SHS places six on district cross country team

A half-dozen Sandpoint High School runners were named to the District I cross country team.

The District I cross country team is selected by coaches at the end of the season and made up of the top 12 runners from the following District I schools: Sandpoint, Coeur d'Alene, Lake City, Post Falls, Lakeland, Timberlake, Coeur d'Alene Charter, Bonners Ferry, Priest River, Kellogg and Kootenai.

Sandpoint High School had three girls and three boys selected for the team. Ara Clark, Maren Davidson and Lily Richardson on the girls side and Nate Roche, Dan Ricks and Slate Fragoso for the boys.

This all stemmed from early team bonding and a huge preseason effort from the 23 returning members. The Bulldogs met three days per week with the goal to show the newcomers how it’s done while getting a solid base of power and endurance in.

“The team focused on recruitment and ended up with 15 new runners at the end of the summer after some attrition,” boys coach Matt Brass said.

The final team was composed of 38 runners.

“The captains and team leadership once again did a great job welcoming and mentoring new runners in preparation for the season,” Brass said.

The season kicked off with the mile trial and time trial. Four boys broke 5 minutes and five girls were under 6 minutes for the 1600-meter race. Six girls and 12 boys broke the Sandpoint varsity standard at the time trial.

At one of the early season meets at Timberlake, the boys placed third and the girls placed fifth out of 18 schools. Roche, Ricks, Richardson and Clark were all medalists at the meet.

At Bob Firman, the boys were 15th out of 31 teams and the girls placed ninth. The girl's placing showed promise for being a top-eight school in the state amongst great competition. Clark placed in the coveted top 20, earning a medal at the prestigious meet.

“She always shows up for her team,” girls coach Angie Brass said. “Her clock-like pacing, ability to read her competitors and utilize all aspects of a course, her intellect, experience, strength and grit have served her well.”

Next up was Lewiston, where the Bulldogs were able to get a taste of the course they would run on at the state meet. The girls ran to eighth place and the boys took 10th overall. Roche worked his way up to number eight on Sandpoint's all-time list.

“He’s one of the toughest competitors I've coached,” Matt Brass said. “He has grit and can take a lot of discomforts as he grinds people out in workouts and races.”

Ricks and Davidson both moved into 10th all-time for the Bulldogs.

At the end of the invite season, Coeur d'Alene was the only team to beat the boys team in the Northern districts and the girls were consistently ahead of everyone but Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls.

At regionals, the boys team attacked early and scored a 38-24 win over Moscow, earning their 10th regional title in a row. Roche won his first regional title and moved up to No. 6 on the Bulldog's all-time list.

“He’s one of the most intellectual runners I've ever coached,” Matt Brass said. “He’s a hard worker, grinding intervals and challenging his team as each rep goes on.”

Ricks nabbed second for the Bulldogs and moved up to No. 10 on the all-time list.

“He has the ability to stay calm and analyze his races, and execute extremely well,” Matt Brass said.

Fragoso picked up a fourth place for the third time at the regional meet.

“He has been on three regional championship teams as a varsity member,” Matt Brass said. “He’s medaled at regionals for the last three years.”

On the girl's side, Davidson held off multiple surges mid-race to take control and win her first Cross Country Regional Championship. She bumped up to Sandpoint's No. 8 all-time in the process.

“Maren delivers when the stakes are high and the opportunity is never missed or wasted,” Angie Brass said. “She has a toughness to push when the battle is on.”

Clark placed fourth for the Bulldogs and Richardson took sixth. When the scores were added up, Moscow won 28-27, ending a nine-year winning streak by the Sandpoint girls team.

The State Championship meet was held the following weekend on the same course. Sandpoint girls placed sixth with 186 points, a sweet revenge against Moscow, which placed 13th overall. Davidson raced well and ran 18:53 for 16th place and would finish her high school career at No. 6 on Sandpoint's all-time list.

“Her dependability is born from a history of solid training, the courage to go after it and then confidence in knowing you can do so again,” Angie Brass said. “Coupled with grit and intellect!”

Clark finished in the top third and Richardson finished in the top half.

“[Richardson is] a humble and hungry competitor and is always striving to improve herself and add to the betterment of the team,” Angie Brass said.

On the boy's side, Roche led the way for the Bulldogs with a 16:03 and 21st place overall. He ended his season as number five on Sandpoint's all-time performer's list.

“He is an anchor to a deep and talented class,” Matt Brass said.

Fragoso and Ricks both finished the state meet in the top 40.

“[Frogoso] is a two-year captain and has always led by example,” Matt Brass said. “He loves the grind more than anyone I've ever coached.”

Michael and Jimmy came through to help Sandpoint earn a 10th-place state finish after entering the meet unranked.

The boys pack time was 16:45 and the girls were 19:42.

“Beyond all of the great performances, I am proud of the team's growth over the course of the season,” Matt Brass said. “This year was a quality example of incorporating a young core, teaching them how we do things and producing a team of quality teammates and performances.”