Photo: The start of the varsity girls 'A' race at this year's Tiger-Grizz Invite (Photo Courtesy of: Marlowe Hereford)
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WEEK ONE
The annual Tiger-Grizz Invitational on September 11 brought together school record holders, defending state champions and newcomers alike to Freeman Park in Idaho Falls.
Three of the individual varsity titles and three varsity team titles went to teams from eastern Idaho. Varsity B, featuring runners from 4A, 3A and 2A schools, took to the course first. After battling with Snake River's Paetyn Polatis and Savaya Christensen earlier in the varsity B girls race, Soda Springs freshman Anna Uskoski moved to the lead and increased the gap en route to her first high school win in 20:14.2. Uskoski has finished in the top three of all three meets she has competed in thus far this season.
The varsity B boys race had a repeat winner in Sugar-Salem junior Darrel Dickson. Idaho's defending 4A individual state runner-up, Dickson moved to the lead from the gun, putting more distance behind him as the race continued.
Dickson won in 16:15.5 with teammate Adam Willis placing second in 16:52.4. Sugar-Salem head coach Brett Hill said he doesn't believe any boy he has ever coached has run as fast as Dickson at Tiger-Grizz.
Dickson has won three of the four meets he has competed in so far this fall. He said he is adjusting to being alone in the lead.
"I'm still learning how to do my best at front running," Dickson said.
He added that has big goals for the next two months, including doing well at Nike Cross Northwest Regionals (NXR) in November in Spokane and rising to the occasion the next time he races defending 4A state champion Charlie Spiers of McCall-Donnelly.
"The last three championships (between cross country and track), he's beaten me," Dickson said.
Snake River claimed the varsity B girls team title in a tight battle with defending 3A state champion Malad and defending 4A state third place team Sugar-Salem. The Panthers, led by Polatis' second-place finish in 20:25.1, won with a score of 60 points while Sugar-Salem placed second and Malad third. Sugar-Salem and Malad each finished with identical scores of 70 points, but Sugar-Salem took second place because its sixth place runner, sophomore Elizabeth Baker (33rd place, 23:30.4), finished ahead of Malad's sixth place runner, junior Somerli Nalder (41st place, 24:08.7).
Defending 4A state champion Sugar-Salem won the varsity B boys title with a score of 43 points, a 31-point margin over defending 3A state champion Malad.
This result prompted mixed emotions from Hill, a 1985 Malad graduate and member of Malad's 1984 state championship boys cross country team.
"I cheer for both teams," Hill said of Malad and Sugar-Salem. "Malad has got really strong programs again. Most of the kids are from Samaria, where I'm from."
Two returning 5A state medalists won the individual titles in varsity A, which included 6A and 5A schools. Century senior Ammon Bitton won the varsity A boys title in 16:05.5 with his teammate and defending 5A state champion Ethan Hansen, also a senior, finishing second in 16:18.
Bitton said he and Hansen had been gunning to break the course record of 15:41.1 set in 2013 by Pocatello's Elijah Armstrong. Although they did not get the record, Bitton said he was glad he and Hansen worked together throughout the race. Bitton and Hansen are training partners as well as friends.
"I feel like both of us can say we wouldn't have made it this far without each other," Bitton said. "We wouldn't be where we are today."
Like Dickson, Bitton said he also hopes to run well at NXR in November, adding that he and Ethan are preparing for NXR with the goal of qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) scheduled for December in Portland.
Rigby, led by senior Jonas Porter's third-place finish in 16:27.9, won the varsity A boys title with a score of 92 points, a 30-point margin over Blackfoot. According to retired Rigby head track and field coach James Parrish, who was one of the starters for Tiger-Grizz, this was Rigby's first Tiger-Grizz team title since the 1980s.
Timberline repeated as varsity A girls team champions with a score of 70 points, led by junior Nadia Kouskov's third-place finish in 19:44.5. A tightly contested varsity A individual race came down to the final 800 meters, with Bishop Kelly sophomore Clare Murphy taking the win in 19:30 and Twin Falls senior Raelee Richardson, Idaho's two-time 5A individual state champion, finishing second in 19:31.7.
New Accolades
There's a new fastest boy in Idaho as of Sept. 12.
Coeur d'Alene junior Wyatt Morgenstern's second-place finish at the Timberlake Invitational in 15:09.70 is the fastest time thus far this season by an Idaho boy. The Vikings won the boys team title with a score of 35 points and the girls team title with 40 points.
Additionally, Morgenstern's teammate, senior Wyatt Carr, was included in DyeStat.com's Early Season Boys Top 100 national rankings published Sept. 10. Carr is ranked No. 72 and is the lone Idaho boy in the rankings.
On The Horizon
Coeur d'Alene heads to Irvine, Calif., this weekend to compete at the 45th annual Woodbridge Classic. The Vikings are among 37 teams that will compete in the Doug Speck Boys Sweepstakes division of the meet.
The 18th annual Dani Bates Invitational, in memory of 2009 Twin Falls graduate and former Bruins cross country and track athlete Danielle Sara Bates, takes place Friday at Sunway Complex in Twin Falls. As of Tuesday, 27 high school teams are registered.
The Eagle Island Invitational takes place Saturday at Eagle Island State Park. As of Tuesday, 57 high school teams are registered.
Bonneville, Coeur d'Alene Charter, Hillcrest, Idaho Falls, Marsh Valley, Moscow, Post Falls, Salmon, Sandpoint, Sugar-Salem, Teton and Thunder Ridge will compete Saturday at the Mountain West Classic in Missoula, Mont. As of Tuesday, 102 high school teams are registered.
Up north, the Les MacDowell Invitate takes place Saturday at the Lewis-Clark State College course in Lewiston. As of Tuesday, 21 high school teams are registered.