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Badger Cross Country competes at Idaho State
Championships |
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November 3, 2015 |
by Tyler Warner
Bonners Ferry High School
Head Cross Country Coach
Badger cross country season came to an end on
October 31 at Farragut State Park at the Idaho
State Championships. Runners from all over the
state converged on a rainy North Idaho state
park to compete in 10 races, organized by gender
and division. In total, 60 more runners ran
during the competition than the 2014 races,
making it the largest ever Idaho state cross
country meet. For the second time in three
years, both the Badger boys and girls teams were
present for the competition.
 Difficulty
with electronics delayed races throughout the
day, due to the park’s remote location. Rain was
intermittent all day long making for slick
conditions on some parts of the 5k course. The
Lady Badgers started their race at around 2:45
p.m., more than an hour past its scheduled time.
Jordan Young got out to the best start, working
her way up early. A dominant Shelley team worked
their way to the front, alongside runners from
Timberlake, Sugar-Salem, Parma, and Emmett.
Jordan was able to navigate through most of the
crowds, avoiding potential blocking tactics and
successfully using the hills. In the last 0.1
mile of the race Jordan moved up even further to
secure a 16th place medal at state. Her time was
21:27 officially.
“For Jordan to come out, only having run the 800
in track competitively before, is great. She
transitioned really well, put in a lot of work
over the summer, and really learned how to
race,” said assistant Mike Tymrak. “She put a
lot of the pieces together to be a good distance
runner this season.”
Senior Hannah Lysne finished her cross country
career finishing in the top 45 in the state. She
channeled a successful track season in the
spring into a dedicated summer regimen and
stayed a steady presence for Bonners Ferry all
season. She even posted several personal bests,
improving throughout the season even late in her
running career. Hannah finished in 23:14 for
41st place. Nicole Donn rebounded from injury
early in the season to finish in 23:47. Ada
Bonnell, after starting out a little fast,
recovered and managed a 23:54. “We talked all
season about working on things you can change
and not worrying about things you can’t. Ada
figured that out and was able to run a really
good race after not getting the start she
wanted,” said Coach Tyler Warner.
Freshman Lauren Stidham also ran well with a finishing time of 25:21. The
Lady Badgers finished 8th out of 10 teams at
state. Shelley High School would win for the
second year in a row with a dominating 35
points. Intermountain League team Timberlake
would finish 3rd behind the strong running of
Taylor Hammond and freshman Abigail Peightal.
The final race of the day belonged to the 3A
boys. With a fast start dominated by southern
teams coming from high elevation, the Badger
boys found strength in the pack as they have all
season. The 46-48th places
 belonged
to Bonners Ferry starting with freshman Jamin
Bontrager who ran a 19:04. “He stepped up to the
next level,” said coach Tymrak. “Once a runner
competes at a level above what they’re used to
it becomes easier to break through the next
time.” After initially falling behind Bontrager,
Jack Wade kept it close with a 19:05. Nolan
Stidham, battling illness, gained the most
benefit from the pack. “I don’t know if Nolan
would have been able to stay in it without his
teammates. He was feeling terrible most of the
week, but by having Jamin and Jack with him I
think it gave him the boost he needed. He’s a
guy that gives his all for the team.” Stidham
would finish in 19:09.
Senior Alva Swanson, ignoring a bloody nose,
finished with a solid 19:29. Sophomore Dawson
Thomas also broke the 20 minute barrier by
crossing at 19:49 after battling with runners
from Kimberly, Parma, and Fruitland. Junior Eric
Ellis ran a 20:32 5k followed by Nick Magdaleno
at 20:54.
The boy’s team finished 9th out of 11 teams.
Despite a large Shelley pack in the top 4,
including a dominating 16:05 run by Austin
Stewart, Sugar-Salem pulled a surprise upset by
just 6 points. Timberlake also finished 3rd in
the men’s race after top 10 running by Brayden
Menti.
The Badgers will graduate six seniors, four of
whom were varsity runners. “We’ll miss that
experience and leadership, but our future looks
bright,” said Coach Warner. “With upcoming JV
runners and veterans gaining experience and
having success, we can build on this season. But
we’ll deal with that next August.”
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