PRIEST RIVER ­­— Priest River cross-country announced its end-of-the-season awards on Friday Nov. 9. Sophomore Annika Rantala and senior Cameron Parkes were named MVPs of the girls and boys teams, respectively.

Freshman Erika Swoboda and sophomore Caleb Gleason were named runners-up for their respective teams. The awards were voted on by Priest River’s cross-country coaches and athletes.

Parkes was the clear favorite for the Spartans’ MVP/Low Scorer award. The senior led the Spartans in every race this season, including an eighth-place performance in the IHSAA 3A State Cross-Country Championships.

Meanwhile on the girls side, Rantala needed a month to solidify her top spot, but ended the season as the top finisher in the Spartans’ final seven races. Rantala’s 20:25 in the 3A IHSAA state race was good for No. 14 overall and third-fastest amongst all sophomores.

If the Most Improved awards are glimpses of Priest River’s future, then it’s certainly a promising one.

Both Most Improved awards went to underclassmen who shaved several minutes off their 5K times.

Sophomore Amber Johnston set a new career best midway through the season by running a 22:06 at the Inland Empire Challenge, then broke 22 minutes the next week in a top-10 finish at the Ben Castro Invitational. Between Johnston, freshman Erika Swoboda and the aforementioned Rantala, Priest River has a solid trio heading into next season.

Freshman Travis Mathews, the Boys team’s Most Improved award winner, peaked at the right time this past season: His 18:15 time at the IHSAA 3A State race was good for third-fastest on the Spartans, behind seniors Parkes and Caleb Gleason.

The Spartans are coming off a season in which both teams placed second at Districts. The girls team placed fifth at the State race, whereas the boys placed seventh.

The boys team featured a trio of four-year varsity letter winners ­— Gleason, Parkes and Jordan Phillips ­— while the girls team had no seniors graduate this season.