THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Carr has Viks' boys running like new again
It wasn’t so much a change in philosophy or anything special that led to Coeur d’Alene’s unreal success in boys cross country this season.
Championships at the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational earlier this month, competing in a national event in California ... those things don’t happen by accident.
They come with hard work, often times when others aren’t paying attention.
COEUR d’ALENE CLAIMED the state 5A (now 6A) title last year at the Portneuf Wellness Center in Pocatello, the program’s first since 2011.
After the season, Cathy Compton, who also coached the girls to team titles in 2004, 2012, 2013 and 2014, stepped down after 26 seasons as head coach. Emry Carr, who was an assistant last year, stepped in as coach.
And the program hasn’t missed a step yet.
“It’s really not something we weren’t doing last year,” said Coeur d’Alene sophomore Wyatt Carr, who is Emry’s son. “We’ve came together more as a team from the JV to varsity. It’s just another year of experience and working with new guys. Another year together helps build that team bond. It’s more incorporating the back half to the front half and building that team aspect.”
In Thursday’s 6A District 1 meet at Farragut State Park, Coeur d’Alene had eight of the first 10 finishers, including the first seven.
“Our motto is ‘we before me’,” Carr said. “Even though we have studs that are good, we try to run together as a team. We have packs that we try to build off of and carry through the race. We can see in workouts where the groupings are. We try in workouts to run together and correlate that to races so we know where we need to go and who can get there.”
Junior Mitchell Rietze, who was 10th at state last year, ran for the first time this season on Thursday at districts after suffering a broken right shin over the summer. Rietze was fourth.
“I loved Cathy and having her as a coach,” Rietze said. “But Emry just pushes us that much harder to go from a great team to an elite team in those elite national races.”
Emry Carr had no doubt that Rietze was going to be back this season.
“We knew that Mitch was going to be ready for districts,” Emry Carr said. “He’s been working hard all through his injury with rehab, in the pool and riding his bike the last month. The workouts showed he was going to be ready to compete. I think it was a freeing moment for him to go out and compete and pick up where he left off.”
Zack Cervi-Skinner, a senior, was second at districts on Thursday.
“It’s been awesome,” Zack Cervi-Skinner said of having Emry Carr as head coach. “He’s truly what has made this team great. He’s pushing us as hard as we can, and the results are showing.”
THOSE RESULTS include the team title at the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational on Oct. 12 in Marysville, Wash., beating Jesuit of Portland, the third-ranked program in the Northwest in the latest DyeStat.com rankings and Sehome of Bellingham, Wash., (fourth in the Northwest) at Lakewood High. Coeur d’Alene is currently ranked 14th in the nation, and second in the Northwest.
“It was a big moment for us,” Zack Cervi-Skinner said. “To go and win in a large meet like that, we’re hoping to see that again at state and Nike NXR (Northwest Regionals) again in a few weeks.”
“Competing against the best teams in the country, it’s a special thing to do,” Emry Carr said. “But actually competing against them, and challenging them is something else. Some of this is for their future, and they want to run in college and be at a good program. Some of it is being seen where they can do that and get where they need to.”
Coeur d’Alene was fifth out of 40 teams in the Woodbridge Invitational in Irvine, Calif., facing the top competition from around the nation in the invitation-only event.
Nike Northwest Regionals is back at Eagle Island State Park on Nov. 16. It also serves as the site of next Saturday’s state 6A meet. Coeur d'Alene is the defending champion in both events.
“We know what kind of work we’ve put in throughout the year,” Zack Cervi-Skinner said. “We’re ready, so we don’t let the pressure get to us. We just go out and run our hardest.”
Thursday was just about getting to the state meet.
“We were trying to save a little bit for state,” Emry Carr said. “We’ve got a back half of our lineup that’s trying to fight for those spots on the state team. The front three guys were just on a certain plan of running 5-minute miles, but the back half was really getting after it.”
Carr also coaches many of the athletes in the North Idaho Distance Project Club team.
“I love doing this,” Carr said. “This group is super special. It’s a brotherhood, they come together, have fun and listen to each other. And I don’t know who wouldn’t want to be around something like that.”
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.
Emry Carr