She won the varsity girls race Saturday at the Inland Empire Championships in Lewiston in a blazing 16:37, keeping her undefeated this season and breaking two records in the process. Her time is a new course record for Lewiston Orchards, which will be the site of this year's state meet on Nov. 1, and it is also the fastest ever on record by an Idaho girl for a high school 5k cross country course. She joins 2023 Post Falls graduate Annastasia Peters (personal best 16:53, also at Lewiston Orchards) as the only Idaho girls on record to break 17 minutes, and Heemeyer's winning time from Saturday is currently the No. 12 fastest time in the nation this season by a high school girl, per athletic.net as of Monday.

Rocky Mountain head coach Jeff Howard said the Grizzlies had circled October 4 on their calendars as they began the season, knowing they would have the chance to preview this year's state meet course and see how fast they could run.

"She's a student of the sport," Howard said of Heemeyer. "She saw her brother (Landon) run very fast there. There's some strategy that goes into it. She's had three years of injury free training. I think she's really starting to show off her fitness. She wanted that course record. She wanted to be the fastest girl ever in Idaho. To do it is a different story, to just execute her plan."

Howard said Heemeyer has learned how to race when she's alone in the lead. That experience helped her execute on Saturday, when her winning margin was 46 seconds.

"I think she knew going into it, it's been similar to other races," Howard said. "She likes a fast pace early on. Taking care of the mental battle...'Okay, I'm gonna be alone. I'm strong, I have the fitness. I have the training.'"

Saturday became even more memorable for Heemeyer shortly after her win. She received a call from Diljeet Taylor, head coach of defending NCAA Division I women's cross country national champion BYU, who offered her a roster spot. She will join some notable Idahoans in Provo.

"She had her dream school come into fruition," Howard said. "That's a really competitive team to get on to. She's following in (2020 Mountain View graduate, three-time Idaho girls individual state XC champion, 2025 USA steeplechase champion, 2025 world championships finalist) Lexy Halladay and (2024 Skyline graduate, four-time girls individual state XC champion) Nelah Roberts' footsteps."

Heemeyer's older brother Landon, a 2024 Rocky Mountain graduate and Lewiston Orchards course record holder for the boys 5k (14:38.79), also continued his career at BYU. With his 14:38.79 (No. 3 all-time on record for an Idaho high school boy) and Hallie's Idaho girls No. 1 all-time 16:37, they are the fastest brother-sister cross country duo on record from Idaho. Howard said Landon and Hallie followed their older brother, 2021 Rocky Mountain graduate Marcus, into cross country and track and field for the Grizzlies, and they also have a younger brother currently in elementary school.

"His little siblings looked up to him," Howard said of Marcus. "That family has been really, really special for us to coach. They've been parented well."

Centennial senior Drew Donahue's win in the varsity boys race Saturday was also of note, as he ran a personal best 14:56 to become the 12th Idaho high school boy on record to break the 15-minute barrier. He won Saturday's race by six seconds over Rocky Mountain senior Hyrum Tuft.

Rocky Mountain swept the team titles Saturday, with the boys winning with 48 points and the girls winning with 33 points. The boys won by a 16-point margin over Skyline and the girls won by a 30-point margin over Mountain View.

The Lewiston Orchards course, which hosts the state meet every three years, has produced some of the fastest times ever recorded by Idaho high school runners since it became part of Idaho's rotating state meet schedule in 2016. Lewiston's elevation is 755 feet, the lowest in Idaho, and the course consists of three loops.

"There's not a super big hill on it," Howard said. "It's a gentle climb out to the top of the course. The turns are wide enough. The surface is in an old field. The footing is pretty good."

Howard said the Grizzlies, both the boys and girls, have remained true to their team values this season. One of those values is taking all 108 runners to every meet on the schedule, if possible.

"The boys, we've given them plenty of chances to learn what it feels like to run at this new level," Howard said. "In this new era (of high school cross country), you've gotta get kids comfortable with running low 15s. If you want to go to nationals, your big speed days can be your race days. If you don't race much, you kind of have to do a lot of that speedwork in your training. If you race a lot, you can stick to the bread and butter. On the boys side, I think we're really excited. We think we're a top-five Northwest team. On the girls side, we're similar to last year in a couple of ways. When we were at the Bob Firman Invitational last year which this year kind of became the Eagle Island Invite, we didn't run as well as we'd hoped. We had some good team meetings the following week. The girls had some vulnerable conversations. I think we executed our best team race (in Lewiston). We got our fifth girl in a minute 50 after Hallie."

Howard said being a coach in such a competitive 6A District 3 is all about perspective. He referenced 2024 U.S. Olympians Grant Fisher and Cole Hocker as an example of breaking records and reaching new heights together while being competitors.

"A lot of things come down to just where your heart posture is," Howard said. "I have a lot of coaching relationships that are really good friends. Our district is incredible right now. lt's enjoying the opportunity every time we get the opportunity. I love coaching 108 kids. It's a blessing to be in the position I'm in." 

A Fast Start To October

The Coeur d'Alene boys, Dyestat.com's No. 8 ranked team in the U.S., placed second by one point to No. 30 U.S. ranked Lincoln (Ore.) at the Eighth Annual Battle for the 509 on Saturday at the Spokane Polo Grounds, which will be the new course for Nike Cross Nationals Northwest in November. The Vikings, who entered the meet as two-time defending champions, were led by sophomores Wyatt Morgenstern (third place in 15:22.30) and Rowan Henry (fourth place in 15:25.50) in the varsity boys championship race. Junior Wyatt Carr shared on the team's YouTube account, CDA Distance, that he is currently injured but is cross training to maintain fitness. Carr has not competed since Sept. 6 at the Timberlake Farragut Invitational. Coeur d'Alene Charter senior Annabelle Carr was second in the varsity girls championship race in 18:11.9 and Moscow senior Cora Crawford won the girls varsity red race in 19:27.40.

On Oct. 2 in Pocatello, the annual Bob Conley Invitational took place at Portneuf Wellness Complex. The varsity B girls title came down to two defending state champions, as 4A state champion Sugar-Salem edged defending 3A state champion Ririe by three points. Ririe senior Lucy Boone won the varsity B individual title in 19:23.4, her fifth win this season. The Ririe boys won the varsity B boys title, with Fruitland junior Landon Hillam winning the individual title in 16:09.4 to pick up his third win in as many meets. Highland swept the varsity A titles.

Century junior Ethan Hansen won the varsity A boys title in 15:35.1 for his fourth win this season, with teammate Ammon Bitton in second in 15:45.2. Ogden (Utah)'s Avery Barton won the varsity A girls race in 17:41.2, the lone sub-18 minute girls time of the meet.

On the same day at the Gary Ward meet hosted by Vallivue, Timberline swept varsity team titles with winning point totals of 24 (girls) and 47 (boys). Bishop Kelly underclassmen Clare Murphy (freshman) and Ace King (sophomore) won the individual titles in 18:44.39 and 16:12.86, respectively.

Two Girls Teams, Two Boys Teams From Idaho Make Latest National Rankings

DyeStat.com released its latest national team rankings Oct. 2. Boise is ranked No. 22 in the girls team rankings while Rocky Mountain is ranked No. 26. In the boys rankings, Coeur d'Alene is ranked No. 8 and Rocky Mountain is ranked No. 20.

On The Horizon

Coeur d'Alene, Coeur d'Alene Charter, Century, Eagle, Idaho Falls and Rigby are all registered for the 42nd annual Nike Hole In the Wall Invitational this Saturday in Smokey Point, Wash., north of Seattle. Couer d'Alene is the two-time defending boys elite team champion.

Also in Washington this week is the Live Nation Invitational on Thursday at The Gorge Amphitheater northeast of Ellensburg. Lake City, Sandpoint, Lewiston, Lakeland, Timberlake and Logos are registered.

Marsh Valley hosts the Eagle Swoop on Friday in Arimo. As of Monday, 19 high school teams are registered.