eric Ellis was the fourth Badger in at 22:05. Smooth running sophomore Nick Magdaleno would post a 22:43 while his classmate Ryne Rae would pace himself to a 24:04 in his first-ever cross country race. Senior Jack Wade had to gut out a tough 26:04.
The final team scoring did not come out as the teams would have hoped, but head coach Tyler Warner saw a lot of positives in this first meet. “This was just our first meet and our sport isn’t won in September. Nobody ever gave up,” he said, “and everyone knows we’ve got until districts on October 22nd to get better. They know what they did well and now we have an idea of how we can build on that.”
The Badgers next race will be Saturday September 12 at 9:00 a.m. at Farragut State Park in the State Course Preview. The Badgers will also race there at districts on October 22 and state on October 31.
Full Bonners Ferry Results
Boys Varsity
29. Nolan Stidham 19:44
32. Alva Swanson 19:53
41. Dawson Thomas 20:26
55. Eric Ellis 22:05
63. Nick Magdaleno 22:43
70. Ryne Rae 24:04
73. Jack Wade 26:04
Girls Varsity
13. Jordan Young 23:15
27. Hannah Lysne 24:34
36. Ada Bonnell 25:38
42. Nicole Donn 26:21
49. Lauren Stidham 28:13
Boys Junior Varsity
10. Jamin Bontrager 20:59
27. Sam Gorton 22:23
42. Louis Balcaen 23:44
85. Alex Urbaniak 30:11