Badgers do well at Inland Empire Challenge

LEWISTON — The Bonners Ferry cross country team used a fast course to post new personal records and season high times at the Inland Empire Challenge this past Saturday.

The Badgers posted strong times in both the varsity and junior varsity races. The boys took home 14th out of 17 teams and the girls earned 10th out of 12.

The meet, hosted by the Lewis-Clark State College cross country and track teams, is one of the fastest in the region, said Badger head coach Tyler Warner. Tucked into an open field that gently climbs, the course has a deceptive amount of downhill that can challenge runners.

"With the uphill portions having the opportunity to be fast and a gracious amount of downhill, the times were the fastest we've seen all season," Warner said.

Ceci Roemer led the way for Bonners Ferry in the girls varsity race, notching a PR of 20:35 to place 32nd out of 92 runners. Camille Ussher, returning from injury, also ran a PR of 20:42 to take 37th. Freshman Sydney Beckle, junior Leah Moellmer and senior Lilianna Brinkman all earned PRs to round out the varsity runners for the girls.

"Camille was returning from a knee injury we initially thought was going to be quite serious, but has rehabbed it well enough that when she raced you could hardly tell she'd been out a couple of weeks," Warner said. "It's nice to have her back in the rotation."

The varsity boys had the fastest times of the day for the Badgers with senior Connor Alexander again dropping his PR by running the course in 16:25 to capture 23rd out of 117 runners. Levi Bonnell, Justin Strugar, Ryan Beckle and Carson Dineen all posted PRs as well.

"Every member of the boys varsity squad came home with a new personal record time,” Warner said.

Warner said the team was missing several key pieces from the middle of its pack, with Wyatt Smith and Collin Fairchild out. However, the rest of the team continued to perform nicely and had a strong showing for the Badgers.

"The great part about a meet like this is that all the new PRs show athletes what they're capable of running and opens up new horizons," Warner said. "For Connor now, running 17s will likely feel slow in comparison to going under 16:30. Even though it's a long day for us travel-wise, it ends up paying dividends at districts and state."

In the JV girls race, Trina Johnson and Lily Owens posted PRs of 28:39 and 31:59 respectively, and Elizabeth Bourassa also grabbed a season best time.

In the boys JV race, Ian Williams also notched a new PR, finishing the course in 22:22.

Warner said illness continues to be a battle for the Badgers at this stage in the season. As a result, he said team scores are "sort of tough to look at right now." The hope now is that by next week, the team will be healthy in time for districts.

The Badgers will compete in the 3A District 1 championships at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21, in Priest River.

RESULTS

VARSITY

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Bishop Kelly 32. 2, Blackfoot 44. 3, Sandpoint 105. 4, Moscow 118. 5, Lewiston 139. 6, Logos 213. 7, Lake City 238. 8, Post Falls 247. 9, Asotin 251. 10, Timberlake 286. 11, Coeur d’Alene Charter 309. 12, Columbia 331. 13, Northwest Christian 349. 14, Bonners Ferry 368. 15, Lakeland 409. 16, Garfield-Palouse 429. 17, Troy 457.

BONNERS FERRY RESULTS — 23, Connor Alexander, 16:26. 76, Levi Bonnell, 18:32. 85, Justin Strugar, 19:01. 93, Ryan Beckle, 19:21. 107, Carson Dineen, 20:54.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 74. 2, Blackfoot 89. 3, Logos 96. 4, Bishop Kelly 97. 5, Moscow 136. 6, Lewiston 143. 7, Lake City 145. 8, Coeur d’Alene Charter 223. 9, Garfield-Palouse 239. 10, Bonners Ferry 259. 11, Timberlake 283. 12, Clearwater Valley-Kamiah 311.

BONNERS FERRY RESULTS — 32, Ceci Roemer, 20:37. 37, Camille Ussher, 20:54. 63, Sydney Beckle, 22:02. 87, Leah Moellmer, 26:01. 90, Lilianna Brinkman, 26:34.

JUNIOR VARSITY

BOYS

BONNERS FERRY RESULTS — 88, Ian Williams, 22:22. 103, Chase Xitco, 31:17.

GIRLS

BONNERS FERRY RESULTS — 32, Trina Johnson, 28:39. 40, Lily Owens, 31:59. 41, Elizabeth Bourassa, 32.13.