The top 10 local sports storylines of 2020

What a year it was. For months, high school sports came to a standstill as the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the spring season in Idaho.

At one point it looked like fall sports were going to suffer the same fate, but administrators, coaches, athletic directors and many more stepped up and got athletes back on the field.

We got through the fall and are in the midst of an up and down winter season. Things change by the second and schedules are like a jigsaw puzzle.

Despite all the challenges and uncertainty, there were plenty of local sports storylines 2020 gave us that will be remembered for years to come.

It was hard to pick just 10, but here they are in no particular order.

Sandpoint hosts first track meet in months

On a rainy Saturday in the middle of June, SHS hosted the Sandpoint Open. The event was the first track meet in Idaho in roughly three months and was one of the only organized sporting events held this spring in the state.

Sandpoint head track coach Matt Brass organized the meet. The main purpose behind the event was to give the seniors who had their final spring season ripped away one last chance to compete, and it was clear how much the athletes appreciated it.

"I think it provided some amount of structure, some amount of normalcy and also some amount of hope that maybe they would be able to get something out of [this season]," Brass said after the meet.

About 60 athletes from 10 area schools participated in their first and last track meet of 2020. Even a handful of athletes from Washington competed in the event.

The Panhandle Health District gave the thumbs-up for the meet, but strict guidelines had to be followed to ensure social distancing took place and large gatherings didn't form.

Idaho also moved to stage 4 of Gov. Brad Little's Idaho Rebounds plan on the day the event was held, which allowed gatherings of more than 50 people "where appropriate physical distancing and precautionary measures are observed."

CF volleyball battles through adversity to get back to state

The Clark Fork volleyball team was unable to go undefeated in North Star League play for a third straight season, but the Lady Cats earned their fourth straight trip to the 1A Division II state tournament.

To grab a berth to state, Clark Fork had to overcome some adversity. On Oct. 8, the Lady Cats fell to Mullan in five sets on their home court. It was Clark Fork's first league loss since 2017 and allowed both teams to finish the regular season with a 3-1 record in NSL play.

Mullan won a virtual coin toss to claim the No. 1 seed in the district tournament which meant the Lady Cats would have to knock off the Tigers on their home court to secure a trip back to state.

The unexpected loss to Mullan was a wake-up call for Clark Fork and they got their revenge at districts, sweeping the Tigers 25-17, 25-19, 25-21.

At state, the Lady Cats went 0-2 and finished the year with a 12-4 mark. The senior-less squad will return all its players next season including co-NSL MVP Paige Valliere and all-league selections Katelyn Matteson, Taylor Staley, Caiya Yanik and Emily Myers.

Legendary swim coach retires

After 32 years of teaching the community how to swim, Mike Brosnahan retired in early October.

He served as the aquatics and youth director at the Litehouse YMCA, formerly the Sandpoint West Athletic Club, for more than 30 years and in 1994 helped form the Sandpoint High School swim team.

He created the first club swim team in Sandpoint in 1990 and coached the Sandpoint Sharks up until his retirement. As the SHS head coach, Brosnahan fought for over 20 years to have the sport recognized by the Idaho High School Activities Association. In 2016, the IHSAA finally did and two years later, Brosnahan handed over the high school program to one of his former swimmers, Greg Jackson.

He trained the city's lifeguards from 1988-2018 and helped establish the curriculum for the water safety program through the Long Bridge Swim, which aims to make sure no kid in Bonner County gets past the third grade without learning how to swim.

Brosnahan is truly a legend and Jim Zuberbuhler, the race director for the Long Bridge Swim, said the community will miss him dearly.

"It is not a stretch to claim that more than a few lives have been saved in our local waters because of Mike’s efforts to rigorously train our Sandpoint lifeguards," he said.

Girls basketball soars back to state

The Sandpoint girls basketball team put a disappointing 5-15 2019 season behind them this past winter to grab their sixth berth to state in the last seven years.

The Bulldogs went undefeated in Inland Empire League and swept rival Lakeland two games to none in the district championship series to secure a trip to Boise.

At state, the deep Sandpoint squad bounced Burley in its opening game to claim its first victory at the tournament since 2016 and advance to the semifinals.

In the semis, the Bulldogs fell to eventual state champion Bonneville and the team was unable to overcome Caldwell in the third place game.

League MVP Dawson Driggs and all-league selections Maddie Morgan and Hattie Larson helped lead the team back to glory along with a group of talented underclassmen that included Kelsey Cessna and Daylee Driggs.

Benefield, Wilson place third at state

Sandpoint's Tag Benefield and Priest River's Truxton Wilson both secured third-place finishes in their respective weight classes at the state wrestling championships in February.

At 195 pounds, Wilson capped his wrestling career by securing four victories by pin to take home a third-place medal in 3A. The year before, Wilson captured fourth at 182 pounds.

Benefield's journey to a third-place finish at 220 pounds in 4A was one that didn't seem possible weeks earlier.

During the football season, Benefield tore his meniscus and wasn't sure if we would be able to wrestle for the Bulldogs at all this past winter. But three weeks before the state wrestling championships, he took the mat for the first time.

He lost in the district championship match at 220, but earned an at-large bid to state.

Benefield lost his quarterfinal bout to the eventual state champion Nico Rodriguez, but won four straight to earn a podium finish.

Sandpoint swim earns pair of second-place trophies

Of the five fall sports, swimming was the only sport that didn't get an in-person state event. But the Sandpoint swim team didn't let that disappointment stop them from getting in the pool every day and striving for greatness.

The result — a pair of second-place 4A state trophies. The boys and girls each took second in the virtual state meet.

For the boys, it was their highest finish at state since the IHSAA began sanctioning the tournament. The Bulldogs finished 32 points behind first-place Bishop Kelly.

The boys won a state title in the 200 free relay and took second in the 400 free relay. Hayden Leavitt led the way placing third in the 200 and 500 free. Caleb Norling captured second in the 200 IM and sixth in the 100 free, and Hayden Norling secured fourth in the 200 free and sixth in the 100 breast.

The girls, the 2019 4A state champions, placed second behind Bishop Kelly and claimed a state title in the 200 free relay.

Captain Kate Bokowy grabbed second in the 200 IM and 100 fly, and Kaya Wright tied for second in the 50 free with Bishop Kelly's Brinn Frost and took second in the 100 back. Emily Ballard locked down third in the 100 free and fourth in the 200 free, and Ayiana Prevost placed sixth in the 500 free and seventh in the 200 free.

Results could have been different if Sandpoint had a chance to compete side-by-side with Bishop Kelly, but head coach Greg Jackson was proud of his team for keeping their morale high throughout the uncertain season.

"It was a little inspirational," Jackson said at the time. "It kept me going, it kept my spirits up."

SHS boys soccer takes the next step

This fall, we saw Sandpoint boys soccer make its return to the 4A state tournament.

After falling to Moscow two straight years in the 4A Region 1 title game, the Bulldogs got their revenge with a dominant 3-0 victory to secure a berth to state for the first time since 2017.

When Tanner French took over as head coach in 2019, he was determined to return the program to glory. This season we started to see that take shape.

The Bulldogs traveled to Idaho Falls in October looking to secure their ninth state title, but fell short and went 0-2.

Sandpoint finished with a 5-6-3 record and the team had six players receive all-league honors. Zander Moore was crowned league MVP with a team-high 10 goals and Jett Longanecker earned Newcomer of the Year. Chris Koch, Parker Prior, Evan Dickinson and Roman Jiles all claimed spots on the all-league team.

Artificial turf installed at War Memorial Field

After years of designs and debate, the project to install artificial turf at War Memorial Field was finally completed this summer.

The city of Sandpoint hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 7 to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the project and open the facility to the public. Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad and councilmembers Deb Ruehle, John Darling and Kate McAlister were all on hand for the event.

The project was made possible by the 1 percent local option sales tax that was passed by Sandpoint voters in 2015. Over the past five years, the tax collected about $6.75 million to support improvements to War Memorial Field and Barlow Stadium. The tax expires on Friday.

The discussion about what type of surface would be installed at the field raged on for several years, but at the ribbon cutting, Rognstad said the city council chose the surface that extended the playability of the field the most.

Countless football and soccer games were played on the surface this fall and the field will be ready to be used this spring for baseball, softball and lacrosse.

Rognstad called the field "state of the art," and Sandpoint Athletic Director Kris Knowles said he's had discussions with representatives from the IHSAA about hosting state soccer, softball and baseball tournaments at the venue in the future.

"You’re not going to find a better stadium out there," Sandpoint football head coach Ryan Knowles said at the ceremony.

Football makes a run to the state semis

After a 1-4 start to the season, Sandpoint football reeled off a four-game winning streak to advance to the 4A state semifinals for the first time since 2015.

The Bulldogs faced No. 1 Skyline in the state semis. The field turned into the frozen tundra in the second half as a blizzard blew through with frigid temperatures. Skyline, the 2020 4A state champions, took down Sandpoint 20-0 and the team accepted a third-place trophy after the defeat.

It wasn't the ending the Bulldogs were hoping for, but the season was full of milestones, including the team beating Moscow for the first time in three years.

To get to the state semis, Sandpoint earned a thrilling first round win over Hillcrest and beat Moscow again in the quarterfinals. Prior to the semifinal matchup with Skyline, Mayor Shelby Rognstad proclaimed Friday, Nov. 13, as "Bulldog Red Day" and encouraged the community to wear red to support the team.

The story of the season for the Bulldogs was their youth. The team started five sophomores for most of the season and a member of the class, Parker Pettit, gained a stranglehold on the starting quarterback job. The future for Sandpoint football is very bright.

Given their success, the Bulldogs dominated the all-league team, with 13 players receiving honors.

Pettit earned Offensive MVP, Tag Benefield took home Defensive MVP for a second time and his younger brother, Wes Benefield, was named Newcomer of the Year.

Gerrit Cox, Cody Newhart, Marcus Anderson, Elek Christoferson, Keith Jensen, Will Hurst, Isaac Webb, Cody Steiger, Elijah Larson and Adam Bucholtz all claimed spots on the all-league team.

Boys cross country brings home some hardware

In the past few years, a state trophy had eluded the Sandpoint boys cross country team. But in 2020, the team finally broke through.

The Bulldogs captured fourth at the 4A state championships to secure their first trophy at state since 2014 and fourth overall.

Sandpoint felt they let a chance at placing get away from them in 2019, and they put in the miles in the offseason to make a state trophy come to fruition this fall.

The boys edged out Bishop Kelly by two points to take home fourth. Senior Nikolai Braedt, the District 1 Runner of the Year, led the way by earning medalist honors and placing 11th.

Jett Lucas, a state medalist in 2019, captured 24th, Keegan Nelson came in 29th, Nathan Roche took 35th, Slate Fragoso was 49th, Ben Ricks secured 56th and Trey Clark grabbed 67th.

The girls placed ninth, their best finish at state since 2017. Mackenzie Suhy-Gregoire led the pack, finishing 24th.

To advance to state, the boys and girls won their eighth straight regional titles.