PREP XC: Roche breaks 16; Sandpoint, Priest River post huge PR’s in Spokane

AIRWAY HEIGHTS — Saturday was nothing short of spectacular for the Sandpoint cross country teams as almost every Bulldog runner posted a new personal record at the 6th annual Battle for the 509 Invite held at the Spokane Polo Grounds.

There were four varsity races Saturday, two boys and two girls races divided by red and black divisions. Sandpoint’s girls competed in the red division, which was for teams with an average varsity time of 21:30 or over. Sandpoint’s boys competed in the black division, reserved for teams with an average time of 18:00 and under.

In the black division, Sandpoint boys finished seventh out of 16 teams, competing against some of the best teams in North Idaho and Eastern Washington. Nathan Roche, after getting so close last season, broke the 16-minute barrier posting a new personal record time of 15:57 to finish 17th out of 122 runners.

“It feels fantastic, it’s been a long time coming,” Roche said. “I’m proud of this team, we ran really well today.”

Finishing third for the Bulldogs was sophomore Paul Kent who posted a new personal record time of 16:40, a whole minute faster than his time at the start of the season. Daniel Ricks (16:35) and Kasten Grimm (16:49) also posted sub-17-minute finishes on the day. Michael Hall rounded out the top five, posting a new personal record time of 17:12, a 16-second improvement from last year.

Coeur d’Alene runners Lachlan May, Maximus Cervi-Skinner and Jacob King finished 1-2-3 en route to a 24-point Vikings victory.

In the red division, Sandpoint girls also had a standout day finishing second out of 15 teams. Grace Rookey and Lily Richardson finished in eighth and ninth out of 106 runners with identical times of 19:54.8; it was Rookey’s first time breaking 20 minutes. Freshman Elizabeth Storms (20:07) and Sienna Todd-Murray (21:22) also posted huge new personal bests. Terra Bode finished fourth for the Bulldogs with a new personal record time of 21:16, a 42-second improvement from her last race.

Hazel Kunkel of Lake City won the red race with a time of 18:49. Ridgeline took the overall team title, just five points ahead of Sandpoint.

Priest River boys and girls also competed at the Battle for the 509. Both the boys and girls competed in the varsity red races. Alannah McLaimtaig (24:08) and Hannah Leitch (28:36) posted new personal records for the girls, Leitch’s time being a four minute, 16 second improvement. For the boys, Colm McLaimtaig (17:06) and Brayden Lamanna (17:19) led the way for the Spartans. Caeden McLaimtaig posted a huge new personal best of 17:54, a 38-second improvement from earlier this year.

Clark Fork’s Westin Caven (17:32) also ran in the boys red race and cruised to a 40-second personal best.

The Sandpoint cross country teams will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Inland Empire Challenge held at Lewis-Clark State College. Priest River will head to the Ben Castro Invitational on Thursday, Oct. 5, held at the Pinehurst Golf Course.

RESULTS

BOYS

TEAM SCORES (Black Division) — 1, Coeur D'Alene 24. 2, Kamiakin 117. 3, North Central 135. 4, Cheney 138. 5, Ellensburg 145. 6, Central Valley 191. 7, Sandpoint 207. 8, Mead 216. 9, Preston 229. 10, Gonzaga Prep 254. 11, Timberlake 298. 12, Shadle Park 321. 13, University, 322. 14, Valley Christian 332. 15, Lakeside (Nine Mile) 346. 16, Pullman 395.

WINNER, Sandpoint Top 5 — 1, Lachlan May, Coeur d’Alene, 15:00.4. 17, Nathan Roche, Sandpoint, 15:57.1. 42, Daniel Ricks, Sandpoint, 16:35.9. 50, Paul Kent, 16:40.3. 62, Kasten Grimm, Sandpoint, 16:49.8. 81, Michael Hall, Sandpoint, 17:12.

TEAM SCORES (Red Division) — 1, Joel Ferris 96. 2, Moscow 107. 3, Eastmont 136. 4, Lakeland 165. 5, Lake City 167. 6, Ridgeline 183. 7, Post Falls 205. 8, Southridge 274. 9, Colville 276. 10, Othello 283. 11, Freeman 321. 12, Valley Christian 359. 13, Pullman 374. 14, NW Christian (Colbert) 383. 15, Logos 389. 16, East Valley (Spokane). 402. 17, Lewiston 418. 18, Brewster 419. 19, Davenport 442. 20, Chesterton Academy Of Notre Dame 452. 21, Chewelah 485. 22, Omak 487. 23, Clarkston 620.

WINNER, Priest River Top 4, Clark Fork — 1, Emmett Atenco, Eastmont, 16:01. 23, Colm McLaimtaig, Priest River, 17:06.9. 29, Brayden Lamanna, Priest River, 17:19.7. 52, Caedan McLaimtaig, 17:54. 106, Jacob Sateren, 18:59.3. 32, Westin Caven, Clark Fork, 17:32.3.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES (Black Division) — 1, Preston 82. 2, Coeur D'Alene 118. 3, Mead 139. 4, Joel Ferris 151. 5, Kamiakin 162. 6, Lewis and Clark 165. 7, Moscow 172. 8, Post Falls 176. 9, Lakeside (Nine Mile) 187. 10, Ellensburg 211. 11, Cheney 214. 12, Logos 269. 13, Walla Walla 270.

WINNER, Top 5 Locals — 1, Logan Hofstee, East Valley (Spokane), 17:03.5. 5, Olivia May, Coeur d’Alene, 18:22.2. 6, Kaylynn Misner, Post Falls, 18:26.3. 7, Annabelle Carr, Coeur d’Alene Charter, 18:31.2. 14, Dakota Keyworth, Coeur d’Alene, 18:50.7. 16, Talia Bonville, Post Falls, 18:54.9.

TEAM SCORES (Red Division) — 1, Ridgeline 62. 2, Sandpoint 67. 3, Gonzaga Prep 94. 4, Timberlake 133. 5, Eastmont 162. 6, East Valley (Spokane) 169. 7, North Central 172. 8, Southridge 235. 9, Colville 250. 10, Lakeland 274. 11, Shadle Park 297. 12, Omak 299. 13, Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame 301. 14, Chewelah 336. 15, Pullman 343.

WINNER, Sandpoint Top 5 — 1, Hazel Kunkel, Lake City, 18:49.3. 8, Lily Richardson, Sandpoint, 19:54.8. 9, Grace Rookey, Sandpoint, 19:54.8. 12, Elizabeth Storms, Sandpoint, 20:07.6. 26, Terra Bode, Sandpoint, 21:16. 30, Sienna Todd-Murray, Sandpoint, 21:22.