The Front Row with MARK NELKE June 20, 2010
Coeur d’Alene repeated as champions, while new winners emerged in 4A and 3A.
In what, you might ask?
In the second year of the North Idaho all-sports awards, that’s what.
In a terribly unscientific exercise, we awarded points to each team for their finishes in league play and in regional/district play, if applicable.
In a four-team league, the winner got four points, the second-place team third, and so on. In a three-team league, the winner got three points; in a six-team league, the winner got six points, and so on.
The results:
In the 5A Inland Empire League, Coeur d’Alene totaled 77 points, Lake City had 73, Lewiston 59 and Post Falls 58.
Coeur d’Alene won Region 1 titles in boys soccer, girls soccer, boys cross country, wrestling, boys track and boys golf, and a league title in girls soccer.
Lake City won regional titles in girls cross country, boys and girls swimming and boys basketball, and a league title in softball.
Last year, Coeur d’Alene had 94 points, 10 more than Lake City.
In the 4A IEL, Moscow totaled 60 points to edge last year’s winner, Sandpoint, which totaled 58.5. Lakeland was third with 38.5.
Moscow won Region 1 titles in girls cross country, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls track and boys and girls golf, and won a league title in boys basketball and shared the title in girls hoops and boys soccer.
Sandpoint won league titles in football, volleyball, girls soccer and baseball, and shared a league title in boys soccer, and won regional titles in volleyball, boys soccer, girls soccer, boys cross country, and boys and girls tennis.
Last year, Sandpoint totaled 76 points to 65 for Moscow. Lakeland, which rejoined the IEL this year after competing as an independent last year, picked up a few more points due to being in a league.
In the 3A Intermountain League, Timberlake totaled 100.5 points to unseat last year’s champion, Bonners Ferry. Priest River was second with 96 points, followed by Bonners Ferry with 90, Kellogg with 76, St. Maries with 74 and Orofino with 48.5.
Timberlake captured IML titles in football, girls basketball, baseball, softball and boys and girls track, and won District 1-2 titles in girls cross country and boys and girls track.
Priest River shined in the winter, where it won district titles in boys basketball, girls basketball and wrestling, and league titles in boys basketball (complete IML wrestling standings were unavailable).
Last year, Bonners totaled 100 points, seven more than Timberlake.
In 1A, we split the North Star League teams into Division I and Division II this year.
In D-I, Wallace totaled 22.5 points, Lakeside 12.5.
In D-II, Kootenai totaled 28 points, Clark Fork 22, Mullan 16.
n In 2A, Coeur d’Alene Charter didn’t compete in as many sports as fellow Central Idaho League foes Grangeville and Kamiah, but bested its league foes in girls cross country and boys track.
Conclusions: The point totals do not include how a team did at state — just how they did in league and at regionals/districts — and several local teams went on to bring home state titles.
Coeur d’Alene repeated in girls basketball and won its first state wrestling title. Post Falls went to state in volleyball for the first time since 1991, won its first state softball crown, and won state in boys basketball for the first time since 1964.
Sandpoint won state in boys and girls soccer. Priest River had a terrific winter, capturing its first state titles in girls basketball and, two weeks later, boys basketball. St. Maries won its first state volleyball title since 1993, and Timberlake won state in girls cross country.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at mnelke@cdapress.com.