Bulldog girls first, boys second at Libby Invite

LIBBY — The Sandpoint cross country team turned in solid early results on Saturday at the Libby Invitational, led by the girls team, which won the team title with a very strong 19:26 pack time over the three mile course.

The Bulldog girls scored 37 points, beating second place Glacier High School of Kalispell by 15 points, with Timberlake coming in third with 81 points. Mikhaela Woodward placed second overall, running an 18:31, followed by a strong varsity debut by freshman Katherine Kaul, who turned in an 18:49 for fourth place.

Rainey Woodward clocked a 19:10 for sixth, Claire Pierce was 11th with a 19:57, and Sharon Rowe ran a 20:41 for 14th to round out the top five. Mikhaela moved to second on the all time Sandpoint 5K list, Kaul moved to third, Rainey to fourth, Pierce to ninth, and Rowe to 14th.

The boys team also had a very strong day, placing second to Glacier, which finished second at its state meet last year and only lost one senior. Glacier scored 28 points, Sandpoint 33 and Timberlake was third with 97.

Sandpoint was led by Sam Powell, who ran a 16:11 to place third, with Jacob Graham close behind at 16:12 to finish fourth. Kenny Kovalchuk placed seventh in a 16:25, Matt Cloud ninth in a 16:44 and Andy McGinnis 10th in a 16:51. The boys team had a pack time of 16:28 and moved six up or onto the all time three mile list. Sam Powell now sits at second, Graham third, Kovalchuk fourth, Cloud eighth and McGinnis ninth.

“All in all the boys and girls are both running faster than any team we’ve coached and it’s pretty exciting,” said Matt Brass. “The miles, weights and speed work over the summer is paying dividends. Now it’s progress while staying healthy to get us to the state podium.”

In the JV ranks, Sandpoint also showed depth and speed, winning both the boys and girls races. The girls placed 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th, led by Dana Beaty who ran a 22:07. Next was Grace Bradley in a 23:19, followed by Karlee Williams (24:03), Lindsey Ballard (24:07) and Saydee Brass (24:14) for the scorers.

In the boys race, the top placers were 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th led by Quinn Donnelly who ran an 18:22. Daniel Radford, Clay Rasmussen, Wyatt Hagen and Riley McGinnis rounded out the top five scorers.

The next race for Sandpoint will be Sept. 13 at Hayden Canyon.