Badger athletes shine in 2023

2023 was the year of recording breaking for the Bonners Ferry Badgers, as records were broken and champions were named. 

BFHS has first girl wrestling state champion

For Badger wrestling, freshman Neveah Therrien (107) was the first Bonners Ferry girl to claim the Idaho state wrestling championship.

Girls wrestling took second at districts, just one point behind District I and II champion, Lewiston. Bonners Ferry district champions included Savannah Rickter (165, 22-2), Aubrey Wells (138, 8-10), and freshman Neveah Therrien (107, 20-5). 

At the state champions, Bonners Ferry girls finished in fifth, just one point behind fourth-place team, Columbia. 

Girls wrestling in Idaho has been sanctioned for three years. Since 2019, at the first unofficial state open tournament, the girls division has grown in leaps and bounds. Since the 2022-’23 season, there has been a 17% increase in participation, with 800 wrestlers now competing in the sport. 

For Badger boys wrestling, Brandon Williams (113) took third at the state competition and is now a two-time state placer. Senior Marcus Regher (160) took fifth place for the Badgers, becoming a two-time state placer.

BF district champs and state qualifiers: Saber Blackmore, Brandon Williams, Porter Blackmore, Marcus Regehr, Andrew Erhardt, and Donnie Riess.

Badger cheer hits goals and state honors

The Bonners Ferry High School cheerleading squad took second in stunt and fifth in show routines for the 3A All Girls State Competition.

For the show routine, the Badgers were only four points behind fourth place and only 12 points behind first place winner Snake River.

Earlier in the season, the Badgers finished   first in stunt and show and second in pom and sideline at the Prairie Classic tournament.

First time in school history: Boys basketball plays in state title game

Last season, the Badgers repeatedly made history. They scored 111 points in the season opener, won districts for the third year in a row, and the league title for the first time since the 2006-07 season. They went on to be the top seed in state and were 21-1 as they entered the state tournament. 

The Badgers' only loss last season before the state tournament was against West Valley High School during the West Valley Holiday Classic basketball tournament on Dec. 29, 2022. The Badger fell by one point in double over time. 

The Badger went on a 15-game win streak after the loss.

In the state championship game, the Badgers faced off against Sugar Salem, the 2020 state champion. 

Sugar opened up a 34-22 lead late in the third quarter, but the Badgers wouldn’t go away and finished the quarter on a 6-0 run, capped by a pair of short jumpers by senior Braeden Blackmore.

Bonners Ferry pulled to within one on two free throws by Asher Williams to put the score at 38-37 with 4:01 remaining. However, Kelton Garner answered with a three-pointer for the Diggers, and the Badgers had to play the foul game.

The Diggers did what all coaches emphasize, winning at the foul line. They sank 11 of 14 free throws over the last 1:37 to claim the state title. Garner hit four of four, and Brandon Cordova hit six of eight.

The only other times Badgers placed at state were in 1991 and 2002, finishing fourth both times. 

All-League

Girls — Asha Abubakari, jr., Bonners Ferry; Ciara Soumas, sr., Timberlake; Payton Young, fr., Timberlake; Jozee MacArthur, so., Timberlake; Mia Blackmore, sr., Bonners Ferry.

Boys — 3A All-Idaho Boys Basketball Player of the Year – Sophomore Asher Williams

Bonners Ferry: Braeden Blackmore, senior; Ridge Williams, senior; Asher Williams, sophomore; Thomas Bateman, sophomore.

We are the champions, again

Braylyn Bayer shot a nine-over 153 to win the 3A girls individual title, and help the Badgers reclaim the team championship title at Blackfoot Golf Course.

Bayer was runner-up at state in 2022.

Avery Bayer took third with a 162 and Mia Blackmore 10th with a 194. The Badger beat Kimberly, the 2022 state champions, by nine strokes. In 2022, the Badgers took second place, edged by Kimberly by only two strokes.

Bonners Ferry won its second title in the last three years, also winning in 2021.

Throughout the season, the Bayer twin sisters battled it out each tournament, both vying for the individual title. 

Boys golf qualified for the state championship for the first time in years, with Eli Blackmore taking 13th at 172 and Evan Reitz finishing 14th at 173.

3A Track State Championship: Abubakari two-time state champ

Asha Abubakari did it again, taking first in both the discus and the shot put at the 3A Track and Field State Championship.

Abubakari threw a distance of 132-3 in discus, with a season record of 137-07 at the District 1 Meet of Champions on May 4, 2023. In the shot put, she threw a 42-1.5. Her season record was 44-0 at the 3A District I Championship on May 12.

She also took second in the long jump at 15-11 and 12th in triple jump at 31-7.

In shotput, then-sophomore Helen Rae took second in the shot put at 39-9, a new personal record. Fellow Badgers twin sisters Hallie and Hanna Hartman took fourth and 11th in the event.

Rae took fourth in discus with a PR 108-09. Hallie Hartman finished in 10th.

Badger Track state medalists included; Brooke Petesch, Hallie Hartman, Asha Abubakari, Riley Petesch, Mia Blackmore, Brenly Hymus, and Makenna Baisden.

Badger volleyball wins districts, returns to state

The Badgers volleyball team swept the Timberlake Tigers at 3A Intermountain League district competition, earning a trip to state as the No. 7 seed. 

After going into extra sets in league play, the Badgers finished the Tigers in three sets at both district matches.

Bonners Ferry went 1-2 on the first day and finished tied for fifth at the state 3A tournament at Coeur d’Alene High’s Viking Court.

This was the Badgers’ second straight visit to state and seventh this century.

For the 2023 season, four Badger volleyball players nabbed Intermountain League All-League honors. Selected were seniors Sara Cummings and Aspen Hill, junior Helene Rae, and freshman Taren Bateman. 

Badgers give up one goal at state, earn sportsmanship award

In the first round of the state championship, Bonners Ferry boys soccer and American Falls went to penalty kicks as the game was tied 0-0 in regular time. 

Bonners Ferry head coach Paul Bonnell said the game became a stalemate. 

America Falls narrowly edged Bonners Ferry, winning by 4-3. 

The Badgers were then pitted against Intermountain League opponent Coeur d’Alene Charter (12-6-3) in the consolation bracket.

In the regular season, the Badgers went 2-1 against Charter and beat them for the district title 1-0 only the week before. 

The seventh-seeded Panthers got their revenge over the third-seeded Badgers as Joe Nicklay scored for Charter off a header in the first half, winning 1-0. 

When facing a league opponent at state, Bonnell said it’s a mixed bag.

“On one hand we know how they play, but they know how to play us,” he said, compared to American Falls, which the Badgers last faced two years ago. 

He added that having just beaten Charter in the district championship and then being pitted against them in the state tournament was a motivating factor for the team. 

“We were scored on once, that says a lot about our Badger defense,” he said. 

The Badgers earned the sportsmanship award.

Girls soccer goes into OT at state-play-in game

The Badgers, the 3A District 1-2 runner-up, fell to the Fruitland Grizzlies in a penalty kick shoot-out at the state play-in match at Walker Field on Oct. 14.

After double overtime, the score remained 1-1, forcing the Badgers and Grizzlies to fight it out in PKs.

“Unfortunately by overtime, the girls got tired and resorted to playing mostly defensively, but they played a physical and extremely tough game of soccer for 100 minutes, many of them not subbing at all,” Bonners Ferry head coach Emily Winebark said.

At PKs, Fruitland made three and the Badgers made one, scored by Brenly Hymas.

Markynn Pluid, Alexys Mierke, Lena Teele, and Maddie Hart also went to the PK line for the Badgers.

Duo inducted into North Idaho Hall of Fame

Bonners Ferry High School athletes Asha Abubakari and Braylyn Bayer were inducted into the  North Idaho Hall of Fame at the 60th annual North Idaho Sports Banquet on April 8.

The North Idaho Hall of Fame awards honor District I-II high school athletes, coaches, and teams, along with athletes, coaches, and teams from the University of Idaho, 

North Idaho College, and Lewis-Clark State College. The awards cover the 2022 academic spring season and the 2022-23 academic fall and winter seasons.

For the second year in a row, Braylyn Bayer returned to the NIHOF awards and claimed the 2022-2023 High School Girls Golf Athlete of the Year award. Bayer took second in state for 3A girls golf in 2002. She competes in volleyball, cross country, basketball, and golf.

Abubakari was named the 2023 Female Athlete of the Year and the 2023 Girls Track Athlete of the Year. She competes in volleyball, basketball, track and field and is the defending state champion in 3A shotput and discus. She was also nominated for the girls basketball player of the year award for 2023. She was also recently named 3A all-state second team for girls basketball.

    Badge boys soccer wins league and districts.
  

    Badger boys baseball varsity and JV teams.
  

    Badgers boys basketball huddle up at the 3A State Championship game on March 4.
  

    Badger girls golf wins the state championship. (left) Holly Alexander, Ava Villelli, AVery Bayer, Mia Blackmore and Braylyn Bayer, individual state champion.
  

    Bonners Ferry Track and Field Medalists (left) Brooke Petesch, Hallie Hartman, Asha Abubakari, Riley Petesch, Mia Blackmore, Brenly Hymus and Makenna Baisden.