Sandpoint Boys Continue to Cruise with School Record Pack at Lewiston Invite

10/06/2018

In 3 weeks the Idaho State Cross Country Championships will be held in the Lewiston Orchards, and on Saturday Sandpoint got it's first viewing of the course at the Lewiston Invitational against over 35 schools. The boys continued to show depth, taking 4th place overall behind the strongest pack time in school history at 16:33. They placed 2nd among Idaho 4A schools behind 2017 State Champions and current #1 ranked Team, Idaho Falls, and were just 3 points off of 5A power Mountain View. In the process all 7 varsity boys set personal records, with multiple moving up on the All-Time top 25 5k school record list. Sophomores Jett Lucas and Nikolai Braedt continued to pack up and run strong, finishing 11th and 12th respectively out of the field of 179 runners. Jett ran a 16:18 to move to #4 on the All-Time list, and Nikolai ran a 16:19 for #5. Ephriam Weisz was back in his first race since being sick and ran a 16:32 for 17th place, good for to move from #13 to #9 on the All-time list. Gabe Merithew was next in 16:50 in 24th place, moving to #19. Brady Nelsen was 29th in 16:55 for #20 on the list, Kieran Wilder was 33rd in 17:02 and Seth Graham was 39th in 17:09. "Every one of the boys stepped up their performance to a new level today, they were focused on running as a pack and pushing each other to a different level, which is what it takes to compete at the State level. We have more work to do, but I am incredibly proud of how hard they pushed each other, and the results were fantastic," said Coach Matt Brass.

The Sandpoint Girls Varsity team improved on last weeks performance by placing 7th overall and seeing 4 girls run under 21 minutes for the first time this year. They packed up tight through the 2 mile mark before making the final push in mile three for the finish. Niah Brass continued to lead the girls pack, running a 20:14 in 36th place out of the field of 135 runners. She was followed closely behind by teammates Chloe Braedt and Paige Davidson. Braedt ran a 20:18 and moved to #20 on the schools All-Time 5k list, and Davidson ran a 20:22 to move onto the list at #21. Corina Wallace ran a 20:39 personal record for 47th. Bionce Vincent ran a 21:03, Mesa Keating a PR of 21:37, and Megan Oulman a PR of 22:00 to round out the top 7. "The girls were 3 points off of 3A powerhouse Timberlake, and beat league rivals Moscow and Lakeland - in our first chance racing against both teams together this season. Moscow kept the scoring close with a solid performance and will be the team to beat for the Regional Title. Everyone took advantage of our opportunity to race and review this course today, noting what we will adjust and how we will move forward into the races on the 18th. Solid pack running, smart course strategy with the volume of corners in this venue and GRIT will be key. The battle for the Regional Championships will be an exciting one to watch as both teams are running extremely well," said Coach Angie Brass.

The Boys JV team cruised to a 3rd place finish, even without one of their top runners who was out for the meet. Tyler McNamee continued running strong with a blistering 17:21 on the course, placing 9th overall in the largest race of the day with 213 runners. Freshman Trey Clark ran a PR 17:37 for 14th place, followed by a huge PR by Jason Leedle (17:54, 20th), Sloan Woodward (17:59, 23rd), and Gabe Christman (18:06, 27th). In all 19 out of 21 runners on the Sandpoint JV team set personal records. They have one more race left in their stellar season.

The Girls JV team placed 5th in the meet while again missing one of their top runners. Chloe Pierce stepped up again this week to lead the squad with a 23:32. She was followed by Elisa Eastly in 24:07, Kenzie Suhy-Gregoire in 24:16, Lydia Nelsen in 24:45 and Valerie Wickboldt in 24:45. The girls should have everyone back for their next race.

In all, Sandpoint had 31 individual personal records and are ranked first going into the Regional Championships on October 18th at the Lewiston Orchards course. "They are incredibly excited to get to race this course again in 2 weeks, and at the competition we are going to see. It has been an exciting season."

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