Eagle

Among the crowd of spectators lining Poplar Lane was 12-year-old Luke Bruce, who was yelling as loud as he could to make sure his older sister could hear him as she walked past.

Bruce doesn’t usually miss school at Hillside Junior High, but it was a special occasion. He was going to cheer on his sister at a state championship.

Allie Bruce heard her little brother’s encouragement loud and clear, and she beat Boise High teammate Sammy Smith in a sprint to the finish for the girls’ individual 5A title in the cross country d ‘State Friday at Eagle Island State Park.

“It makes a big difference, every run I hear it makes me want to run faster,” said Allie Bruce. “With all the people cheering me on, I was like, ‘Oh, my God. It has been a long time since I last participated in a race like this. It was unbelievable.

Bruce won the 5-kilometer race in 17 minutes, 47.9 seconds, and Smith – the reigning individual champion – clocked 17: 52.3 to help the Braves win a fourth straight tag team championship.

Boise’s seven runners placed in the top 20 as the Brave totaled 27 points – 12 points short of a perfect score. Rocky Mountain was second with 113 points, the best result in program history, while Mountain View won a tiebreaker with Eagle for the third place trophy after both teams totaled 115 points.

Boise’s other individual placers were Logan Smith senior (seventh), senior Annika Zuschlag (ninth), junior Lydia Nance (11th), senior Jamie Hamlin (12th) and junior Kayla Wiechowski (20th).

“These girls, they are so much fun to be around. Their work ethic is second to none, ”said Boise coach Aaron Olswanger. “They are so competitive when they go out. They have these things that you just can’t teach as a coach. They get nervous like everyone else, but they’re channeling it the right way. “

Bruce, a sophomore, was third at last year’s state competition and was second to Smith in the 1,600 and 3,200 yards on the state track in the spring. The two have taken turns battling this cross country season, and Bruce pointed out that Smith suffered from an undisclosed leg injury on Friday.

They also play together on the Boise University women’s soccer team, along with several other cross-country teammates.

“At least with me and Sammy, it just depends on who’s the best that day, so it could easily have gone the other way around,” Bruce said. “I won today so I’m really happy with it.”

Rocky Mountain boys on top of the podium

Rocky Mountain’s five scoring runners placed in the top 15 as the Grizzlies toppled reigning 5A State Champion Idaho Falls.

It was the fifth state title in the program’s history and close to back-to-back Rocky Championships from 2016 to 2018.

Rocky Mountain finished with 40 points versus 56 for Idaho Falls, a year after the Grizzlies finished second behind the Tigers in the state meet in Pocatello. Rocky’s victory also ended a streak of four consecutive tag team titles in Idaho Falls, spanning the 4A and 5A classifications.

“It was just a war of attrition,” said Rocky Mountain coach Jeff Howard. “It was pretty much even on the first loop at Eagle Island, and then our group found a pretty good racing identity as a strong pack, and I think our depth was really helpful to us today. “

Idaho Falls sophomore Luke Athay won the individual title in 15: 19.8, followed by Rocky Mountain riders Trent Wigod (15: 37.0) and Landon Heemeyer (15: 56.3) respectively second and third. Keith Uitdewilligen (11th), Zac Pollock (12th), Tyler Sainsbury (15th), Cayden Tupper (18th) and Aiden Stephenson (36th) also contributed to the Grizzlies’ blue trophy performance.

“In addition to Trent, who has been our number 1 all year, our two, three, four and five have been pretty interchangeable,” Howard said. “So it’s exciting to train these guys, because they really run as a unit. It’s almost like musical chairs on some days.

4A: Preston Girls, Victorious Blackfoot Boys

After Skyline sophomore Nelah Roberts crossed the finish line, it was almost 30 seconds before another runner appeared.

Roberts completed the 5km course in 17: 53.3 – well ahead of Pocatello’s Bailey Bird (18: 21.2) – to repeat as the 4A girls’ individual champion.

The Preston Girls won their first Level 4A title since 2008, while the Blackfoot Boys ended a much longer drought with their victory. Blackfoot won four straight titles from 1972 to 1975, and that year’s championship was the Broncos’ first since then.

Senior Eli Gregory (15: 43.0) and junior Matt Thomas (15: 46.4) finished one-three to lead Blackfoot, who held Preston in second, 44-57.

Middleton’s girls (sixth) and Bishop Kelly’s boys (fifth) were the top placers among the Treasure Valley teams.

5A State meeting

Friday

At Eagle Island State Park

Results of the girls team: 1, Boise 27. 2, Rocky Mountain 113. 3, Mountain View 115. 4, Mountain View 115. 5, Highland 145. 6, Thunder Ridge 159. 7, Post Falls 180. 9, Timberline 196. 10, Meridian 215. 11, Coeur d’Alene 265.

Girls at the head of individuals

1, Allie Bruce, Boise, 17: 47.9.

2, Samantha Smith, Boise, 17: 52.3.

3, Annastasia Peters, Post Falls, 6:00 PM 3.

4, Malia Lowe, Kuna, 18:06.

5, Samantha Wood, Post Falls, 18: 11.6.

6, Rilyn Stevens, Mountain View, 18:18, 3.

7, Logan Smith, Boise, 18: 26.8.

8, Courtney Earl, Thunder Ridge, 18: 27.6.

9, Annika Zuschlag, Boise, 18: 39.5.

10, Brooklyn Lowry, Mountain View, 18:47.7.

11, Lydia Nance, Boise, 18: 48.0.

12, Jamie Hamlin, Boise, 18:48.9.

13, Brighton Heywood, Rocky Mountain, 7:05 p.m.

14, Allie Hipwell, Eagle, 19:07 6.

15, Elanor Eddington, Idaho Falls, 19: 08.8.

16, Tiffany Thomas, Capital, 19: 10.2.

17, Afton Fillmore, Eagle, 19: 10.2.

18, Kaleena Narus, Timberline, 19: 13.0.

19, Audrey Chitwood, Mountain View, 19: 13.4.

20, Hannah Bailey, Highland, 19: 14.2.

Boys team scores: 1, Rocky Mountain 40. 2, Idaho Falls 56. 3, Boise 81. 4, Rigby 149. 5, Thunder Ridge 175. 6, Eagle 182. 7, Mountain View 196. 8, Coeur d’Alene 197. 9, Centennial 203. 10, Timberline 238. 11, Lewiston 273.

Boys at the head of individuals

1, Luke Athay, Idaho Falls, 15: 19.8.

2, Trent Wigod, Rocky Mountain, 15: 37.0.

3, Landon Heemeyer, Rocky Mountain, 15: 56.3.

4, Clay Shumaker, Skyview, 16:02.

5, Kaden Helder, Boise, 16:05.

6, Nico Sanchez, Idaho Falls, 4:05 PM 8.

7, Andrew Ringert, Eagle, 16:06 4.

8, Cooper Andrews, Thunder Ridge, 4:07 PM.

9, Benjamin Ricks, Rigby, 16: 10.2.

10, Jaiden Liddle, Idaho Falls, 16: 10.5.

11, Keith Uitdewilligen, Rocky Mountain, 16: 10.9.

12, Zac Pollock, Rocky Mountain, 16: 11.2.

13, Noe Kemper, Boise, 16: 12.7.

14, Seth Bingham, Thunder Ridge, 16: 13.6.

15, Tyler Sainsbury, Rocky Mountain, 16: 18,6.

16, Ryan Stutz, Madison, 16:20. 1.

17, Nate Stadtlander, Meridian, 16: 24.2.

18, Cayden Tupper, Rocky Mountain, 16:25 2.

19, Kobe Wessels, Lewiston, 16: 26.5.

20, Jacob Van Orden, Highland, 16: 27.8.

4A State meeting

Friday

At Eagle Island State Park

Results of the girls team: 1, Preston 59. 2, Pocatello 89. 3, Skyline 119. 4, Twin Falls 152. 5, Sandpoint 173. 6, Middleton 177. 7, Blackfoot 204.8, Bonneville 210. 9, Mountain Home 240. 10, Bishop Kelly 257 . 11, Jérôme 267. 12, Burley 269. 13, Moscow 314. 14, Vallivue 326. 15, Ridgevue 338.

Girls at the head of individuals

1, Nelah Roberts, Skyline, 17: 53.3.

2, Bailey Bird, Pocatello, 18: 21.2.

3, Angelie Scott, Preston, 19: 19.2.

4, Kayelee Austin, Middleton, 19: 23.9.

5, Addie McCallister, Middleton, 19: 25.5.

6, Maddy Larsen, Blackfoot, 19: 26.4.

7, McKinley Scott, Preston, 19: 29.2.

8, Hailey Renzello, Pocatello, 19: 31.8.

9, Olivia Kendell, Burley, 19:35. 2.

10, Alivia Johnson, Bonneville, 19: 35.6.

11, Kennedy Kunz, Bonneville, 19: 40.6.

12, Taylor Bunderson, Pocatello, 19: 48.4.

13, Julia Gilbert, Mountain Home, 19: 49.9.

14, Oakley Reid, Preston, 19: 54.5.

15, Anna Gilbert, Mountain Home, 19: 57. 4.

16, Alexia Corona, Ridgevue, 19: 58.2.

17, Tenley Kirkbride, Preston, 19: 58.6.

18, Maren Leffler, Preston, 19: 59.1.

19, Emily Despain, Blackfoot, 20:04 3.

20, Elly Jeppsen, Preston, 20:05.

Boys team scores: 1, Blackfoot 44. 2, Preston 57. 3, Twin Falls 111. 4, Pocatello 127. 5, Bishop Kelly 132. 6, Skyline 146. 7, Sandpoint 190. 8, Moscow 200. 9, Burley 234. 10, Vallivue 265. 11, Canyon Ridge 301. 12, Ridgevue 327. 13, Emmett 349. 14, Jerome 371. 15, Shelley 414.

Boys at the head of individuals

1, Eli Gregory, Blackfoot, 15: 43.0.

2, Stockton Stevens, Twin Falls, 15: 46.2.

3, Matt Thomas, Blackfoot, 15: 46.4.

4, Edison Leffler, Preston, 15: 58.2.

5, Sunny Gunn, Pocatello, 4:04 PM 2.

6, Garrett Hale, Preston, 4:04 PM 2.

7, Aaron Bradshaw, Burley, 16:06.

8, Justin Whitehead, Blackfoot, 16: 14.6.

9, Austin Clough, Bishop Kelly, 16: 17.0.

10, Daniel Russell, Bishop Kelly, 16: 23.1.

11, JT Morgan, Blackfoot, 16:24 2.

12, Samuel Fish, Vallivue, 16: 29.8.

13, Ridge Wilding, Skyline, 16: 32.0.

14, Reynger Davidsavor, Preston, 16: 34.0.

15, Anthony Botch, Twin Falls, 16: 39.4.

16, Luke Visser, Preston, 4:45 p.m. 5.

17, Derek Schultz, Mountain Home, 16: 46.1.

18, Gage Cordner, Preston, 16:46. 4.

19, Tyler Stoker, Bishop Kelly, 16: 46.5.

20, Brody Kemble, Middleton, 16: 51.2.