XC sends Beckle and Stiern to state contest

XC sends Beckle and Stiern to state contest

FARRAGUT — Bonners Ferry cross country sends two runners to state as junior Sydney Beckle finishing fourth at districts last Thursday at Farragut State Park with a time of 21:37. This will be Beckle’s third trip to the state competition. 

Also for Bonners Ferry, sophomore Matisyn Stiern finished sixth at 22:31.1 and will also participate in the state race. 

There are only three teams in the 3A Intermountain League with the top two teams advancing to state. In order to qualify as an individual, a runner had to finish in the top 10. 

Timberlake swept district team titles, with senior Jacob Barnhart — last year’s state 3A champion — winning in 16:42.7.

For the girls race, Coeur d’Alene Charter’s Annabelle Carr won with a time of 19:39. She is currently ranked first in 3A. Coeur d’Alene Charter qualified both its boys and girls teams to state.

Bonners Ferry head coach Tyler Warner said before the race he had a feeling the Badgers would do well on the same course competing head-to-head against their IML opponent. Many of the season's best times for the competition were on courses other than Farragut and districts was the opportunity to see how the Badgers measured up. 

“Sydney was right behind the third-place girl,” Warner said, adding she was surprised. 

Warner said it wasn’t the best day for the boys at the districts and praised the team’s grit and determination

“As long as you can look yourself in the mirror knowing you gave all you had, that’s what matters,” he said.

“Cole Phillps ran his heart out,” Warner said. “He could see the number seven runner most of the race.”

The Coeur d’Alene Charter and Timberlake teams are strong, with many of them able to run under 16 minutes, Warner said.

“It makes it tough for Bonners Ferry when there's only one state qualifying position open,” he said, noting that even on the best day Badger boys haven’t run under 18 minutes. 

At the end of the race, Timberlake and Charter runners put the throttle down and took the top 10 spots, Warner said. Phillips finished 13th with a time of 19:08.5, just over what was required to qualify for state.

Warner said there can be a bright future for the boys in the next few years as the team is a sophomore-laden squad. The boys as a team haven’t qualified for state in two years, but many of the upperclassmen coming out haven’t run cross country before, he noted. 

Warner said if the sophomore boys can commit to running in the off-season and going out for track there could be contenders down the road, especially since Timberlake’s core runners are seniors this season. 

Looking to state for Stiern and Beckle, Warner said the pair’s workouts this week before the state race will include hill repeats focusing on a gradual long hill, like they will experience in Pocatello. In addition they will get in some easy miles and leave Thursday. 

The boys cross country team has also come out to workout to help pace the state qualifiers. 

They will do a run in Missoula for about four or five miles and on Friday will do a practice run on the state course. 

The state meet in all classifications is Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Portneuf Wellness Complex in Pocatello. 

All season  the Badgers have focused on high cardio intensity training such as hill repeats, aerobics and anaerobic workouts to prepare for the elevation change at the state contest. 

The Badgers will face nearly twice the elevation when racing in Pocatello, which sits at 4,462 feet above sea level. The Portneuf Wellness Complex is on a hill above the city. 

Warner said when the state race has been in Lewiston, teams from the south east typically have their best times, because they can finally breathe in a race due to the lower elevation. 

He said in order to acclimatize to the elevation increase, Badgers would have had to move down to Pocatello two weeks before the race.

Since his time coaching the Badgers, Warner has seen physically larger runners have difficulty at the Pocatello race, while leaner and lighter runners have historically done better. In the past, the Badgers have had difficulty finding the next gear when running the course. 

Beckle, although no stranger to the state competition, has never run the Pocatello course. 

“With Sydney’s talent and hard work, it is nice to see her cash in that effort and possibly earn a medal,” he said. 

At this time the Badgers are managing expectations and focusing on the miles needed to run. 

3A 

BOYS

TEAM SCORES (Top two to state) — 1, Timberlake 21. 2, Cd’A Charter 40. 3, Bonners Ferry 73.

STATE QUALIFIERS — 1, Jacob Barnhart, Timberlake, 16:42.7. 2, Caleb Royce, Timberlake, 16:44.8. 3, Nathan Russell, Cd’A Charter, 16:54.9. 4, Nolan Oyler, Cd’A Charter, 18:03.8. 5, Jonathan Barnhart, Timberlake, 18:10.7. 6, Jacob Howell, Timberlake, 18:13.2. 7, Jeremiah Alameda, Timberlake, 18:24.4. 8, Mason Curry, Cd’A Charter, 18:35. 9, Isaiah Winkler, Timberlake, 18:39.3. 10, Thomas Perry, Timberlake, 18:56.9.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES (Top two to state) — 1, Timberlake 32. 2, Cd’A Charter 36. 3, Bonners Ferry 62.

STATE QUALIFIERS — 1, Annabelle Carr, Cd’A Charter, 19:39.2. 2, Vanessa McLachlan, Timberlake, 20:22.3. 3, Helen Oyler, Cd’A Charter, 21:29.9. 4, Sydney Beckle, Bonners Ferry, 21:37. 5, Lola Eggleston, Timberlake, 21:44. 6, Matisyn Stiern, Bonners Ferry, 22:31.1. 7, Emily Wright, Timberlake, 22:45.2. 8, Addisen Berg, Timberlake, 23:32.7. 9, Abigail Moehring, Cd’A Charter, 23:48.7.

BF Times at Districts

Girls: 4, Sydney Beckle 21:37, 6, Matisyn Stiern 22:31.1, 16, Ruby Law 26:01.5, 17, Braylyn Bayer 26:02.3, 20, Piper Banning 28:42.5, 23, Anna Chase 29:20.6, 25, Trina Johnson 32:04.1 

Boys

12, Cole Philip 19:08.5, 18, Jack Woods 20:30.1, 22, Matthew McCabe 21:54, 25, Jackson Fielder 22:59.8, 27, Chase Licea 27:04.4, 28, Nate Murray 27:13.8.

Bonners Ferry cross country seniors (left) Ana Chase, Braylyn Bayer and Chase Licea.