Lucas leads Bullpup boys to second place finish

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint Middle School cross country runner Jett Lucas continued a strong season, clocking a 9:11, 18 seconds faster than the next closest runner, to lead the Bullpup boys to a second place finish at a recent cross country meet at Timberlake High School.

The boys team finished just behind Coeur d’Alene Charter, scoring 34 points to finish nine points out of first. Nine of the 10 podium spots were filled by runners from the two schools in a strong showing.

Ryan Clary and Trey Clark packed up strategically for 5th and 6th place, and Jayden Lewis was the last podium finisher for Sandpoint in 10th followed closely by teammate Max Reed (12th) as the last scoring runner for the boys. Other strong finishers for the boys were turned in by Austin Edwards (16th), Nathan Dotson (21st), Ben Ricks (24th) and Aiden Smith (25th), all of whom ran within 15 seconds of each other.

The Bullpup girls finished third out of five teams, despite losing three scoring runners to injury and sickness. They edged out River City by one point with a score of 87.

With Hattie Larson out, Camille Neuder took over the roll of lead dog, making the podium in 8th place with a time of 11:25. Helen Wells (13th) and Emily McCleod (19th) each had their first scoring race. Next in was a pack of Bullpups led by Riley Cessna (24th), Angela Stoneham (25th), Nora Kusler (26th), Kaylee Tillberg (27th), Angelina Knepper (31st) and Romi Fox (33rd).

The pack was instrumental in edging out River City, as Cessna and Stoneham were the last two scoring runners, before Kusler, Tillberg, Knepper and Fox all pushed back River City’s fifth runner to secure third place.