NAPLES -- A perfect early autumn morning, beautiful natural surroundings and soft, dirt-lined roadways set the pace for Saturday’s invitational cross country meet at the Stampede Lake ORV recreation area near Naples. The Badgers boys and girls hosted competitors from Coeur d’Alene’s charter school plus Kellogg and Kootenai high schools for a challenging course through forested surroundings.

“Our home meet Sept. 3rd will probably be the most difficult since it is mainly sand and rolling hills including a couple of steep climbs,” said Coach Tyler Warner in an earlier statement.

Junior varsity boys kicked off the 5k event, with BFHS senior Alex Urbaniak bringing home sixth place with a time of 24:34. Teammates Nathan Olson, freshman, and Neil Martin, junior, also ran for the JV team.

The Badger girls team, eight runners strong, set off next. Freshman Abigail Gorton made a strong showing, coming in second with a time of 23:28. BFHS junior Ada Bonnell, sophomore Lauren Stidham and senior Elisabeth Cowley were the next finishers for the Badgers team. The depth and athleticism of the Bonners Ferry girls led them to victory with a team score of 36 to Coeur d’Alene Charter School’s 19 points.

Boys’ varsity was the final race of the meet, getting started just as a few raindrops began to fall. Sam Gorton, sophomore, Eric Ellis, senior, Dawson Thomas, junior, and freshman Austin Donn swept sixth through ninth places.

The next meet for Badgers cross country will be Saturday, Sept. 10. The Farragut Invitational hosted by Timberlake High School will take place at Scott Field in Farragut State Park.