STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEETS: Viking boys repeat ... Nationally ranked Coeur d'Alene, with six finishers in top 16, captures second straight title

EAGLE — Expectations are one thing. 

Going out and doing getting a second state title, that takes the entire pack. 

Coeur d’Alene High, with six boys earning medals for finishing in the top 20, captured the program’s second straight state title, winning the 6A crown on Saturday at Eagle Island State Park. 

Seniors Max Cervi-Skinner (third) and Zack Cervi-Skinner (fourth), sophomores Wyatt Carr (sixth) and Gabe Heule (13th), freshman Rowan Henry (14th) and junior Mitchell Rietze (16th) led the way for the Vikings, who won with 40 points, beating Rocky Mountain of Meridian by 11 points for the team title. 

Coeur d'Alene's boys are ranked 13th in the nation by Dyestat.com.

“It just shows the amount of dedication and work these guys put in,” first-year Coeur d’Alene head coach Emry Carr said. “It really solidifies the hard work and dedication they put into it. They spend a lot of time on their craft, and it showed today.”

Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy junior Annabelle Carr, who was fourth at state last year, won the girls 4A race in 18 minutes, 50.72 seconds, beating Timberlake junior Vanessa McLachlan, who was second in 19:10:90. 

Carr is the third girls champion from Coeur d’Alene Charter in the last four years, joining McKenna Kozeluh, who won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. 

6A: Max Cervi-Skinner, ranked ninth nationally by Dyestat.com, and Zack Cervi-Skinner led the race for the first 2 miles before eventual leader Nate Stadtlander of Meridian passed both en route to a second straight title. Stadtlander’s time of 14 minutes, 55.53 seconds was a classification record, breaking the previous mark of Luke Athay of Idaho Falls in 2021 (15:19.8). 

Boise senior Jack Sheesley was runner-up in 14:57.32, followed by Max Cervi-Skinner (14:57.97) and Zack Cervi-Skinner (15:08.61).

“Both Zack and Max were super aggressive in the first half of the race,” Carr said. “Zack had an unbelievable day and ran absolutely amazing with a personal best on that course. Max, he didn’t feel great, but was still third with another PR. That’s still a pretty good day.” 

Wyatt Carr was 24th at state as a freshman. 

“We had a lot of confidence in ourselves going into today,” Wyatt said. “We’re so strong as a group. Sometimes, we have off days, but it was nice to have other guys step up and get the win today." 

Heule was an alternate at state for Coeur d’Alene last year. 

“I felt really good in this race,” Heule said. “I wasn’t expecting my time to be where it was. In that first mile, it felt a little fast, but my second and third were a little slow. Winning a title is a special thing. It doesn’t happen to everyone.” 

“Both Wyatt and Gabe had a fantastic race today,” Emry Carr said. “Gabe had a massive day and really carried us through. It got tight with Rocky, and he’s a big reason why we won. For Mitchell, it was only his second race of the season (due to injury) and he got onto the podium. That’s what makes cross country special is when you have teammates that carry you when it doesn’t go your way.” 

Lake City senior Hazel Kunkel (14th) and Post Falls senior Kaylynn Misner (15th) also earned medals. 

Rocky Mountain ran away with the girls team title, the program’s first championship. Meridian senior Paisley Taylor won the 6A girls race in a course record 17:42.29. 

4A: At a point early in the season, there was some doubt that Annabelle Carr could even compete in cross country this fall after suffering an injury to ligaments on the top of her right foot. 

“I just got back to running three weeks ago,” said Carr, who spent the first three weeks of the season in a walking boot. “Last week, at regionals was my first real race of the year, and it was a little rough. I knew it was going to hurt today, but I just had to be tough and get through it.” 

Carr kept even with McLachlan through the first 2 miles before pulling away in the final mile. 

“I was just trying to run through the pain and let it fuel me,” Carr said. “I knew I wasn’t where I should have been fitness-wise. I just tried to be as comfortable as possible in the first stretch. When I heard my coaches telling me to go, I just went for it.” 

Carr won both the 800- and 1,600-meter runs at the state track and field meet in May at Middleton. 

“Track’s more of my forte,” Carr said. “But this feels special because people were thinking that I wasn’t going to run. But I just pushed through all the mental stuff. And that pain was worth it at the finish line.” 

“Our plan was to sit on the leader and make a big, bold move on the downhill,” Timberlake coach Shawn Lawler said. “Vanessa runs downhill really well and when she went for it, she felt good. Annabelle just had a great day and slowly left us.” 

Sophomore Lola Eggleston (14th) and junior Malia Miller (20th) earned medals for Timberlake's girls, who finished third.

“I’m very proud of the girls,” Lawler said. “We competed and brought on some new runners this season. With some good chemistry and leadership, they performed really well.” 

Timberlake sophomore Caleb Royce was eighth in the boys race, the start of which was delayed a half hour due to a hailstorm and a thunderstorm.

“He wanted to finish in the top five, and was there for past a mile,” Lawler said. “I think the delay kind of jolted him a little bit and he was sliding around on the course but recovered well. He was a little upset with his race, but he’s come to terms with it.” 

Sugar-Salem swept the team titles. Due to a timing error, full teams results from the 4A boys race were not available. 

Teton senior Zane Lindquist won the boys race in 15:57.21. 

5A: Bishop Kelly senior Jack Tobin and Twin Falls sophomore Raelee Richarson won the boys and girls races.  

Skyline of Idaho Falls edged defending champion Idaho Falls 66-67 for the boys team title. 

Twin Falls won the girls title. 

3A: North Fremont senior Corbin Johnston won the boys race for the second straight year, finishing in a course-record 15 minutes, 47.46 seconds, beating the previous mark of 16:04.09 set by Brennan Anderson of Sugar-Salem. 

Parma senior Megan Atkinson won the girls race and Ririe swept team titles. 

2A: Rockland (boys) and Victory Charter (girls) claimed team titles. 

Grace senior Cally Coleman (girls) and Rockland senior Hayden Smith (boys) won individual titles. 

6A 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Coeur d’Alene 40. 2, Rocky Mountain 51. 3, Boise 98. 4, Mountain View 139. 5, Highland 142. 6, Rigby 186. 7, Eagle 188. 8, Centennial 205. 9, Meridian 207. 10, Timberline 209. 11, Lake City 296. 12, Thunder Ridge 336. 

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Nate Stadtlander, Meridian, 14:55.53. 3, Max Cervi-Skinner, Coeur d’Alene, 14:57.97. 4, Zack Cervi-Skinner, Coeur d’Alene, 15:08.61. 6, Wyatt Carr, Coeur d’Alene, 15:24.86. 13, Gabe Heule, Coeur d’Alene, 15:57.63. 14, Rowan Henry, Coeur d’Alene, 15:57.79. 16, Mitchell Rietze, Coeur d’Alene, 15:59.12. 25, Logan Anderson, Lake City, 16:09.68. 28, Wyatt Morgenstern, Coeur d’Alene, 16:15.20. 54, Sam Reade, Lake City, 16:47.22. 77, Conner Johnson, Lake City, 17:28.73. 86, Noah Childress, Lake City, 18:13.54. 87, Owen Morrow, Lake City, 18:38.36. 89, Duncan Morrow, Lake City, 19:00.49. 93, Lucas Hamilton, Lake City, 19:33.80. 

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Rocky Mountain 36. 2, Timberline 78. 3, Capital 105. 4, Boise 106. 5, Eagle 147. 6, Mountain View 166. 7, Highland 195. 8, Madison 201. 9, Coeur d’Alene 216. 10, Thunder Ridge 222. 11, Post Falls 238.  

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Paisley Taylor, Meridian, 17:42.29. 14, Hazel Kunkel, Lake City, 18:45.23. 15, Kaylynn Misner, Post Falls, 18:45.77. 24, Olivia May, Coeur d’Alene, 19:04.82. 31, Talia Bonville, Post Falls, 19:31.82. 39, Dakota Keyworth, Coeur d’Alene, 19:50.81. 49, Sonja Jones, Coeur d’Alene, 20:06.16. 62, Violet Hernandez, Lake City, 20:26.23. 69, Paige Dance, Coeur d’Alene, 20:39.79. 73, Lillie Dance, Coeur d’Alene, 21:23.03. 75, Natalie Romero, Post Falls, 21:28.30. 76, Dorothy Pope, Post Falls, 21:36.83. 77, Chloe Frank, Coeur d’Alene, 21:39.76. 80, Lana Fletcher, Coeur d’Alene, 21:46.55. 81, Kimberly Lackey, Post Falls, 21:46.68. 82, Lindsey Davis, Post Falls, 22:00.85. 83, Evelyn Wolfe, Post Falls, 22:12.98.  

5A 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Skyline 66. 2, Idaho Falls 67. 3, Century 99. 4, Bishop Kelly 137. 5, Preston 156. 6, Twin Falls 193. 7, Bonneville 203. 8, Middleton 207. 9, Burley 209. 10, Vallivue 221. 11, Moscow 234. 12, Sandpoint 241. 13, Jerome 296. 

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Jack Tobin, Bishop Kelly, 15:48.18. 22, Jack Lovin, Sandpoint, 16:51.67. 24, Frank McCarthy, Lakeland, 16:53.48. 35, Charlie Mattila, Lakeland, 17:04.32. 40, Wyatt Lemon, Sandpoint, 17:06.70.  48, Parker Sterling, Lakeland, 17:13.18. 74, Kai Budensiek, Sandpoint, 17:52.61. 77, Trace Evans, Sandpoint, 18:00.92. 90, Paul Kent, Sandpoint, 18:20.89. 105, Fletcher Barrett, Sandpoint, 19:41.42. 

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Twin Falls 63. 2, Bishop Kelly 71. 3, Preston 93. 4, Idaho Falls 95. 5, Shelley 129. 6, Skyline 148. 7, Jerome 177. 8, Century 178. 9, Lakeland 248. 10, Wood River 282. 11, Sandpoint 283. 12, Vallivue 285. 13, Skyview 313.  

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Raelee Richardson, Twin Falls, 18:15.12. 44, Piper Peterson, Lakeland, 20:55.25. 49, Bristol Burnside, Lakeland, 21:04.43. 57, Elizabeth Storms, Sandpoint, 21:15.87. 64, Hannah Ricks, Sandpoint, 21:25.19. 65, Maddison Chapple, L Lakeland, 21:28.09. 68, Delaney Barron, Sandpoint, 21:33.01. 69, Sapphire Ruelle, Lakeland, 21:36.21. 70, Annie Mattila, Lakeland, 21:37.95. 73, Abby Eldore, Sandpoint, 21:43.19. 74, Katelyn Duke, Sandpoint, 21:44. 77, Siena Todd-Murray, Sandpoint, 21:47.69. 80, Gracie Maltby, Sandpoint, 21:55.24. 98, Melia Gilbert, Lakeland, 23:17.09. 

4A 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES (incomplete) — 1, Sugar-Salem 41. 2, Teton 51. 3, Snake River 61. 4, Kimberly 70.  

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Zane Lindquist, Teton, 15:57. 21. 8, Jacob Royce, Timberlake, 16:35.58. 26, Cody Clemons, Timberlake, 17:42.86. 34, Josh Yeager, Timberlake, 17:53.79. 43, Jacob Sateren, Timberlake, 18:08.82.   

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sugar-Salem 65. 2, Teton 82. 3, Timberlake 98. 4, Snake River 120. 5, McCall-Donnelly 125. 6, Cole Valley Christian 128. 7, Bonners Ferry 180. 8, Gooding 210. 9, Marsh Valley 222. 10, Weiser 229. 11, Kimberly 262.  

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Annabelle Carr, Cd’A Charter, 18:50.72. 2, Vanessa McLachlan, Timberlake, 19:10.90. 13, Lola Eggleston, Timberlake, 20:25.92. 17, Sydney Beckle, Bonners Ferry, 20:28.64. 20, Malia Miller, Timberlake, 20:33.32. 26, Kylie Calderone, Bonners Ferry, 21:05. 34, Jozee MacArthur, Timberlake, 21:43.05. 35, Matisyn Stiern, Bonners Ferry, 21:43.24. 38, Emily Wright, Timberlake, 21:58.19. 44, Aubrey Jenson, Timberlake, 22:30.18. 51, Kayla Hyle, Timberlake, 22:47.46. 59, Gia Roemer, Bonners Ferry, 23:24.93. 63, Cheyenne Schutte, Bonners Ferry, 23:32.91. 66, Kyla Alderman, Bonners Ferry, 23:48.61. 73, Abigail Huggins, Bonners Ferry, 25:20.25.  

3A 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Ririe 73. 2, Malad 90. 3, West Side 100. 4, Nampa Christian 107. 5, Soda Springs 108. 6, North Fremont 138. 7, Kellogg 167. 8, Firth 230. 9, New Plymouth 259. 10, Ambrose 263. 11, Parma 283. 12, Melba 320. 13, Grangeville 356. 

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Corbin Johnston, North Fremont, 15:47.46. 4, Brayden Lamanna, Priest River, 16:25.34. 8, Ryken White, Kellogg, 17:16.32. 21, Nolan Harju, Kellogg, 17:45.68. 36, Alex Cassidy, Kellogg, 18:22.76. 61, Davin Harju, Kellogg, 19:24.03. 62, Buck Coe, Kellogg, 19:26.55. 76, Shadrach Creswell, Kellogg, 20:00.98. 88, Gage Pierce, Kellogg, 20:58.78.  

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES —1, Ririe 48. 2, Soda Springs 55. 3, North Fremont 89. 4, Malad 98. 5, Firth 100. 6, Parma 168. 7, Nampa Christian 209. 8, Ambrose 228. 9, Grangeville 248. 10, New Plymouth 288.  

WINNER, LOCALS —1, Megan Atkinson, Parma, 19:00.17. 48, Alannah McLaimtaig, Priest River, 23:43.80. 

2A 

BOYS 

TEAM SCORES —1, Rockland 68. 2, Logos 88. 3, Grace 100. 4, Victory Charter 115. 5, North Star Charter 168. 7, Valley 191. 8, Raft River 201. 9, Tri-Valley 206. 10, Rimrock 227. 11, Genesee 244. 12, Alturas Prep 268. 13, Prairie 305. 

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Hayden Smith, Rockland, 16:24.70. 28, Westin Caven, Clark Fork, 18:16.40. 

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Victory Charter 29. 2, Grace 56. 3, Raft River 87. 4, Valley 130. 5, Butte County 131. 6, Tri-Valley 132. 7, Logos 140. 8, Prairie 181. 9, Camas County 215. 

WINNER, LOCALS — 1, Cally Coleman, Grace, 18:47.15.  

    Courtesy photo The Timberlake High girls cross country team finished third in the state 4A meet on Saturday at Eagle Island State Park. In the front row, from left are Emily Wright, Vanessa McLachlan, Aubrey Jenson and Malia Miller. In the back are assistant coach Jennifer Hammond, Addisen Berg, Kayla Hyle, Lola Eggleston, Jozee MacArthur and head coach Shawn Lawler.
  

    Courtesy photo Coeur d'Alene High seniors Max Cervi-Skinner (front) and Zack Cervi-Skinner maintain a lead on the rest of the 6A boys pack in the state cross country meet at Eagle Island State Park on Saturday.
  

    Courtesy photo Lake City High senior Hazel Kunkel finished 14th in the state 6A girls race to earn medalist honors at Eagle Island State Park on Saturday.
  

    Courtesy photo Post Falls High senior Kaylynn Misner finished 15th in the state 6A girls race, earning medalist honors for finishing in the top 20 in Saturday's race at Eagle Island State Park.
  

    Courtesy photo Timberlake junior Caleb Royce works his way to the finish line of the state 4A boys cross country race at Eagle Island State Park on Saturday. Royce finished eighth to earn medalist honors for finishing in the top 20.
  

    Courtesy photo Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy junior Annabelle Carr won the state 4A girls race at Eagle Island State Park on Saturday.