The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT May 4, 2011

At one time this spring, it looked hopeless that some of the local teams could reach this point.

But here they come, down the final stretch toward their respective district/regional tournaments in the coming weeks.

WITH A sweep of Lewiston last Saturday at Ted Page Field, the Coeur d'Alene Vikings wrapped up the 5A Inland Empire League baseball championship.

And with Lewiston splitting a doubleheader with Lake City on Monday, the Bengals will also host an opening round game as the second seed. Post Falls and Lake City will spend the next week facing off with Coeur d'Alene in games to determine who travels where starting on Monday.

Tuesday's doubleheader between Lakeland and Sandpoint in Rathdrum also decided which school hosts the opening round of the 4A Region 1 tournament on Saturday. Moscow has already locked up the league title with a 5-1 record.

Teams in the Intermountain League will continue to slug it out for the remainder of this week and get into their tournament on Tuesday.

Lake City's softball team will host the opening round of their tournament against Post Falls on Tuesday, with Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston battling for the No. 2 seed.

Lakeland, by way of a season sweep of Moscow and a doubleheader sweep of Sandpoint on Monday, will be the top seed in its regional tournament, also starting next Tuesday.

The bonus for the area 5A and 4A teams will be that their state tournaments, to be held May 20-21, will be close to home - the 5As in Post Falls, the 4As in Coeur d'Alene.

Not that a home field advantage will guarantee a state title - but it definitely won't hurt either.

WHILE AT Lake City High last week, I witnessed a first for me, as a track meet was postponed with five events left due to weather conditions on Thursday.

I should have known that the wind was going to be a problem, evident by the Sandpoint team tent flying over the fence and landing on a parked car.

As the meet continued, the wind continued to blow and eventually the snow began to blow in. Finally coming to my senses, I made my way toward my car to get an item, that up until that moment, I hadn't gone without - my winter coat and gloves.

About 15 minutes later, the meet was over.

Despite the weather, there's a good chance that fans have yet to see the best performances of the season and the best is yet to come.

Much like the weather, the best is on the way.

I'm just hoping it comes in the next two weeks.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached via telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or by e-mail at [email protected].