Bulldog boys win at William Johnson Invitational

(Photos by ERIC PLUMMER) Paige Davidson, left, and Kieran Wilder, right, kick down the stretch of the Bulldogs’ home meet on Saturday.

| October 2, 2018 1:00 AM

SANDPOINT — The Bulldog boys finished first, and the girls second on Saturday at the William Johnson Sandpoint Invitational cross country meet at Travers Park.

Sickness took its toll on the Bulldogs’ top two runners, with Ephraim Weisz dropping out of the boys race late and Niah Brass struggling to lead the girls team, which was narrowly edged by 3A state contender Timberlake.

“Having a strong team with depth and connection is so huge in moments like that. The guys with six people still won the meet and all stepped up,” said girls coach Angie Brass. “Very windy day with some extreme gusts throughout, but the elements help to dial in the focus on competing. Less focus on the clock.”

Jett Lucas and Nikolai Braedt had a photo finish for third place, with Lucas clocking a 16:40.45 to edge Braedt in 16:40.92 to lead the Bulldog boys, who used a strong pack to finish 26 points ahead of second place Lake City.

Brady Nelsen (7th in 17:08), Kieran Wilder (9th in 17:24), Seth Graham (11th in 17:36), and Gabriel Merithew (14th in 17:46) rounded out a strong showing in the field of 47 runners.

Brass led a closely packed group of Bulldog girls with an 8th place finish in 20:54, followed closely in 9th by Paige Davidson (20:58), Bionce Vincent in 10th (21:00), Chloe Braedt in 11th (21:07) and Corina Wallace in 12th (21:15). Megan Oulman (18th) and Mesa Keating (20th) rounded out the placers in a race with 31 runners.

“They all stepped up and helped to keep the pack intact and pushing forward,” said Angie Brass. “Megan Oulman continues to improve and contribute and junior Mesa Keating had her first varsity race and had a season PR.”

Trey Clark won the boys JV race in 18:01, just ahead of a strong pack of runners in Keegan Nelson (3rd in 18:04), Tyler McNamee (4th in 18:06) and Jason Leedle (5th in 18:32). Rounding out the placers were Gabe Christman (8th), Sloan Woodward (9th) and Ben Ricks (10th), as the Bulldogs claimed seven of the top 10 spots in a strong show of depth.

Chloe Pierce was fourth in 23:09 to lead the JV girls, followed by Elisabeth Eastley (6th in 23:27), Mackenzie Suhy-Gregoire (8th) and Lydia Nelsen (11th).

The Bulldogs will make the first of three October trips to Lewiston this weekend for the Inland Empire Classic, which will be run on the same course as both the district and state meets.