SMS cross country team off and running
—Courtesy photo The Sandpoint Middle School cross country team finished third at a season-opening meet in Coeur d’Alene recently. Pictured from left to right are Jillian Primgaard, Hattie Larson (holding her 3rd place award), Annaka McClelland, Camille Neuder and Angela Stoneham.
SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint Middle School cross-country team kicked off its season at Cherry Hill Park in Coeur d’Alene recently. The meet was slightly different than normal middle school meets, with the runners split into varsity and junior varsity categories.
The top five runners score in each race, and teams could enter up to seven in the varsity races. The meet awarded the top six finishers from each race and a team award for the varsity races.
The Bullpups entered five girls in the varsity race and ran well enough to take 3rd place overall. Hattie Larson picked up right where she left off from last season, leading the Bullpups with a third place time of 10:05. Jillian Primgaard was next in 12th place, despite being new to the sport.
Bringing leadership and experience from last season, Camille Neuder (17th) and Annaka McClelland (21st) where next in for Sandpoint, followed by Angela Stoneham in 32nd to round out the scorers.
Riley Cessna and Helen Wells led the JV girls, placing 3rd and 4th overall. The JV girls tied for first with Coeur d’Alene Charter with scores of 49. Other scoring runners were Kaylle Tillberg (9th), Romi Fox (14th) and Anglina Knepper (20th).
SMS entered seven boys in the varsity meet and took 3rd with a team score of 63, behind Lakeland and Coeur d’Alene Charter. Jett Lucas dominated his first ever competitive race, winning with a time of 8:26, five seconds faster than the next runner.
Trey Clark ran a solid race and was the second Bullpup placing 11th, followed by Jayden Lewis (14th) and Ryan Clary (15th) in a strong pack. Ben Ricks was the last scoring runner in 26th, with Austin Edwards only a second behind in 27th, followed by Max Reed in 31st.
The JV boys had a very impressive score of 34 to win the JV meet. Three of the six podium spots belonged to Sandpoint runners. Henry Fite was 2nd with a time of 10:03, Aidan Smith was 5th, Riley Christman 6th, Nathan Dotson 7th and Ryan Graham ran a gutty race to finish 15th.