Fun, false start, fast times

SANDPOINT — One of the fun rituals before a cross country race is the various team chants, including the Bonners Ferry girls, who sing and dance the Hokey Pokey before each and every race.

On Saturday, at the William Johnson Invitational in Sandpoint, there was even a rare false start before the girls varsity race, as a Sandpoint runner started to lean forward and could not fight gravity before the starting gun fired.

While the moments provided levity for the 17 teams represented, there’s nothing funny about cross country, where runners push their bodies to the limit for 3.1 miles and often collapse upon finishing. Extra garbage cans can be found around the finish line, and they’re not always used for collecting garbage.

Racing three laps around a flat course at Travers Park, and featuring a pair of North Idaho powers with designs on state hardware, Coeur d’Alene was all business in sweeping both the boys and girls team titles. Vikings freshman Lauren Forster set a blistering pace to win the girls race by 27 seconds in 18:29, essentially racing against the clock.

“Awesome. I’m so happy,” said Forster after the race. “I was like nervous and anxious to see what my time was. I beat my goal by 11 seconds.”

The Viking girls edged the Bulldogs by just five points, a number that would have been considerably closer if not for the absence of senior Katherine Kaul, the Bulldogs’ top runner who sat out the meet with an injury. Senior Hannah Davidson picked up the slack, shaving a whopping 14 seconds off her personal best to finish second in 18:56, eight seconds ahead of Viking Brooklyn Shell in third.

“What a big PR for Hannah,” said Bulldog girls coach Angie Brass. “She’s running without one of her teammates, running alone up there.”

The boys race was much closer, as Coeur d’Alene junior Chad Humphreys and senior teammate Karson Peach ran next to each other for much of the race, before Humphreys turned on the jets down the final straightaway to win in 16:12, four seconds ahead of Peach.

The Vikings and Bulldogs claimed the first nine spots in the race, with Coeur d’Alene claiming the slim victory by a 30-26 margin, with Humphreys leading the charge and like Forster, racing for a time.

“I felt pretty good. I wish I had someone out in front of me. My goal was to break 16 minutes. This is technically my first varsity win, so I’m pretty excited,” claimed Humphreys, who was asked what went through his mind as he crossed the finish line first. “I just hoped I got the time ... and I’m tired.”

Coeur d’Alene coach Cathy Compton praised the race winners not just for their victories, but for the example they set on a very young team. Like the Bulldogs, the Vikings figure to be in the mix for a state trophy, and it usually starts with speed at the top.

“The two leaders are phenomenal. The integrity of the team is something I haven’t seen in a long time,” praised Compton of her squad. “To see that caliber of running is exciting. They’re on fire.”

Senior Cole Dillon of Sandpoint finished third at 16:44, a PR as he continues to evolve as a racer. Bulldog head coach Matt Brass has watched the maturation of Dillon firsthand over the past three years, and feels his senior is getting stronger and stronger.

“He was impulsive as a freshman,” recalled Brass. “He’s learned pacing, and ran a brilliant race, finished strong.”

Led by a ninth-place finish from Abigail Peightal and a 10th-place finish from Noah Herbert, Timberlake finished third in both races.

Area cross country teams are at the Timberlake Invitational on Thursday.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Coeur d’Alene, 27. 2, Sandpoint, 32. 3, Timberlake, 87. 4, Priest River, 132. 5, Bonners Ferry, 137. 6, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 138.

TOP 20 FINISHERS — 1, Lauren Forster, Cd’A, 18:29.15. 2, Hannah Davidson, Spt, 18:56.46. 3, Brooklyn Shell, Cd’A, 19:04.58. 4, Rylee Brown, Cd’A, 19:06.5. 5, Laurel Hicke, Mos, 19:19.55. 6, Niah Brass, Spt, 19:48.07. 7, Heather Wallace, Spt, 19:55.24. 8, Lilian Smith, Cd’A, 19:56.13. 9, Abigail Peightal, TL, 19:56.99. 10, Farli Boden, Spt, 20:00.36. 11, Kali Scheel, Spt, 20:25.61. 12, Ciera Bailey, Spt, 20:28.8. 13, Kara Troyer, Cd’A, 20:29.06. 14, Abigail Gorton, BF, 20:49.82. 15, Savannah Caudle, TL, 20:50.31. 16, Ana Wilson, Freeman, 20:53.77. 17, Sharon Rowe, Spt, 20:56.51. 18, Autumn Hanson, Cd’A, 21:04.45. 19, Grace Kikolajczyk, Mos, 21:13.17. 20, Megan Hatrock, TL, 21:14.49.

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Coeur d’Alene, 26. 2, Sandpoint, 30. 3, Timberlake, 94. 4, Priest River Lamanna, 118. 5, Moscow, 138. 6, Bonner Ferry, 165. 7, Kellogg, 167. 8, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 176.

TOP 20 FINISHERS — 1, Chad Humphreys, Cd’A, 16:12.24. 2, Karson Peach, Cd’A, 16:16.82. 3, Cole Dillon, Spt, 16:44.44. 4, Jared Merekith, Cd’A, 16:51.3. 5, Ephriam Weisz, Spt, 16:53.92. 6, Garrett Pierce, Spt, 16:56.97. 7, Peik Lund-Andersen, Spt, 17:13.47. 8, Luke English, Cd’A, 17:22.44. 9, Jett Lucas, Spt, 17:25.58. 10, Noah Herbert, TL, 17:26.45. 11, Braden Dance, Cd’A, 17:13.16. 12, Karson Chrispens, Cd’A Charter, 17:32.71. 13, Daniel Pahl, TL, 17:39.48. 14, Caleb Gleason, PR, 17:45.06. 15, Maximilian Salow, Mos, 17:53.39. 16, Tyler McNamee, Spt, 17:58.69. 17, Dutton Rogers, Spt, 18:00.95. 18, Cameron Parkes, PR, 18:05. 19, Dirk Nelson, TL, 18:05.42. 20, Dylan Bourgard, Cd’A, 18:05.76.

Trojan girls eighth

at Mountain West Classic

MISSOULA — Post Falls sophomore Sydney Shanahan was the top local finisher in the Mountain West Classic, finishing 12th in 18 minutes, 57.60 seconds at the University of Montana Golf Course.

Post Falls’ girls finished eighth in the 43-team field. Bozeman won the girls team title.

Lewis and Clark of Spokane won the boys team title.