Badger runners get better
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| Badger sophomore Amanda Bauer, in her first year in cross country, pared two minutes off her previous personal best Saturday at Plantes Ferry, digging deep to put on an extra burst of speed at the finish. |
| Karen Perkins photos |
The weather held off all week during practice hours and on Saturday at Plantes Ferry Sports Complex the Badgers’ luck continued. The rain clouds that hung over the area for most of the day refused to bathe the gently rolling, mostly flat, and grassy course and made for a cool and enjoyable meet.
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| Caleb Madson and Josh Cleve worked together throughout the JV race to post respectable times. |
The freshman started off the morning with a race all to themselves. Eric Ellis knocked over thirty seconds off his time from Hayden Canyon, coming in at 20:40 officially. Ellis, called “Rock” by teammates, finished 28th overall in a field of 75 runners.
Ellis’ classmate Alex Urbaniak also competed, coming in at 23:13.
In the girls JV race, sophomore Amanda Bauer, a first year runner, stepped up her game and knocked over two minutes off her previous best.
After thinking she had burned all her energy on the course, she managed to dig a little deeper and crossed the line at 27:09 officially.
Badger coaches liked to see her search for that extra fuel and find it at the finish.
In the boys JV race Caleb Madson and Zach Cleve worked together to post times of 24:03 and 24:05, respectively.
For the varsity girls, junior captain Jordan Merz led the way with a 25:12 official time. Teammate Hannah Lysne came in at 26:19. Jordan dropped almost two minutes off her time from Hayden Canyon and Hannah dropped a full minute; significant accomplishments no matter the terrain.
The boys’ varsity race saw the Badger boys compete well against IML rival Priest River and several Spokane area schools.
Luke Reoch led the way, finding his stride and a 17:59 finish. Jacob Perkins, as always, was with his teammate coming in at 18:06 even though he battled a side-ache for most of the race.
In their own division Reoch and Perkins placed 12th and 14th and finished in the top 30 overall.
Collin Cossairt returned to varsity and dashed to an 18:38 even after being tripped early in the race. Tucker Cavender concluded his race at 19:36, continuing his breakout season. Louis Balcaen finished in 20:36 and Nolan Stidham dashed to a 20:42. Alva Swanson rounded out the boys with a 20:52, not far behind his teammates.
The Badgers will next race on Thursday, September 26, at Priest River Lamanna High School.