SHS track hopes to return home with plenty of glory

EAGLE — The Sandpoint track team has done special things all season. The Bulldogs believe that trend will continue when they compete in the 4A state championships on Friday and Saturday at Eagle High School.

The state track meet will be a new experience for a majority of Sandpoint’s 25 state qualifiers. Head coach Matt Brass said the squad has had no problem handling pressure and they are taking the same approach as they have all season in terms of preparation.

“Honestly, I think we’ve just been trying to treat it like it’s another meet,” he said. “Things have been working the way that they are, so I think it’s a mistake as a coach to change things up just because it’s the state meet.”

There are quite a few Bulldogs who have chances to medal over the two-day meet, Matt said. Braden Kappen got a head start on the entire team by winning the state title in the boys long jump on Thursday night, and more could be coming down the pipeline for Sandpoint.

It’s no secret that the bus back from southern Idaho could be filled with plenty of state hardware.

One of the top hopefuls is Nikolai Braedt. The senior will compete in the 1600 and 3200 and distance coach Angie Brass believes Braedt could end up with a pair of medals around his neck.

“A top three finish in 1600 and the 3200 is definitely within his grasp,” she said.

Braedt has the second best time in 4A in the 1600 this season and fourth best in the 3200.

Braedt will encounter plenty of competition in both races at state, and he can’t wait to see what impact that will have on his times.

For most of the season, Braedt has had very few people next to or in front of him. He’s been forced to push himself, but that won’t be the case at state. Braedt believes that intense racing could help him finally break through for school records in the 1600 and 3200.

“I’m excited to see what I can do with competition,” he said.

Braedt owns three regional titles in the 1600 and two in the 3200. In 2019, he took ninth in the 1600 and 13th in the 3200.

Since his freshman year, Braedt has thought about what he could do as a senior at state. Now’s his chance to get it done.

“I just want to give it my all and just see what happens,” he said. “I’ve put myself in a position to be in the running.”

The distance crew has other runners that will be looking to place as well. In the 800, Maren Davidson enters with the fifth fastest time in the state. Her mark in the event is about three seconds off the SHS record in the event, which is held by her older sister and alum, Hannah Davidson.

The sophomore has been besting her personal record in the event all season, and she hopes that trend will eventually allow her to shatter her sister’s record.

“It’s definitely a goal,” she said.

Ben Ricks and Jett Lucas will get to lean on each other in the boys 800, Mackenzie Suhy-Gregoire will compete in the girls 1600 and Megan Oulman and Ara Clark will run in the girls 3200. Keegan Nelson will also be in the boys 1600.

Angie is looking forward to watching her distance runners push themselves one last time this spring.

“I expect the same thing from them that they’ve been doing all season, which is consistent, smart, gritty racing,” she said, “and the opportunity to be able to mix it up with the best in our classification.”

A group of seven pole vaulters will take the stage at state for the Bulldogs — Taylor Petz, Quinn Hooper, Piper Frank, Erika Edmundson, Sam Becker, Slate Fragoso and Riley Christman.

Matt said a number of vaulters are in a position to score points and bring home medals, thanks in part to the dedication of first-year pole vault coach Blake Houchin.

“That’s a first,” Matt said about the seven vaulters at state. “Blake did a great job this year as the season went on getting them ready for regionals and there are a lot of first-year pole vaulters in there that have put up some very good marks, so I’m very impressed with the work that they’ve put in.”

Petz has the best chance to grab glory in the pole vault. She enters with the second best mark in the state. The senior transfer already has a state championship under her belt. In 2018, she won a 5A state championship in the pole vault as a freshman while at Bend High School in Oregon. Petz will also compete in the 100 hurdles.

On the boys side, Becker is the third seed in the pole vault, and Fragoso and Christman are in a four-way tie for fifth.

In the shot put and discus, throws coach Ryan Knowles is hoping for some big things. Will Hurst, the regional champion in discus and runner-up in shot, has burst onto the scene as a junior and has a great opportunity to break through for a medal in discus.

Hurst didn’t even join the track team until the Bulldogs were about four weeks into the season, but his commitment in the weight room has allowed him to make huge strides quickly, Knowles said.

It also didn’t take long for Hurst to fall in love with the craft.

“He’s lifting as hard as anybody,” Knowles said. “He’s a weight room guy that decided to add two more lifts to his weekly routine — discus and shot.”

Junior Kayla Remsen, the regional champ in the shot put, took 14th at state in the event as a freshman. She will look to improve on that finish while also throwing the discus at state.

Freshman Ivy Smith will get her first taste of state in the shot.

“She’s beyond her years,” Knowles said about Smith. “She’s very gifted at throwing and should be able to make it in the discus in the future.”

The boys sprint crew has tremendous potential to grab state honors for the Bulldogs. Kappen will be searching for more medals in the 100 and 200, and Peyton Ennis is hoping to make some noise in the 400 in his first state meet.

Sandpoint will compete in three relays at state — the 4x200, the 4x400 and the 1600 sprint medley. Sprints coach Tom Keener said all three relays have a shot at medaling.

Ennis is on all three relays. Rusty Lee, Luke McCorkle and Keyan Strock make up the rest of the 4x200 team; Kappen, Lee and Ricks will run legs on the 4x400; and Strock, Ricks and Lucas round out the sprint medley squad.

Lee has an opportunity to shine in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. He has the second fastest time in the state this year in the 300 and third best in the 100.

Keener said Lee is poised to bring home some hardware.

“He’s very mature for a sophomore,” he said, “and the thing I love about this group, including Rusty, is all of them are so competitive, they’re so versatile and they hate to lose, and that makes them dangerous.”

Lee, Ennis and Kappen are the only Bulldogs competing in four events at state.

“They got a plate full, but they could all be multi-medalists when everything is said and done,” Keener said.

McCorkle is also slated to compete in the 110 hurdles, Destiny Lyons will look for a solid finish in the girls 300 hurdles and senior Stone Lee is shooting for a medal in the boys high jump.

Matt expects the team to leave it all on the track on Friday and Saturday.

“As long as they compete smart and give their best effort, we can’t ask for anything else,” he said.

Events at the 4A state championships on Friday start at 8:30 a.m. PST. Below is a list of the Bulldogs competing at state and the events they will be in.

GIRLS

Maren Davidson — 800

Mackenzie Suhy-Gregoire — 1600

Megan Oulman — 3200

Ara Clark — 3200

Taylor Petz — 100 hurdles, pole vault

Destiny Lyons — 300 hurdles

Quinn Hooper — pole vault

Piper Frank — pole vault

Erika Edmundson — pole vault

Ivy Smith — shot put

Kayla Remsen — shot put, discus

BOYS

Braden Kappen — 100, 200, 4x400, long jump

Peyton Ennis — 400, 4x200, 4x400, sprint medley

Ben Ricks — 800, 4x400, sprint medley

Jett Lucas — 800, sprint medley

Keegan Nelson — 1600

Nikolai Braedt — 1600, 3200

Luke McCorkle — 110 hurdles, 4x200

Rusty Lee — 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 4x200, 4x400

Keyan Strock — 4x200, sprint medley

Stone Lee — high jump

Slate Fragoso — pole vault

Riley Christman — pole vault

Sam Becker — pole vault

Will Hurst — shot put, discus