Vikings' Gomez wins state for third time

SODA SPRINGS - One champion wanted to cement her legacy.

Another, is still in the process of rewriting the history of a program.

Coeur d'Alene High senior Kinsey Gomez won the girls state 5A cross country championship on Saturday in 19 minutes, 1.92 seconds, nearly 32 seconds faster than her closest competitor to win her third state title in four years.

"This one was especially important to me because it was my senior year," Gomez said. "I wanted to prove that in my high school years, I've grown as an athlete and I feel like I accomplished that."

The race, held nearly 6,000 feet above sea level at Kelly Park, also took a toll on the senior during the 3.1-mile race.

“Running at 6,000 feet was more difficult that I expected,” Gomez added. “The altitude mainly affected my lungs.”

Last year, Timberlake coach Shawn Lawler couldn’t speak for an hour after his girls team had finished the state 3A race at Circling Raven Golf Course in Worley. Despite the scores being closer than last season, Lawler could breathe easier as his final runner came across the finish line, clinching the Tiger girls’ second straight team title.

“I thought we ran really well today,” Lawler said of the girls team. “Our plan was to come out conservative and pass on the second half of the race. We talked about it today and really got it done.”

Timberlake sophomore Ashly George was fourth going into the final mile, but climbed two positions in the final moments to finish second in 20:50.60.

“I just wanted to maintain my pace I had and improve my place,” George said of the final mile. “I just felt ready to go and wanted to leave everything out there on the course.”

Rachel Ward of Timberlake placed 23rd, which helped the Tigers edge runner-up Sugar-Salem by five points.

“They’ve been a team above it all,” Lawler said. “I’ve told them to never feel like they’re out there by themselves. We’ve molded this team concept into a family concept. Whether you’re the eighth runner on the team or the manager, everyone takes care of each other.”

Sandpoint senior Molly Burgstahler finished 13th to earn medalist honors in 21:12 as the Bulldog girls finished 13th as a team in 4A

“It was probably the best race of her high school career, just a fantastic race,” Sandpoint coach Matt Brass said.

The top 20 finishers in each race earned medals.

5A: Gomez will continue running in the coming months, whether it’s on a cross country trail or the recruiting trail.

“I’m very excited to continue the season at Foot Locker (regional and national races),” Gomez said. “My college search is also under way and I am enjoying which school will fit me best.”

Gomez will visit Oregon State and Arizona State this week on recruiting trips. She visited Utah last week.

Ben Woolley finished seventh in 17:14.25, followed by David Norris in eight at 17:14.86 to earn medalist honors for the Viking boys, who finished third.

Eagle won the boys title with 80 points, followed by Timberline of Boise.

Dallin Farnsworth from Highland of Pocatello won the boys race in 16:19.72.

4A: Sandpoint’s boys finished seventh.

Erik Harris of Twin Falls won the boys race in 16:30.81. Wood River won the boys championship.

McKenzie Chojnacky of Jerome won the girls race in 19:19.74 as Bishop Kelly took the girls title.

3A: “It’s a great feeling to win again as a team,” said George, who placed third last year. “They’re a great group of girls to hang out with. When we do something, it’s as a group. We all have a lot of fun together.”

Micah Krmpotich of Bonners Ferry placed eighth for the Badgers, who finished fourth.

Timberlake freshman Ryan Richardson finished 14th in 19:11.28, leading a Tiger team comprised of five freshman to a ninth-place finish.

“I was very happy with how our boys team ran,” Lawler said. “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to qualify for state. Once we got down here, we wanted to beat a school and get a medalist. I’m happy with the way our boys ran today.

Tavner Wilson of Teton won the boys race in 17:44.05 as the Redskins won the state title by 60 points over Salmon.

Alice Keller of Salmon won the girls title in 20:03.70. Sugar-Salem was second with 55 points.

2A: Freshman Maddie Iott was Coeur d’Alene Charter’s top finisher in 27th in 22:21.41 as the Panther girls finished eighth. Carly Hansen of Butte County won the girls race in 20:17.33.

Coeur d’Alene Charter freshman David Conway finished 42th in 19:37.80. Dylan Crevelt of Cascade won the boys race in 17:25.04.

Challis won the boys championship and host Soda Springs won the girls title.

BOYS TEAM SCORES — 1, Eagle 80. 2, Timberline 87. 3, Coeur d’Alene 93. 4, Mountain View 100. 5, Boise 110. 6, Highland (Pocatello) 132. 7, Capital 49.8, Skyline 155. 9, Rocky Mountain 198. 10, Post Falls 272.

BOYS MEDALISTS — 1, Dallin Farnsworth, Highland, 16:19.72. 2, Cody Larson, Capital, 16:40.50. 3, Jake Meeker, Mountain View, 16:49.30. 4, Andres Jaramillo, Vallivue, 17:03.77. 5, Connor Riebe, Eagle, 17:08.01. 6, Justin Ross, Rocky Mountain, 17:10.33. 7, Ben Woolley, Coeur d’Alene, 17:14.25. 8, David Norris, Coeur d’Alene, 17:14.86. 9, Patrick Estberg, Timberline, 17:15.25. 10, Andrew Nuttall, Mountain View, 17:16.01. 11, Austin Twede, Skyline, 17:17.06. 12, Jacob Oates, Eagle, 17:17.06. 13, Levi Nelson, Mountain View, 17:19.66. 14, Chas Sperry, Skyline, 17:20.64. 15, Brennen Keen, Timberline, 17:21.39. 16, Conor Smith, Eagle, 17:22.40. 17, Kenton Freemuth, Boise, 17:23.20. 18, Dan Heikkila, Meridian, 17:24.69. 19, Miles Ranck, Boise, 17:25.49. 20, Brad Heusinkveld, Capital, 17:26.38.

OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS — 25, Alex Troxel, Coeur d’Alene, 17:30.98. 32, Michael Dunton, Coeur d’Alene, 17:42.08. 34, Andrew Reagan, Coeur d’Alene, 17:43.45. 45, Jonathan Thorsfeldt, Post Falls, 18:03.00. 58, Keaton Trom, Post Falls, 18:41.46. 60, Kyle Cummings, Coeur d’Alene, 18:51.95. 65, Joe Maimone, Post Falls, 19:06.52. 67, Cody Curtis, Coeur D’ Alene, 19:14.16. 68, Sean Salmon, Post Falls, 19:17.74. 70, Jacob Wimpenny, Post Falls, 19:25.56. 71, Loryn Seidl, Post Falls, 19:35.11.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES — 1, Mountain View 44. 2, Boise 65. 3, Eagle 91. 4, Highland (Pocatello) 108. 5, Vallivue 124. 6, Rocky Mountain 151. 7, Coeur d’Alene 176. 8, Meridian 187. 9, Idaho Falls 208. 10, Lake City 248.

GIRLS MEDALISTS — 1, Kinsey Gomez, Coeur d’Alene, 19:01.92. 2, Sam Mckinnon, Mountain View, 19:33.63. 3, Mackenzie Roberts, Eagle, 19:51.88. 4, Jordan Mathes, Mountain View, 19:58.56. 5, Cheryn Trapp, Vallivue, 20:03.05. 6, Alyssa Faulks, Vallivue, 20:07.79. 7, Kate Jamboretz, Boise, 20:09.21. 8, Rachel Sullivan, Centennial, 20:11.31. 9, Valerie Mitchell, Mountain View, 20:12.38. 10, Dessie Weigel, Boise, 20:12.81. 11, Angie McGraw, Mountain View, 20:12.83. 12, Kylie Hutchison, Highland, 20:15.24. 13, Elizabeth Ryan, Boise, 20:18.12. 14, Savana Schilling, Capital, 20:20.07. 15, Lila Klopfensein, Meridian, 20:20.18. 16, Rachael Tatko, Eagle, 20:32.32. 17, Mariah Meyer, Highland, 20:33.89. 18, Dana Snell, Rocky Mountain, 20:37.49. 19, Hailey Bradshaw, Rocky Mountain, 20:38.73. 20, Victoria O’Neil, Boise, 20:40.54.

OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS — 35, Rachel Ward, Lake City, 21:28.36. 40, Sarah Stone, Coeur d’Alene, 21:40.77. 44, Madison Sumner, Coeur d’Alene, 21:54.06. 49, Chloe Hutter, Lake City, 22:07.50. 52, Noelle Ball, Coeur d’ Alene, 22:13.59. 57, Alia Lacroix, Lake City, 22:42.90. 58, Josie Tennison, Post Falls, 22:52.31. 66, Erin Wineinger, Coeur d’Alene, 23:23.12. 71, Meghan Tiffany, Lake City, 23:58.41. 72, Jordan Chandler, Lake City, 24:00.62. 73, Kasey Clemons, Lake City, 24:09.82. 75, Jessie Shocklee, Coeur d’Alene, 24:36.40. 79, Sydney von Kienast, Coeur d’Alene, 25:36.17.

BOYS TEAM SCORES — 1, Wood River 71. 2, Twin Falls 84. 3, Hillcrest 99. 4, Bishop Kelly 108. 5, Rigby 121. 6, Kuna 167. 7, Sandpoint 184. 8, Preston 194. 9, Moscow 211. 10, Skyview 276. 11, Madison 282. 12, Burley 283. 13, Middleton 289. 14, Pocatello 364.

BOYS MEDALISTS —  1, Erik Harris, Twin Falls, 16:30.81. 2, Tyler Crofts, Hillcrest, 16:34.35. 3, Karl Lundgren, Twin Falls, 16:55.44. 4, Tyson Warth, Twin Falls, 17:02.33. 5, Richard Kennedy, Rigby, 17:02.86. 6, Daniel Perry, Rigby, 17:19.35. 7, Adam Storey, Moscow, 17:20.10. 8, Andrew Pfeiffer, Wood River, 17:20.77. 9, Daniel Williams, Bishop Kelly, 17:24.72. 10, Jake Powell, Hillcrest, 17:25.82. 11, Michael Gordon, Kuna, 17:27.23. 12, Bubba Roeper, Emmett, 17:27.61. 13, Chase England, Wood River, 17:28.12. 14, Brayden Sampson, Madison, 17:29.07. 15, James Paris, Wood River, 17:29.76. 16, Cody Fivecoat, Middleton, 17:32.77. 17, Alec England, Wood River, 17:33.20. 18, DJ Corisis, Bishop Kelly, 17:35.93. 19, Travis Milburn, Bishop Kelly, 17:38.96. 20, Dustin Duke, Hillcrest, 17:40.77.

OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS — 21, Danny Pfeifer, Sandpoint, 17:41.70. 29, Evan Rains, Sandpoint, 17:56.10. 32, Sam Levora, Sandpoint, 18:05.11. 48, Jimmy Matthews, Sandpoint, 18:23.75. 68, Alex Charvoz, Sandpoint, 18:48.38. 89, Mason Foster, Sandpoint, 19:34.42. 95, Matt Pfeifer, Sandpoint, 19:50.77.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES — 1, Bishop Kelly 61. 2, Preston 93. 3, Twin Falls 106. 4, Jerome 143. 5, Skyview 157. 6, Hillcrest 158. 7, Madison 173. 8, Mountain Home 195. 9, Moscow 231. 10, Bonneville 240. 11, Century 273. 12, Kuna 273. 13, Sandpoint 280. 14, Wood River 355.

GIRLS MEDALISTS —  1, McKenzie Chojnacky, Jerome, 19:19.74. 2, Emily Nist, Bishop Kelly, 19:36.50. 3, Hannah McInturff, Century, 20:02.68. 4, Mikesell Clegg, Jerome, 20:13.87. 5, Amanda Ward, Twin Falls, 20:23.30. 6, Ashlynn Curnow, Bishop Kelly, 20:37.23. 7, Rebecca Lassere, Bishop Kelly, 20:37.23. 8, Jasmine Nesbitt, Jerome, 20:48.58. 9, Haylee Harrison, Preston, 20:56.94. 10, Elise Keller, Preston, 21:08.38. 11, Alyssa Brann, Twin Falls, 21:10.77. 12, Anna Campbell, Moscow, 21:12.37. 13, Molly Burgstahler, Sandpoint, 21:12.56. 14, Karli Lundquist, Rigby, 21:16.68. 15, Kelsea Donahue, Columbia, 21:18.42. 16, Corrine Smith, Wood River, 21:36.32. 17, Briana Tiffany, Bishop Kelly, 21:39.15. 18, Caitlin Elgan, Preston, 21:40.49. 19, Elaina Gillespie, Skyview, 21:41.39. 20, Courtney Brown, Hillcrest, 21:41.52.

OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS — 47, Aubrie Perry, Sandpoint, 22:34.21. 68, Sydney Foster, Sandpoint, 23:08.67. 95, Calena Lawson, Sandpoint, 24:52.04. 98, Jenny Van Ooyen, Sandpoint, 24:55.60. 104, Miranda Ewing, Sandpoint, 25:48.06. 109, Devan Fitzpatrick, Sandpoint, 26:26.39.

BOYS TEAM SCORES — 1, Teton 27. 2, Salmon 87. 3, Kimberly 97. 4, Bonners Ferry 123. 5, Buhl 124. 6, Payette 144. 7, Snake River 168. 8, Bear Lake 172. 9, Timberlake 210. 10, Weiser 268.

BOYS MEDALISTS — 1, Tavner Wilson, Teton, 17:44.05. 2, Caleb Moosman, Teton, 17:59.44. 3, Brandon Garner, Sugar-Salem, 18:17.95. 4, Nathnan Crane, Bear Lake, 18:23.10. 5, Wesley Kelly, Kimberly, 18:24.62. 6, Tate Wilson, Teton, 18:31.49. 7, Micah Krmpotich, Bonners Ferry, 18:44.96. 8, Brian Crane, Kimberly, 18:45.11. 9, Cameron Bischoff, Teton, 18:51.59. 10, Caleb Vanhoozer, Buhl, 18:51.73. 11, Nick Thomas, Salmon, 18:57.20. 12, Arlin Knight, Teton, 19:02.85. 13, Brian Bagley, Teton, 19:09.29. 14, Ryan Richardson, Timberlake, 19:11.28. 15, Josh Reed, Payette, 19:13.11. 16, Andrew Feldhausen, Salmon, 19:15.19. 17, Dylan Jacobson, Buhl, 19:17.04. 18, Ryan Clark, Salmon, 19:18.42. 19, Ernie Whitworth, Snake River, 19:20.53. 20, Sam Smith, Salmon, 19:23.96.

OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS — 24, Justin Ewing, Priest River, 19:44.08. 27, Jacob Callister, Bonners Ferry, 19:46.66. 28, Benny Watt, Bonners Ferry, 19:49.42. 34, Sam St.Mars, Timberlake, 20:16.56. 35, Gavin Peterson, Kellogg, 20:16.58. 36, Reid Boorman, Bonners Ferry, 20:17.28. 39, James Hegge, Priest River, 20:27.01. 41, Bradley Thompson, Bonners Ferry, 20:29.57. 48, Nick Ege, Bonners Ferry, 20:40.38. 58, Dylan Hughes, Timberlake, 21:00.08. 63, Johnny Moore, Kellogg, 21:09.99. 64, Austin Anderson, Timberlake, 21:16.52. 67, Spencer St.Mars, Timberlake, 21:27.07. 68, David Bell, Priest River Lam, 21:32.15. 71, Tyson Boorman, Bonners Ferry, 21:42.37. 73, Keegan Lawler, Timberlake, 21:46.39. 74, Jeremy Ashenbrenner, Timberlake, 21:56.79.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES — 1, Timberlake 49. 2, Sugar-Salem 55. 3, Bear Lake 92. 4, Teton 95. 5, Kimberly 118. 6, Snake River 136. 7, Weiser 167. 8, Bonners Ferry 193. 9, Filer 236. 10, Parma 297.

BOYS MEDALISTS — 1, Alice Keller, Salmon, 20:03.70. 2, Ashly George, Timberlake, 20:50.60. 3, Amelia Crane, Bear Lake, 21:00.56. 4, Hannah Cheney, Teton, 21:20.41. 5, Emily Galbraith, Sugar-Salem, 21:26.70. 6, Alexis Moser, Sugar-Salem, 21:54.41. 7, Marquita Palmer, Weiser, 22:01.12. 8, Krystal Pratt, Bear Lake, 22:07.90. 9, Brooke Nowlan, Timberlake, 22:13.82. 10, Dominique Vanderwilt, Timberlake, 22:16.22. 11, Kelsey Noble, Weiser, 22:18.35. 12, Olivia Redd, Sugar-Salem, 22:24.41. 13, Kelsey McCaslin, Timberlake, 22:37.06. 14, Emily Guild, South Fremont, 22:38.32. 15, Halie Wilsey, Kimberly, 22:42.27. 16, Talya Murphy, Kimberly, 22:42.85. 17, Nikkaila Bain, Buhl, 22:54.98. 18, Quincy Van Orden, Snake River, 23:01.19. 19, Kinya Morrison, Priest River Lam, 23:03.91. 20, Cassidy Howarth, Teton, 23:12.35.

OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS — 23, Rachel Ward, Timberlake, 23:27.67. 24, Shiela Briggs, Kellogg, 23:27.73. 25, Alicia Burnham, Bonners Ferry, 23:51.68. 38, Lorena LaBarbera, Bonners Ferry, 24:35.90. 39, Aimee Sayers, Bonners Ferry, 24:37.46. 57, Lindsay Richardson, Timberlake, 25:54.15. 58, Abragail Chase, Timberlake, 25:55.73. 59, Katy Hiatt, Bonners Ferry, 26:00.29. 63, Jessica Merz, Bonners Ferry, 26:44.10. 65, Sally Balcaen, Bonners Ferry, 27:00.02. 66, Nonnie Stofiel, Bonners Ferry, 27:09.53.

BOYS TEAM SCORES — 1, Challis 53. 2, West Side 62. 3, Soda Springs 103. 4, Fifth 118. 5, Greenleaf Friends Academy 161. 6, Declo 161. 7, Cole Valley Christian 223. 8, McCall-Donnelly 230. 9, Community School 233. 10, Gooding 244. 11, Nampa Christian 247. 12, Grangeville 249. 13, Coeur d’Alene Charter 272. 14, Butte County 310.

BOYS MEDALISTS — 1, Dylan Crevelt, Cascade, 17:25.04. 2, Caden Portela, Firth, 17:27.17. 3, Ty Tritthart, Challis, 17:28.94. 4, Mike Mchan, Gooding, 17:33.47. 5, Josh Hatch, West Side, 17:44.13. 6, Jordan Beutler, West Side, 17:45.31. 7, Tyler Olsen, West Side, 17:53.50. 8, Conrad Larson, Victory Charter, 17:57.08. 9, James Wilson, Challis, 17:58.85. 10, Trevor Anderson, Declo, 18:12.03. 11, Brayden Bruderer, West Side, 18:15.10. 12, Drake Hungate, Greenleaf Friends, 18:28.69. 13, Tyler Jaszkowiak, Challis, 18:30.03. 14, Landen Kelly, Greenleaf Friends, 18:32.11. 15, Aldon Bishop, North Fremont, 18:33.60. 16, Bryan John, Camas County, 18:33.70. 17, Cody Moore, Soda Springs, 18:38.16. 18, Dustin Green, Challis, 18:42.79. 19, Max Christman, Community School, 18:45.92. 20, Coby Young, Soda Springs, 18:50.22.

OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS — 42, David Conway, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 19:37.80. 68, Caleb Orr, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 20:10.82. 74, John Graves, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 20:27.32. 75, Leif Fredericks, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 20:32.02. 94, Adam Crandall, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 21:24.90. 95, Ry Butler, Kootenai, 21:30.67. 103, Travis Smith, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 22:03.56.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES — 1, Soda Springs 25. 2, Firth 73. 3, Gooding 135. 4, McCall-Donnelly 152. 5, Community School 157. 6, Nampa Christian 181. 7, New Plymouth 190. 8, Coeur d’Alene Charter 194. 9, Challis 195. 10, West Side 252. 11, Grangeville 279.

GIRLS MEDALISTS — 1, Carly Hansen, Butte County, 20:17.33. 2, Sasha Kent, Richfield, 20:32.48. 3, Kelsey Yamauchi, Soda Springs, 20:42.00. 4, Annie Pokorny, Community School, 20:45.05. 5, Quincie Clark, Soda Springs, 20:51.84. 6, Jocelyn Allen, North Fremont, 20:52.20. 7, Rachel Youren, Gooding, 21:01.66. 8, Mary Frances Small, Clark County, 21:04.18. 9, Anndee Neuman, Soda Springs, 21:09.63. 10, McKensie Gardner, Firth, 21:12.23. 11, Ellie Dalton, Dietrich, 21:14.88. 12, Hannah Farnes, Soda Springs, 21:16.30. 13, Angeline Getty, Challis, 21:19.41. 14, Hailey Call, Soda Springs, 21:20.89. 15, Taylor Hewett, Culdesac, 21:26.19. 16, Abigail Burk, Bliss, 21:27.12. 17, Katelyn Hill, Firth, 21:39.54. 18, Ashley Bullers, Gooding, 21:42.27. 19, Sydney Blair, West Side, 21:42.73. 20, Geneva Plakke, Soda Springs, 21:42.73.

OTHER LOCAL FINISHERS — 27, Maddie Iott, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 22:21.41. 34, Sadie Iott, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 22:40.42. 53, Megan Forster, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 24:06.80. 75, Shay Neely, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 26:06.63. 77, Elsa Goodsen, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 26:18.34. 84, Sam Brandvein, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 26:49.81. 93, Caylie Metcalf, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 27:51.48.