Badger XC off to districts after girls see big gains
Badgers cross country girls took second place at the Kellogg race at Pinehurst Golf Course. (left to right) Trina Johnson, Braylyn Bayer, Sydney Beckle, Ceci Roemer and Jaden Bayer.
(Courtesy Photo)
Fresh off from a big confidence boost for girls cross country, the Badgers will compete at Districts today at 2 p.m.
Districts was originally scheduled to take place at Bonners Ferry High School, but due to air quality the race has been moved to Kellogg at Pinehurst Golf Course.
At the Kellogg race on Oct. 7, the girls placed second with three runners in the top 10. Sydney Beckle had a new Personal Record of 20:48.
The girls were buoyed by the addition of Braylyn Bayer, who in her first high school race finished 9th with a time of 24:00, head coach Tyler Warner said.
“This helps the girls team who is looking to qualify for state,” he said.
For the boys, Jack Woods led the way for the boys team, dropping under 20 minutes.
Looking to Districts, Warner said the team is looking forward to hosting the race today.
“The weather outlook appears optimal, cool and sunny if the projections pan out like they're supposed to,” he said. “This week I'm looking at season bests compared to the state and the district.”
Warner said currently the girls are ranked 10th in 3A based on personal best times. He said the team is looking to taper next week and lighten the workout load so they "peak" at state rather than this week.
“For the boys, we are going to be lighting up this week in the hopes they peak at Districts and qualify,” he said. “It will be a difficult race for the boys, Timberlake's boys hold a slight first place rank in athletic.net for 3A and Charter boys are 11th.”
He said based on PR times, the boys are ranked at 17th.
“So our best chance to get the boys to state is to have a good week of light miles, easy workouts, keep the routine light. Hopefully that means they'll be rested for Thursday and will have a good day so they can have a chance to compete one more week,” he said.
On a positive note, Warner said the great thing about IML District cross country is we throw everybody into the race, all the girls, all the boys, no designated varsity/JV.
“We sort of take the "any given day" concept and apply it to cross country which is nice. Anything could happen depending on who has good days or bad days,” he said.
Bonners Ferry Times from Kellogg race
Boys: 16, Jack Woods 19:14; 29, Ryan Beckle 20:40; 34, Micah Thomson, 21:02; 39, Cole Phillips 21:35; 42, Carson Dineen 21:58; 44, Mathew McCabe 22:12; 45, Nathaniel Taylor 22:15; 50, Nate Murray 24:12.
Girls: 4, Sydney Beckle 20:48; 5, Ceci Roemer 21:07; 9, Braylyn Bayer 24:00; 16, Jaden Byars 25:41; 25, Trina Johnson 29:09.