Cross Country encouraged by new uniforms
The “look good, feel good” mantra must have held some sway on Saturday in Hayden Canyon as the Badger cross country teams, sporting new varsity uniforms, ran one of their best races of the young season.
The uniform logo — the BFHS Badger logo unveiled last year on the locker room wall of the high school gym — was designed by BFHS Art Teacher Josh Knaggs and the team was very pleased with its prominent inclusion in the design.
The 5K course in Hayden Canyon took place all on natural surfaces and featured a couple of difficult uphill sections.
see BADGERS, B3
“It’s a true cross country course,” assistant Catherine DelSalle said of the course. “A lot of these courses are on streets or golf courses, but this one always feels real.”
The trails in some cases had to be rebuilt and carved out of the landscape by the Coeur d’Alene Cross Country staff over the course of several weeks.
Early morning rains and cooler temperatures made for ideal running conditions on good trails and the Badgers took full advantage. Jenna Brooks was the first Badger to cross a finish line in the girls JV race, finishing at 27:09. Behind her were sophomores Elizabeth Bourassa at 33:17 and Erin Dineen at 35:25.
In the boys JV race the three front runners came in all at once. In places 62-64 respectively, Justin Strugar finished in 25:26, Evan Nesbitt crossed at 26:00 and Carson Dineen at 26:33. Emmet Melior finished at 34:08.
In the varsity races, scores were divided up into “large schools” and “small schools,” pitting Bonners Ferry against Deer Park, Liberty and Chewelah high schools from Washington; Montana’s Lincoln County High School (Eureka), as well as IML foes Priest River, Coeur d’Alene Charter, and Kellogg. Ironically, the small schools division ended up being the largest division.
The Lady Badgers had strong performances from Camille Ussher (23:36), who attempted greater risks and was rewarded with a 13th place ribbon, Freshman Ceci Roemer (23:54) for 16th place, and Emily Gorino (24:41) at 19th place. Rounding out the scoring for Bonners Ferry was Lauren Onstott at 27:41 and Serenity Fahey bringing in the tie-breaker place at 28:11.
Abigail Gorton, once again, set the pace for Bonners Ferry. She was the second place runner overall in the girls varsity race, but when the two races were separated Gorton claimed the “small schools division” victory with a time of 20:18. Second place came in at 21:08. This is Gorton’s first win of the season.
With Gorton leading the way the Lady Badgers finished second with 55 points, beating Priest River and Lincoln County who scored 64 and 74 points respectively. Deer Park claimed the girls championship with a score of 28.
The boys’ squad was not to be outdone in their race. Connor Alexander led the way with a fifth-place finish, coming at 18:00.0. Hunter Smith was the next Badger to cross in eighth place at 18:14. Freshman Taylor DeFalco also brought home a top 20 award with 18th place at 19:49. Austin Donn and Levi Bonnell rounded out the scoring Badgers coming in at 20:05 and 20:42 respectively. The tie-breaking runners were Brady Hinthorn at 21:56 and freshman Matt Donn at 23:33.
In the event of a tie, Brady’s place would have been compared to the sixth runner of the school tied with, and if a tie still existed then the seventh runners would be compared next. That, however, was not the case on Saturday. Lincoln County took the small schools win with a score of 21. Bonners Ferry secured second place with 75 points, beating Kellogg who had 96 points. IML foe Priest River finished with 124 points.
The complete Bonners Ferry team will next compete at Priest River on Sept. 26, at PRLHS.
Complete scores and times here: https://bit.ly/2lTY68O