Girls—Manager steps in to help earn trophy;
Boys—Ranked 4th in state
BFHS Head Cross Country Coach
The cross country regular season came to a close last week as teams make final preparations for district competitions coming this week. The BFHS team traveled to Kellogg last Thursday for the Ben Castro Invitational at Pinehurst Golf Course on Thursday. Golf course meets, such as the one at Pinehurst, tend to be flat courses with fast times and Kellogg’s home invite was no exception. The meet drew many small schools such as Potlach, Priest River, and Kootenai, but also attracted 4A Lakeland. Due to late start times and many teams having long travel distances Kellogg made the wise choice to run all high school boys in one race and all high school girls in another.
The
Lady Badgers started the day on the 5k course
that featured two loops and negligible hills.
The course, however, did offer a lot of flat
stretches that make pace difficult to maintain
and turns that if done correctly can make huge
differences in placement. The first Badger to
cross the line was Senior Hannah Lysne in 4th
place with a career best 22:20. After battling
injuries for most of the season, junior Nicole
Donn looked to be regaining form with an 8th
place finish and a season best time 23:00. Ada
Bonnell had to battle down the stretch with two
Lakeland Runners for a personal best 23:28.
Lauren Stidham finished in 24:59 and late
addition manager Amanda Bauer, subbing in for a
sick runner, came in at 27:36. “Amanda was key
to giving us 5 runners. Without her stepping up
for us, we wouldn’t have had a full team. She’s
been running with us all season in addition to
her manager duties, so her dedication to the
team was really appreciated,” Coach Tyler Warner
said. Bauer allowed the girls team to finish
second overall, earning the team their first
trophy this season.The boys team would face the toughest race of the day. Interleague rival Priest River pushed the Badgers all the way to the end, including an impressive showing from freshman Caleb Gleason who ran an impressive 17:33. Nolan Stidham would be the first Badger across the line at 18:04 followed closely by Jack Wade at 18:05. Dawson Thomas would come in for a career best 18:20. Stidham, Wade, and Thomas would come in 7th, 8th, and 10th respectively, all earning medals. Next in for Bonners Ferry was Jamin Bontrager and Eric Ellis, with Jamin finishing in 18:31 and Eric at 18:36. Both were career bests, but Ellis’s time would be nearly a minute faster than his previous best. “Eric had a great week of practice and has really had a strong season. His performance really helped us out,” said Warner. Alva Swanson would finish in 18:49 and Nick Magdaleno would also finish in 19:58, both career bests including Magdaleno’s first time breaking 20 minutes.
Bonner’s Ferry’s eighth runner would be Louis Balcaen with a season best 20:08. First year runner TJ Smith would finish in 20:31 for his best career time. Junior Sam Smith would cross at 20:32 and Bradley Corson would finish in 20:48. Sam Gorton would round out the Badger harriers with a time of 21:01.
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Overall the Badgers would officially finish second, taking home the second trophy case addition this season. Priest River would defeat the Badgers officially 54-53. The Spartans also defeated Bonners Ferry by 1 point at the Priest River invitational. “We’re just so close to one another right now. Districts should be exciting. With the right attitude and hard work I’m confident we will come out on top,” said captain Alva Swanson of the upcoming contest at Farragut State Park on Thursday at 12:30pm.
The Bonners Ferry boys’ team enters Districts as the fourth ranked team in Idaho 3A cross country according to athletic.net as determined by the 7 fastest runners this season. Timberlake is ranked number three and Priest River fifth. “To have three of the top five teams in the state in the same district will be tough since only two of us can advance. It is really a testament to the hard work these teams have put in and the support they’ve received from parents and coaches. The Intermountain League and North Idaho in general should be well represented at the awards stand at State. I think we can be one of them,” Warner added.
