Cd'A girls, Lake City boys win Sandpoint Invitational

SANDPOINT - A strong pack of Vikings dominated the girls race, and Lake City junior Jake Finney was a surprise first time winner in the boys race during the William Johnson Sandpoint Invitational cross country meet on Saturday at sunny Travers Park.

Sophomore Emily Callahan won the girls 5,000-meter race in 18:24, as the Vikings swept the first five spots in a strong showing.

"We stick together as a pack and push each other," said Callahan after the race.

Coeur d'Alene coach Cathy Compton lauded strength in numbers as to how her team scored just 15 points, an extremely low score in cross country.

"They're pack runners, these girls, I was very happy about that," said Compton. "They really help each other out."

Sandpoint's Mikhaela Woodward was the first non-Viking across the line, finishing sixth and leading the host Bulldogs to a second-place team finish. The Bulldogs' times make them one of the top two or three teams in the state in the 4A ranks.

Finney clocked a 15:45, three seconds ahead of teammate Kyler Little, leading the Lake City boys to the team title by 16 points over Coeur d'Alene. Finney's win was a bit of a surprise, as pre-race favorite Sam Levora, one of the top runners in the state from Sandpoint, had to stop briefly in the third lap with side aches after leading for the entire race.

"It feels great. It's the first time I've won a cross country race," described Finney, who said he loves the toughness it takes to run cross country. "It's a brutal sport, and competitive. You have to lay it out on the line."

Sandpoint coach Matt Brass said he felt for Levora, who wanted to win in front of his home crowd, but was extremely proud of his senior for finishing the race in 36th place, grimacing in pain as he crossed the finish line.

"He could have easily dropped out, but he wanted to score points for his team," said Brass. "That's a gutsy maneuver. I was proud of him."

Brass had to scramble two weeks ago to find a venue for the race, after the federal government shutdown forced a change in venue from Riley Creek Campground in Laclede, Sandpoint's usual home course.

"I can't say enough good things about the City of Sandpoint," said Brass. "They were so gracious to host the race."

The three-lap course at Travers Park was mostly flat, and run on a mix of grass and pavement. The rigors of pushing the body to its limit were on display at the finish line, as several runners dry heaved, and in some cases, threw up, the byproduct of 20-plus minutes of pain.

"I love this thing," said one of the women working the finish line. "They run until they puke their guts out."

TEAM SCORES - 1, Lake City, 43. 2, Coeur d'Alene, 59. 3, Timberlake, 110. 4, Coeur d'Alene Charter, 111. 5, Logos, 120. 6, Colville, 170. 7, Sandpoint, 183. 8, Lakeland, 199. 9, Post Falls, 200. 10, Priest River, 252. 11, Bonners Ferry, 286. 12, Kellogg, 385.

TOP 25 INDIVIDUALS - 1, Jake Finney, LC, 15:45. 2, Kyler Little, LC, 15:48. 3, Riley Estes, Cd'A, 16:08. 4, Lief Fredericks, Cd'A Ch, 16:12. 5, Kevin Carpenter, Col, 16:19. 6, Paul Ryan, Logos, 16:24. 7, Jose Winton, Cd'A, 16:28. 8, Zack Holbrook, LC, 16:49. 9, David Conway, Cd'A, 16:50. 10, Andrew Magee, Cd'A, 16:53.3. 11, Sam St. Mars, TL, 16:53.5. 12, Marcus Ross, LC, 17:02. 13, Jackson Dickison, Logos, 17:06. 14, Joe de Tar, PF, 17:12. 15, Emmett Morehouse, Col, 17:17.58. 16, Lance Fredericks, Cd'A Ch, 17:17.79. 17, Ryan Richardson, TL, 17:17.99. 18, Dillon Emery, Cd'A, 17:18.26. 19, Brayden Menti, TL, 17:18.61. 20, Scott Knapp, LC, 17:19. 21, Maxwell Evans, LC, 17:20.14. 22, Haney Cooper, LL, 17:20.61. 23, Josiah Anderson, Logos, 17:21. 24, Sam Powell, Spt, 17:24. 25, Josh Marks, PR, 17:25.05.

TEAM SCORES - 1, Coeur d'Alene, 15. 2, Sandpoint, 62. 3, Timberlake, 87. 4, Post Falls, 90. 5, Coeur d'Alene Charter, 118. 6, Bonners Ferry, 188. 7, Priest River, 197.

TOP 25 INDIVIDUALS - 1, Emily Callahan, Cd'A, 18:24. 2, Krista Story, Cd'A, 18:29. 3, Josie Brown, Cd'A, 18:39. 4, Caitlin Conway, Cd'A, 19:05. 5, Kara Story, Cd'A, 19:11. 6, Mikhaela Woodward, Spt, 19:22. 7, Noelle Ball, Cd'A, 19:49. 8, Natalie Herring, TL, 20:02. 9, Rainey Woodward, Spt, 20:13.38. 10, Jaycee Rade, Cd'A, 20:13.71. 11, Sydney Foster, Spt, 20:27. 12, Persia Anderson, PF, 20:51. 13, Taylor Hammond, TL, 20:54.14. 14, Sophie McPhilomy, Cd'A Ch, 20:54.93. 15, Brianna Barnhill, PF, 20:59. 16, Katey Mae McInturff, Kootenai, 21:00. 17, Corrine McClelland, Spt, 21:03. 18, Briana Slattery, PF, 21:08. 19, Kassidy Hammond, TL, 21:10. 20, Maddie Iott, Cd'A Ch, 21:14. 21, Anna Shaw, LC, 21:29. 22, Megan Lee, Col, 21:38. 23, Delany Gorton, LL, 21:48. 24, Claire Pierce, Spt, 21:50. 25, Lauren Orr, Spt, 21:52.