Badgers edge Kellogg, Priest River

September 22, 2016

Photos by Michael Ellis Lauren Stidham was one of several Badgers to achieve a personal best in the 5K on a soggy Saturday in Hayden.

What started as a cool morning on North Government Way in Hayden Saturday turned into a soggy affair as Badger cross country hit the 5k course at Hayden Canyon. Over 18 teams from all over the Northwest converged on the halfway point of the season to make for tough competition. Although varsity teams competed, at the same time scores were separated by size, giving Bonners Ferry and other small schools a chance to compete against similar sized opponents. Badger Alex Urbaniak With the rain lightly falling the JV boys started the day for Bonners Ferry. Nathan Olsen was the first Badger across with a personal record time of 24:38. Newcomer Brady Bateman ran his first 5k ever with a time of 24:59. Rounding out the JV competitors for Bonners Ferry was Will Colson, who crossed at 25:20. Assistant coach Catherine DelSalle remarked on how the team is gradually improving through the season, “They are starting to see the benefits of hard work and patience,” she said. The Lady Badgers experienced heavier rainfall in the next race of the day. Abigail Gorton continued her strong season with a 22nd place overall finish, which gave her a 14th place finish in the small school division. With a time of 21:37, she was able to achieve a season best time in spite of the bad weather. At 24:47 was Ada Bonnell, who also posted a season best time. The other Lady Badgers would also post season bests with Lauren Stidham achieving a 26:32 finish, Liz Cowley at 27:15, and Rayan Naylor on her heels at 27:16. The boys’ varsity squad received the majority of the rainfall Saturday afternoon. Sam Gorton would lead the way with a strong 18:46 personal best. Eric Ellis was next at 19:01, followed by Dawson Thomas at 19:23. Close behind Thomas was Austin Donn, fighting through the rain for a 19:27. Ryne Rae came close to breaking the 20-minute barrier again with a 20:04 for a personal record. Nick Magdaleno and Alex Urbaniak rounded out the team with times of 21:05 and 23:59, respectively. In team scores the Lady Badgers finished seventh out of 8 complete teams. The boys finished eighth out of 12 complete teams, including wins over Kellogg and a slim four point victory over Priest River. Coeur d’Alene Charter and Timberlake would finish second and third in the team scoring.