Badgers cross-country breaks personal records

PRIEST RIVER — Bonners Ferry cross country participated in the Ivan Benson Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

The Badgers performed great with Connor Alexander taking first place in the boys race and Ceci Roemer capturing third in the girls race.

The meet featured Kellogg, Priest River, Lakeland, Coeur d’Alene Charter and Immaculate Conception Academy.

According to head coach Tyler Warner, COVID-19 cases have kept many teams from fielding full rosters, with participation down for teams throughout the district.

Warner noted even Timberlake, which historically can recruit large teams, is down for numbers this year.

Spartans modified their course to nonconsecutive laps on the track, which made the pace of the meet faster than expected. Warner said the flat course played a role in the improvement of times for the athletes.

Alexander posted a new personal record of 17:07.2 in the 5K. Currently, his time is ranked fifth in the state in 3A.

Wyatt Smith also ran a PR of 19:30.8, an improvement of over a minute, to place 14th in the boys race. Since the start of the season, Smith has dropped nearly two and half minutes on his 5K time.

Collin Fairchild, who took 13th, helped pace Smith, Wagner said. He recorded a PR of 19:30.5.

“We had a really nice pack of boys running together for most of the race, led by veteran Justin Strugar,” Warner said.

Strugar is dealing with shin splints, Warner said, but Smith and Fairchild would have had a harder time earning PRs without him. Strugar finished 21st out of 41 runners.

Warner said the absence of Levi Bonnell was felt. Carson Dineen had a season-best time of 22:44.1, and Ian Williams continues to improve, posting a PR of 24:37.1.

The performance by the boys allowed them to place third as a team.

“I have a feeling that if the pack of three held together and if Bonnell had been healthy we would have been in a much better spot,” Warner said. “As long as everyone stays healthy, we'll see a lot of those same folks at Kellogg this [Thursday].”

Injuries to the girls’ team were a significant concern and impacted the Badgers in Priest River.

Camille Ussher was out, but Roemer filled in for her. She held second for most of the race, but a severe bloody nose caused her to drop back to third, Warner said.

“If not for the nosebleed, I'm confident she would have held second and probably had a decent chance at a personal record,” Warner said.

The girls showed much improvement, with Leah Moellmer, Jayden Byars and Liliana Brinkman placing sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.

Moellmer and Byars both posted PRs and Brinkman ran a season best of 28:49.1

Additionally, Lily Owens was able to complete her first race for the Badgers.

Bonners Ferry was the only squad that had enough runners to score as a team on the girls side, allowing the Badgers to finish first with a perfect score of 15.

“I told the girls that getting first by being the only team sort of feels like a consolation prize, but in a year such as this when even 4A Lakeland has a difficult time fielding a team, that is in and of itself a win,” Warner said. “Charter couldn't do it, Priest River couldn't do it. Nobody had the culture, the commitment, the health and the ability to field a team except for us.”

Warner said he’s proud of having a solid core of girls that are willing to show up every day and improve, and that first-place trophy is well deserved in his eyes.

The Badgers will head to Pinehurst Golf Course on Thursday for the Ben Castro Invitational.