SMS cross country shows steady improvement in first two meets of year
(Photo courtesy of JAKE PETERSON) Cross country runner Nate Roche competes in Sandpoint Middle School’s meet Wednesday in Timberlake. Roche finished second with a time of 9:01.
Sandpoint Middle School cross-country took part in a pair of meets over the past nine days to kick off their season.
The Bullpups competed in their first meet Thursday, Oct. 19 at Cherry Hills in Coeur d’Alene. Seven district middle schools raced on the 2.5K course.
The boys’ varsity team took third with a score of 59 while Canfield claimed first with 24.
Nate Roche led the way with a sixth place finish. Miles Landrum came in 12th, Kasten Grimm took 14th, Crosby Schmidt secured 17th and Henry Barnes rounded out the runners that were scored in 18th.
The boys JV team finished second in the event, falling 19 points short of first place Canfield.
Kody Bocksch took second with a time of 9:35. Jimmy Cornelius, Avery Smart, Ethan Barcklay and Fletcher Barnett crossed the finish line within 10 seconds of each other to claim 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th respectively.
Madison Hall took 12th to lead the JV girls and Grace Rookey, Terra Bode and Hannah Fisher each placed within the top-35 in the varsity race.
The Bullpups competed in their second meet of the year Wednesday at Timberlake. The boys took second and the girls grabbed third out of the five teams that took part in the event.
“The girls looked a lot stronger than the meet before and are starting to settle into their ranks on the team,” Sandpoint Middle School cross-county coach Jake Peterson said.
Grace Rookie made her first podium with a time of 11:13 to claim ninth. Terra Bode, Madison Hall, Hannah Fisher and Aurla Palmer took 20th, 31st, 37th and 47th respectively.
The boys finished 19 points behind first-place Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy despite missing their top two runners due to illness.
Nate Roche stepped up and took home a second place finish with a time of 9:01. Henry Barnes, Kody Bosksch and Crosby Schmidt crossed the finish line within six seconds of each other to claim 11th, 15th and 16th.
Conner McClure in 22nd and Will Jordan in the 27th rounded out the Bullpups that competed in the race.