Rantala takes first, Lord places seventh to lead Spartans at Ben Castro Invitational
Senior Annika Rantala nears the finish line during the Timberlake Farragut Invitational on Sept. 12.
(Photo courtesy of MARY MALONE)
PINEHURST — The Priest River cross country competed in the Ben Castro Invitational this past Thursday at the Pinehurst Golf Course.
Annika Rantala continued her strong season by claiming the girls race with a season best time of 20:56. This is her second win this season.
Head coach Lance Clark said Rantala is gearing up for the home stretch and he expects her to run a personal best in the coming weeks.
For the first time this season, the boys had enough to score as a team. The Spartans took fourth out of the six teams that competed and just edged out Intermountain League rival Bonners Ferry.
Dylan Lord led the way for the boys placing seventh with a PR of 18:40.
Freshman Keegan Poirier came out of nowhere and captured 13th with a PR of 19:57. It was the first 5K of Poirier's career and Clark said it was one of the best debuts he's seen during his time at PRLHS.
"This is something else especially coming from a freshman newcomer," Clark wrote in an email. "I see big things for Keegan in cross country in the future. I can't wait to see what he does next."
Ethan Korff secured 16th with a season best 20:09, Edgil Williams took 27th with a season best 22:43 and Aiden Troumbley placed 32nd with a 25:23.
Priest River will take part in the William Johnson Sandpoint Invitational 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Riley Creek.