Davidson leads Bulldog XC to strong finish in Boise

BOISE — Led by a strong race from senior Hannah Davidson, who finished 7th overall in a competitive field of 168 runners, the Bulldog girls team finished 9th among 44 teams at the highly competitive Bob Firman Invitational at Eagle Island State Park in Boise on Saturday.

There were 4,600 runners signed up for the meet, representing 146 high schools from eight states and Canada. Sandpoint was in the Large School Varsity Division, section 2 race and the girls placed 5th out of 23 teams, and the boys were 6th out of 29. Combining all large schools, the girls were 9th out of 44 teams, and the boys were 12th out of 51 teams. The meet marked a chance for each to get a test run on the course for state this year.

The Boys Varsity ran the first race of the day, and were once again led by Ephriam Weisz. The junior ran a 16:54 over the 5K course, finishing 21st out of the field of 200 runners. Cole Dillon was 29th in 17:08, Kieran Wilder was 70th in 17:38, Garrett Pierce 72nd in 17:39, and Peik Lund-Andersen 83rd in 17:53. Dutt Rogers (18:21) and Tyler McNamee (18:23) rounded out the boys varsity seven. The boys finished 4th out of the Idaho 4A schools at the meet, putting them in a good place for the state meet on Oct. 28, also at Eagle Island.

The girls team continued to show depth and strength with their finish, despite missing senior Katherine Kaul, who was out for the meet. Teammate Hannah Davidson stepped up to lead the team with a time 19:34. She was followed by Kaly Scheel in 29th place, running a 20:23. This places Kaly 17th on the Top 25 All-Time SHSXC 5K list. Heather Wallace was next in 20:50, with Farli Boden and Niah Brass right behind her in a tight team pack, running 20:54 and 20:55 respectively. Sharon Rowe (21:12) and Ciera Bailey (21:24) rounded out the varsity seven. The girls were 3rd out of all Idaho 4A schools, even running without their top runner, a good sign moving forward.

Sandpoint brought 10 JV boys to race, and they placed 13th out of the 32 teams. There were 425 runners in this race, and Brady Nelsen placed 40th overall with a new PR of 18:24. Kyle Almeida was next in 18:46, followed by Addison McNamera in 18:57, then Conrad Becker in 18:58, and Teagan Dieter in 19:21.

The JV girls had six racers, and they placed 10th out of 26 teams. Corina Wallace was 32nd in 21:51 out of the 292 girls racing. Paige Davidson was close behind, running a 22:07, followed by Chloe Braedt in 22:12, Camille Neuder in 22:16 and Valerie Wickboldt in 24:44.

Sandpoint’s next meet is the William Johnson Sandpoint Invitational at Travers Park this coming Saturday, Sept. 30.

Things start at 9 a.m. with a Kid’s Fun Run of 800 meters. After that the Middle School races begin at 9:15, with girls followed by boys. At 10:15 the JV girls run, followed by the JV boys at 11. The varsity girls race at 11:30, with the varsity boys at noon. There will be an open community 5K run on the same course at 12:40 p.m. to finish out the day.