Bulldogs have strong finish at Timberlake Invitational

ATHOL — It was a true team effort that lead the Sandpoint High School Bulldogs to a third place finish for the boys and a fifth place finish for the girls at the Timberlake Invitational at Farragut State Park on Saturday.

Leading the way for the SHS boys was Nate Roche in eighth place at 16:39.2 and the Bulldogs finishing with 125 point to claim third place in the varsity race.

Leading the way for the SHS girls were Lily Richardson (15th, 20:35.0) and Ara Clark (16th, 20:35.3). The Bulldogs finished with 131 points as a team for fifth place.

"It is true XC, with trails, hills, grass and great competition to test teams physically and mentally," girls head coach Angie Brass said of the course and meet, which she said the runners look forward to.

Both varsity teams did well as the Bulldogs look at the district competition with Moscow and Lakeland, Brass said.

In addition to Roche, boys head coach Matt Brass said also doing well were Daniel Ricks (17:12, 17th and new personal record), Slate Fragoso (17:57, 30th), Michael Hall (18:16, 36th), Kasten Grimm (18:22, 41st), Jimmy Cornelius (18:37, 50th), and Anders Eastley (18:43, 51st).

Brass said the team has a solid effort across the board, especially as the Bulldogs look at Moscow, who is our toughest regional competition and well matched. Roche led the team from the gun, with Ricks following in second, running an overall all-time personal record on a challenging course.

"I'm really impressed by the way the guys packed up and were aware of their competition," he said. "There were some really strong finishes as they reeled in competitors."

The JV boys team won their race with 46 points and 11 total teams and 140 competitors. The team saw strong top five finishes and medal placements as the Bulldogs' top seven JV guys stormed the course.

Junior Klein Fragoso (18:43, 4th), Roman Coscarelli (18:56, 8th), Isaiah Hagstrom (18:56, 9th), Keane Haesle (19:00, 12th), Westin Caven (19:02, 13th), Will Jordan (19:07, 15th) and Fletcher Barrett (19:27, 20th) rounded out the top 7 for the Bulldogs and all in the top 20 for the entire field in the race, which is a huge feat in a race that had the most competitors for the day. Pack running and working together is a huge key in this, Brass said.

"Big steps forward for our younger runners today and a sharpening of our veterans as they competed in the biggest race of the year," Brass said.

Excellent races and pack running as Richardson and Clark again led the Bulldog girls cross country team, finishing strong and running incredible last half miles, "coming in nearly at the same time," Angie Brass said.

Next in was Payton Betz, just out of medal contention at 23rd and running a course personal best (21:12). Grace Rookey was fourth (31st, 21:35) in forthe Bulldogs.

While the Bulldogs competed without one of its top 3, Maren Davidson, who was at a swim meet, the team's fifth, sixth and seventh runners had a powerpack that moved over the course together, led by Terra Bode. Bode had a breakout race, running 22:42 for 52nd (her previous course best was 24:09), Devin McDaniel (22:52, 54th) and Izzy Davidson (22:48, 53rd).

"These 3 packed up well over the course, with 9th grader, Izzy running in her first varsity race." Izzy and Devin were both in front of Capital's #6 runner, ensuring that the tie was tipped to Sandpoint, as we tied on points for our top 5 runners on each team with 131. "It was a great day, some gritty, dusty races and opportunities!"

The JV girls team placed fourth with 96 points in a race with seven full teams and 89 competitors.

Makiyah Hagstrom and Silvi Landrom led the JV girls for Sandpoint, running as a great pair and tow personal best times at 23:33, placing 6th (Silvi) and 7th (Makiyah) at the line and earning individual medals. Madi Hall, Emma Darrin and Alice Davison rounded out the JV team, also running strong races and marking big improvements. 

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Mt. Spokane 42. 2, Coeur d’Alene 45. 3, Sandpoint 125. 4, Capital 137. 5, Moscow 192. 6, Timberlake 208. 7, Borah 222. 8, Meridian 254. 9, Post Falls 292. 10, McCall-Donnelly 300. 11, Riverside 305. 12, Lake City 319. 13, Logos 322. 14, Valley Christian 325. 15, Lakeland 398. 16, Lincoln County 402. 17, Kellogg 419. 18, Bonners Ferry 535.

TOP 10 — 1, Max Cervi-Skinner, Coeur d’Alene, 16:03.8. 2, Nate Stadtlander, Meridian, 16:14.3. 3, Jacob King, Coeur d’Alene, 16:15.6. 4, Kade Brownell, Mt. Spokane, 16:22.3. 5, Parker Westermann, Mt. Spokane, 16:24.9. 6, Ben Smith, Mt. Spokane, 16:26.8. 7, Isaac Anttonen, Capital, 16:35.6. 8, Nathan Roche, Sandpoint, 16:39.2. 9, Jack McManus, McCall-Donnelly, 16:41.1. 10, Zack Cervi-Skinner, Coeur d’Alene, 16:50.4.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Coeur d’Alene 90. 2, Post Falls 95. 3, Meridian 101. 4, Mt. Spokane 121. 5, Sandpoint 131. 6, Capital 131. 7, Cd’A Charter 154. 8, Logos 175. 9 Moscow 175. 10, McCall-Donnelly 218. 11, Borah 274. 12, Lake City 295. 13, Riverside 348. 14, Lincoln County 392.

TOP 10 — 1, Annastasia Peters, Post Falls, 17:38.4. 2, McKenna Kozeluh, Cd’A Charter, 18:33.2. 3, Charlotte Peterson, Mt. Spokane, 19:18.9. 4, Paisley Taylor, Meridian, 19:20.8. 5, Olivia May, Coeur d’Alene, 19:26.3. 6, Lily Sullivan, Capital, 19:31.3. 7, Aubrey Kohler, Meridian, 19:39.3. 8, Kaylynn Misner, Post Falls, 19:39.7. 9, Marion Packer, Meridian, 19:42.4. 10, Annabelle Carr, Cd’A Charter, 20:10.