SANDPOINT — It felt like sports were back when the SHS cross country team took the track Tuesday morning for their mile trial.

The grass was gleaming with a morning dew and fresh shower from the overnight sprinklers, the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky and the Bulldog runners were eager to compete as a unit for the first time this fall.

The mile trial doesn’t count toward anything and it isn’t the distance the squad will run in season, but it’s a test of the athletes’ fitness level and shows them just how much they’ve improved over the extended offseason.

Girls cross country coach Angie Brass said the trial helps the runners get back into the flow of things and gives the new runners to the team a nice introduction.

“It’s just a good opportunity upfront to remember that, ‘OK this is what it feels like when we’re racing at full effort,’” she said.

The girls took the track first and a solid pack of three consisting of Mackenzie Suhy-Gregoire, Megan Oulman and Ara Clark led the way. Suhy-Gregoire crossed the finish line first and her face lit up when she heard she ran a personal best 5:45.

Ara notched a PR as well, taking second with a time of 5:47. Oulman was the third girl to cross the line with a 5:54, and Camille Neuder (6:05) and Payton Betz (6:21) rounded out the top five.

Angie said her top seven runners looked great and all 11 runners finished with a time under 7:02.

“That was probably one of the best overall pack times that we’ve had in a long time, so that’s exciting,” she said.

On the boys side, Jett Lucas set the pace along with Ben Ricks, Keegan Nelson and Trey Clark. Halfway through the trial, Lucas noticed he was a bit off pace, so he kicked it into another gear on the third lap and separated himself from the pack. He led the way with a 4:44.

Ricks was right behind Lucas with a PR 4:46, followed by Nelson (4:51) and Trey (4:55). Freshman Nathan Roche edged out Slate Fragoso to round out the top five with a time of 5:01.

The boys top runner, Nikolai Braedt, didn’t compete in the mile trial and boys cross country coach Matt Brass said his teammates missed his pacing.

“It impressed me that they were able to close out the race in the second half faster because their first half they kind of botched the pacing a bit,” he said, “and [Nikolai] really drives that first half.”

Brass said his boys are in good spot as the team prepares for their first meet of the season next week.

“I know that each of them could have raced that quicker but they still ran really well and still had good times,” he said.

Sandpoint opens the season next Friday with a dual meet against Timberlake.

MILE TRIAL RESULTS

GIRLS

Mackenzie Suhy-Gregoire, 5:45.21. Ara Clark, 5:47.04. Megan Oulman, 5:54.76. Camille Neuder, 6:05.92. Payton Betz, 6:21.91. Annaby Kanning, 6:25.54. Quinn Hooper, 6:33.74. Terra Bode, 6:53.47. Katelyn Greenway, 6:53.72. Tiffany Brown, 6:57.52. Devin McDaniel, 7:01.57.

BOYS

Jett Lucas, 4:44.35. Ben Ricks, 4:46.55. Keegan Nelson, 4:51.57. Trey Clark, 4:55.42. Nathan Roche, 5:01.58. Slate Fragoso, 5:02.34. Caleb Roche, 5:19.16. Kasten Grimm, 5:32.35. Riley Christman, 5:40.42. William Jordan, 5:45.72, Gavin Jasper, 5:49.42. Nate Dotson, 5:52.92. Ethan Barclay, 5:55.94. Isaac Babin, 5:57.16. Anders Eastley, 5:57.56. Jimmy Cornelius, 5:58.06. Daniel Ricks, 6:10.66. William Dotson, 6:13.26. Isaiah Hagstrom, 6:19.32.