Bulldog boys, girls claim 6th straight XC titles

LEWISTON — One was in dominating fashion, the other in white knuckle fashion, but at the end of the day both the Bulldog boys and girls cross country teams claimed their whopping sixth straight regional titles, making for a great day at the 4A Region 1 cross country championships Thursday at Lewiston Orchards.

The Bulldog boys dominated, with the seven varsity runners all finishing in the top 9, led by sophomore Nikolai Braedt, who won his first varsity race with a time of 16:43 on the same course where state will be held.

“His patience and then boldness, he knew when he wanted to go,” described head coach Matt Brass of Braedt. “We wanted to run in a tight pack. We held the pack together to the halfway point. Nikolai broke away with about 3/4 of a mile left and he made a really hard surge to win it.”

The boys team features the best pack time in program history by about 20 seconds. Why they don’t have an individual contender at state, they have the depth to contend for a team trophy.

“There’s five teams in the hunt for the four trophies,” said Brass. “Idaho Falls is out ahead, then it’s BK, Preston, Sandpoint and Kuna all packed up tight. We beat BK earlier. It will be whoever shows up that day.”

Senior Niah Brass clocked a 20:07 to edge teammate Chloe Braedt by one second, as the pair finished second and third overall to help the Bulldogs claim a tight 32-29 win over Moscow for the team title.

With normal varsity scorer Bionce Vincent out with a sore hip right before the race, everyone had to rally to make it six straight. Paige Davidson was 5th (20:15), Corrina Wallace 7th (20:28), Mesa Keating 12th (21:42), Megan Oulman 16th (22:58) and Elisabeth Eastley 18th (23:29) to round out the varsity seven.

“With Bionce out, an already tight race got tighter. Everyone stepped up, with brilliant pack running and smart finishes,” said girls coach Angie Brass. “They ran awesome. It’s always stressful in those last two minutes knowing everybody has to step up.”

Niah Brass has never cracked the top 20 and medaled at state, and as the only girl with previous state experience, she’ll be gunning for an individual medal along with Braedt.

“The team goal is that fourth place spot. We’ll need to step forward time wise and performance wise,” admitted Angie Brass, whose girls know the state course well. “A few of those girls breaking that 20 minutes barrier is tough. If we could bring home two medals, it will help with a team trophy.”

The state meet is Oct. 27 in Lewiston.

BOYS

TEAM SCORES (Top two to state) — 1, Sandpoint 19. 2, Moscow 42. 3, Lakeland 85.

STATE QUALIFIERS — 1, Nikolai Braedt, Sandpoint, 16:43.1. 2, Ephriam Weisz, Sandpoint, 16:52.1. 3, Jett Lucas, Sandpoint, 16:52.7. 4, Korben Bujnicki, Moscow, 16:53.3. 5, Devon Conway, Moscow, 16:53.7. 6, Brady Nelsen, Sandpoint, 17:03:8. 7, Kieran Wilder, Sandpoint, 17:06.3. 8, Seth Graham, Sandpoint, 17:18.1.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES (Top two to state) — 1, Sandpoint 29. 2, Moscow 32. 3, Lakeland 61.

STATE QUALIFIERS — 1, Laurel Hicke, Moscow, 19:24.5. 2, Niah Brass, Sandpoint, 20:07.9. 3, Chloe Braedt, Sandpoint, 20:08.5. 4, Bec Kirkland, Moscow, 20:10.5. 5, Paige Davidson, Sandpoint, 20:15.5. 6, Grace Mikolajczyk, Moscow, 20:24.3. 7, Corina Wallace, Sandpoint, 20:28.2. 8, Sydnee Hostetler, Lakeland, 20:43.4.