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Badgers among top finishers in cross country
meets at
Priest River and Moscow |
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October 6, 2015 |
by Tyler Warner
Head Coach, BFHS Cross Country
Cross country season is half way over after the
Badgers ran two meets in three days last week.
On Thursday the Badgers competed at Priest
River’s Ivan Benson Invite and on Saturday made
the long trip to Moscow for the Bob Weisel
Invite. In addition to facing 2A and other 3A
schools, Bonners Ferry Runners received
competition from 4A schools Lakeland on Thursday
and Moscow on Saturday.
At Priest River the races were divided into a
boys’ race and girls’ race with no JV or varsity
designations. In the girls’ race on Thursday,
the Lady Badgers competed against a small field
and ultimately succumbed to the sheer numbers of
Lakeland. Despite coming up short in the points
category the race was not without success.
Nicole Donn and Lauren Stidham battled to the
finish line, coming in at 24:53.01 and 24:53.00
respectively. Ada Bonnell came in at 24:10 for a
13th place finish. Breaking into the top ten was
Hannah Lysne at 8th place with her career best
23:01. The fastest Lady Badger was newcomer
Jordan Young, finishing in second with a time of
21:30.
Facing more competition than the ladies, the
Badger boys gave Priest River a run for their
money. Alex Urbaniak had a late surge to finish
in 24:40 for his best time this season.
Sophomore Ryne Rae came in at 21:46, just behind
junior TJ Smith who finished in 21:44. Junior
Sam Smith would post a 21:28 and senior
 Louis
Balcaen would finish at 21:21. Freshman Sam
Gorton finished the 5k in 21:10. Bonners Ferry’s
7th and 6th runners were Nick Magdaleno, who
finished in 20:06, and Eric Ellis, who ran a
19:49. The scoring 5 began with Alva Swanson who
ran in 19:24. Battling a cold as well as a large
field, Dawson Thomas finished in 19:18. Breaking
into the top 10 was freshman Jamin Bontrager
with an impressive 18:54. Senior Jack Wade took
5th place and an 18:27 finish. The fastest
Badger of the day was Nolan Stidham with a
fantastic 18:03.
Every Bonners Ferry runner posted either a
season best or a career best. In the team
scoring, the Lady Badgers finished 2nd behind
Lakeland. Kellogg, the only other complete team,
finished 3rd. The Badger boys would also take
second, beating Lakeland, Intervalley Christian
Academy, Kellogg, and Newport. Priest River
defeated Bonners Ferry 45-46 for the 1st place
trophy. “To lose by one point is tough,” said
Coach Warner. “The experience we gained is great
though. Having Lakeland here to help push the
field was great and Jordan really got pushed in
the girls race because of it. We were one or two
healthy runners away from having victories on
both teams.”
At Moscow the pieces came together again.
“Moscow is a great equalizer course,” Middle
School Coach Paul Bonnell said. “The terrain is
very hilly, full of twists and turns. It puts
everyone at a level playing field.” The boys JV
team started the day for the high school boys.
On the tough course, Alex Urbaniak finished in
26:43. Breaking into the top 10, Louis Balcaen
would finish in 22:50 for 8th place and Ryne Rae
would take 7th place with a 22:35. Freshman Sam
Gorton took the 3rd place medal and a 21:57
finish. Junior Sam Smith would post the Badgers
first overall win of the season, taking the 1st
place medal with a 21:41. Despite having 4 other
teams present, only Bonners Ferry and Moscow had
complete teams, with the Badgers getting the
first team win of the season. From then on, the
talk around the meet was about the Badgers. “We
started hearing people ask, ‘Who are the
Badgers?’ and ‘Where did these guys come from?’”
said Alva Swanson. That was just the beginning
of the talk.
In the girls varsity race, only four girls
competed, but would make their presence felt. In
12th place Lauren Stidham ran the difficult race
in 26:30. The 8th place medal went to Senior
Hannah Lysne who ran a 25:14. Teammate Ada
Bonnell would battle hard against Prairie High
School’s Kylie Tidwell for a time of 24:56, good
for 7th. After the race Ada would congratulate
her competitor and they even took pictures
together in a display of sportsmanship. Jordan
Young would take 3rd with a 22:49. “We were so
proud of our girls’ team,” said Warner. “They’re
really putting pieces together out there.”
In the boys’ varsity race the Badgers would get
people talking again. Bonners Ferry’s Nick
Magdaleno would post a 22:22 and Eric Ellis
would take a 20:51. Alva Swanson took 17th with
a 20:28. Then came in the pack of Badgers. 12th
through 9th place would be dominated by Bonners
Ferry. Jack Wade would take 12th with 19:51,
Jamin Bontrager 11th with 19:43, Nolan Stidham
10th with 19:39, and Dawson Thomas was 9th with
19:39. “The pack was huge,” said coach Bonnell
after the race. “The boys just owned those
places and blocked everyone else out.” Out of 5
complete teams Bonners Ferry finished second
with 49 points. 3rd place Potlach finished with
77. The Moscow Bears received tough competition
from the Badgers, winning with 39 points.
“For us to do this well on these courses against
these teams means good things for us,” said
Coach Warner. “We got pushed and responded well.
Things are really looking up in October, which
is exactly when we want to start getting hot.
Districts and State are at the end of the month,
so this is great.” Afterwards a Moscow assistant
approached Coach Bonnell and remarked, “We’ll be
watching you guys for the rest of the season.
Nice work.”
The Badgers race again on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.
at Traver’s Park in Sandpoint. |
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