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Badger Cross Country teams compete at Post Falls
Invite |
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September 4, 2018 |
by Tyler Warner
BFHS Head Coach, Cross Country
(See photos for this Cross Country Meet
below at the end of the story)
Badger Cross Country was at Kiwanis Park on
Thursday, August 30, for the Post Falls Invite.
This course was sort of unique in that it was
2.8 miles instead of the standard 3.11 miles.
The reason for this was the venue, Kiwanis Park,
is not very large and historically has been
quite confusing. Post Falls High School
officials attempted to simplify the course at
the expense of some distance.
This, however, turned out to be more
problematic. The Girls' JV race, which started
the official day of racing, began with a minor
disaster. A missed turn early in the race may
have added as much as a mile to the race
distance. As a result, it is impossible to
accurately determine the girls times.
Athletic.net posted the results as they came in,
but likely are not representative of what they
actually would have done. Only 4 girls completed
the race as designed. For the Lady Badger JV
squad, we can confidently say the order in which
they finished. They were led by Freshman Liliana
Brinkman, followed by classmate Elizabeth
Bourassa. Sophomore Ella Huggins came next, and
Erin Dineen rounded out the team.
A quick plug at the missed turn resulted in
better course management for the rest of the
day. The Badger boys JV team was led by Levi
Bonnell, who will earn a varsity spot after
running the 2.8 mile course in 18:57. Next was
Oscar Valladares at 20:00 followed by Conner
Strickert at 20:15. Justin Mendenhall came next
at 20:41.
Due to various factors including insufficient
practices, the Lady Badger varsity team
consisted of just three members: Abby Gorton,
Emily Gorino, and Serenity Fahey. Abby would
have the best finish of the day for Bonners
Ferry, but not without some tough running. The
course bottlenecked very early and forced Abby
into the middle of the pack. As the race went on
we could see her slowly making her way up. In
short order, Abby was in the top 10, then the
top 5, then for a time was running with the top
3 runners. Abby held on against runners from
Lewiston, Post Falls, and Coeur d'Alene to keep
4th place and a time of 18:23. Emily Gorino also
had to battle back after the bottleneck forced
her and Serenity Fahey towards the rear. Emily
also picked off opponents on her way to a 22:17
finish and was shortly followed by Serenity at
25:35.
The day ended with the boys varsity race. The
boys varsity team was made up of the top 7
runners of last week's win at home. Hunter Smith
had the best time for the team and best Badger
time overall, with a 16:36 for 16th place
overall. Sam Gorton had to run down the
competition at the finish line to secure a time
of 17:06. Freshman Conner Alexander was the 3rd
Badger across at 17:34 and Austin Donn came
across at 17:50. Garden Valley High School
transplant Ty Grigg has been a solid fit on his
new team and came in at 18:12. Tyler Lucas was
the last Badger able to cross at 19:24. Duncan
McKechnie did not finish due to an injury on the
course.
In team scoring, the boys varsity team was the
only complete team we were able to field. They
finished 8th out of 12 complete teams. The
addition of Levi Bonnell next week should
bolster the team as they push ahead to getting
stronger in practice. The girls team should also
be improved by the additions of Madi McIntyre
and Camille Ussher who will have enough
practices to compete next week. The Badgers will
next race at Farragut State Park on Saturday,
September 8.
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