EAGLE — After a change in venue and a canceled meet, the Sandpoint cross country team will finally get a chance to race at Eagle Island State Park when they compete in the 4A state championships on Friday.

Last fall, COVID-19 restrictions prevented the Idaho High School Activities Association from hosting the meet at Eagle Island, which forced state to be held at the Portneuf Wellness Complex in Pocatello for the second straight year.

The elevation of the Pocatello course presents its fair share of challenges, so the Bulldogs are glad they won’t have to deal with those this year. Plus, Eagle Island has proved to be a great course for the Bulldogs. The girls won their second straight state title and third overall at the venue in 2014, while the boys took home third that year. The girls were also third at Eagle Island in 2017.

That’s quite the track record, but it’s no surprise because the course suits the Bulldogs’ style. The sand, steep hill and other unique elements are things Sandpoint encounters every day while traversing the trails in North Idaho.

“I feel like we have a lot of opportunities up here for that type of training,” girls cross country coach Angie Brass said. “I think it translates well as far as confidence, and I think that’s a big part of these bigger races.”

This is a strength course and the Bulldogs have plenty of that, boys cross country coach Matt Brass said.

“I think we’ve put a lot of emphasis on strong on the hills,” he said, “and I think that makes a difference.”

The Bulldogs were scheduled to get a trial run at Eagle Island on Sept. 25 with the Bob Firman Invitational, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic for the second straight year.

Fortunately, the runners that were on the Sandpoint distance crew this spring were able to get a peak at the course while competing in the 2021 4A state track meet at Eagle High School. The Bulldogs believe that visualization can make all the difference and lead to some special results down at state.

Girls eye improvement, state medals

Fresh off their first perfect score at regionals in school history, the girls are excited about the hardware they could bring back home.

Sandpoint has 11 state trophies to its name and a 12th is certainly within reach.

“That top five has put them in a spot to possibly contend with that,” Angie said, “but it’s showing up that day and getting it done.”

However, the main goal for the girls Friday is improving on their ninth-place finish at state in 2020, Angie said.

Seniors Mackenzie Suhy-Gregoire and Megan Oulman, juniors Ara Clark and Payton Betz, and sophomore Grace Rookey make-up a top five that has shined all season long for the Bulldogs.

All five were at state last year and Sandpoint’s No. 6, senior Jillian Primgaard, got a taste of state in 2019.

Senior Tiffany Brown, the No. 7, will be the only runner on the start line for Sandpoint lacking state experience.

“That’s nice to have that comfort,” Angie said.

Ara, who won the individual regional title last week, has been to state back-to-back years with her best finish coming last fall when she placed 70th. Those two trips taught her a lot, including how to race for a place, not a specific time.

“Racing in a race like state is mostly just trying to use every factor to your advantage,” she said. “Race against your opponents, rather than race against the clock I think is what state has taught me, and I think that’s what we’re all going to try and do this year.”

Angie believes her top three runners — Ara, Suhy-Gregoire and Oulman — all have a chance to finish inside the top 20 at state and bring home a medal.

“I think it’s absolutely within their reach,” she said.

They feel the exact same way.

“It’s everything we’ve worked for,” Suhy-Gregoire said. “We’ve already done all the work this season … and our bodies are capable of doing it, it’s very much that mental barrier.”

Suhy-Gregoire finished just a few spots short of a medaling position last year at state. She’s determined to get inside the top 20 this time.

“I remember that feeling of finishing 24th, it was sad,” she said, “and I’m not going to let that happen again. I’m getting in the top 20.”

Angie said the trio will need to run smart, gritty races like they have all season in order to bring home medals and if they do that, the Bulldogs could find themselves in a placing position as a team at state.

Oulman, who has been to state every year, said it would be extremely special to capture a state trophy in her senior season.

“This is my last opportunity to really do something,” she said. “Every single workout every year has led up to this moment … and we’re all in a really good place with our fitness and our competitiveness this year.”

In order to make that state trophy a reality, Sandpoint will need the entire team to rise to the occasion, including Betz and Rookey, who have been thriving all year long.

Rookey and Betz finished 75th and 91st respectively in their first state appearances in 2020 and the duo has shown tremendous improvement this year. They put in the miles during the offseason and now they are seeing the fruits of their labor. The duo runs side-by-side every race and Ara said it’s been amazing to watch them work together. Everyone is proud of them, she added.

“They seem to always be using each other,” Ara said. “They’ve both come a long way in racing strategy, and overall time and commitment to the team … Us three wouldn’t be where we are without them.”

Suhy-Gregoire and Oulman have also packed up throughout the season and Oulman has enjoyed every second of it. She said running with someone is so powerful that it almost erases the pain she feels during a race.

“I love working together with Kenzie,” Oulman said. “I’ve just really enjoyed doing it because she empowers me a lot and she has a really good way of setting the pace perfectly as it should be.”

Sweeping the top five places at regionals was a milestone moment for the girls, but Angie believes they still had a little left in the tank when they crossed the finish line, and she expects to see that extra push at state.

Sophomores Devin McDaniel and Terra Bode will serve as alternates for the Bulldogs.

This is the last race for Suhy-Gregoire and Oulman and they plan on leaving it all out there for their teammates.

“I want to feel the most pain I’ve ever felt in a race,” Oulman said. “This is my last race with a senior that I’ve been on the team with for four years … so I want to give everything I can for the person that has done just as much as me.”

Boys seek glory, stepping stones for a brighter future

Entering this season, the Sandpoint boys were focused squarely on keeping their regional title streak alive. They checked that off the list last week by fending off Moscow, now what’s next?

Well, that’s the thing — the boys aren’t entirely sure. Last year, the Bulldogs entered state with expectations of placing, and they did, capturing fourth to earn their first state trophy since 2014.

This year, those expectations aren’t there and the pressure is off, which makes Sandpoint dangerous. Matt Brass said that approach is always nice to have and helps the team avoid being tense.

On paper, Matt said the Bulldogs could finish anywhere between third and seventh as a team.

“It’s a really tight dogfight down there,” he said.

At the end of the day, Matt just wants the boys to go out strong from the start and give it their all. If they do that, they should be satisfied with their performances, he said.

“I want to see them put themselves to the limit and be happy with it no matter what,” he said.

Sandpoint’s top four runners have carried them to this point and the Bulldogs will look for them to do the same at state. Seniors Ben Ricks and Trey Clark, junior Slate Fragoso and sophomore Nathan Roche make-up that top four. All of them competed at state last season and Ben is looking forward to his second and last state trip.

Ben, the regional champion, admitted he is seeking a little bit of redemption after a tough showing at Pocatello last fall. He ran his slowest 5K of the season at state and he is definitely excited about getting a chance to compete at Eagle Island.

This will be the first state appearance for the Bulldogs’ other three runners — senior Caleb Roche, and sophomores Kasten Grimm and Daniel Ricks. Sophomores Klein Fragoso and Jimmy Cornelius and freshman Fletcher Barrett are all alternates.

Slate, a team captain, said this state trip will be extremely beneficial for all the underclassmen.

“I think it’s super important to have a state experience even if you aren’t running,” he said. “It also gives you something to look forward to and an idea of where you want to be next year.”

After losing their top three runners from last year’s squad, including the two fastest in school history, Matt knew his younger runners would have to step up to close that gap, and they have.

Grimm and Daniel emerged from a talented crop of freshmen and sophomores to grab the last two varsity spots this season. Matt has been impressed by his underclassmen every step of the way and he said the future of the program looks bright.

“They as a pack exceeded my expectations and I have pretty lofty expectations for them,” he said.

Speaking of expectations, Sandpoint’s top four have met Matt’s all season long. The quartet has traded positions each race and worked together seamlessly.

“It is nice to just be around your teammates,” Slate said about the pack of four.

Matt believes all four have a chance to medal at state and he would like to see one or two of them make that a reality. And if a state trophy fell into the Bulldogs’ lap in the process, Matt wouldn’t be surprised.

“Three months ago, it would have, but now not really because I know what we’re capable of,” he said. “I would definitely say it’s an outside chance though.”

Ben is eyeing a top-five team finish for the Bulldogs, and individually, the senior wasn’t even thinking about medaling until he was presented with the question.

“It’s on my mind now,” he joked. “I wasn’t really thinking about it just because in the past it has seemed so far out of reach.”

Nathan, who placed 35th at state in 2020, stormed on the scene last season as a freshman and has continued to leave his mark this fall. Trey said they’ve texted pictures of Nathan’s times this season to Nikolai Braedt, who owns the fastest 5K time in school history, because of how impressive he’s been.

“He’s got the same potential [as Nikolai],” Trey said. “He’s basically on the footsteps of Nikolai and all of us.”

“He just doesn’t give up,” Slate added about Nathan.

Trey ran on the Eagle Island course as a freshman in 2018 when he competed in the NXR Northwest Regional Championships. He said the team will dial in a plan of attack on the bus ride down to state, but he knows their pack of four will need to get out to an aggressive start because the course bottlenecks quickly.

“Getting out is going to be one of the huge things we need to do, otherwise, I don’t know if we can hold on,” he said.

Ben said what this team has meant to him has changed over the course of his career, but he will never forget how encouraging and inviting everyone was when he first joined. He said he’s learned so much from those that came before, including 2020 grad Seth Graham. Ben said he always looked up to Graham and he’s part of the reason why he declined being a captain this season and instead was the glue between the whole team.

“The first two years were really transforming me into being a helpful teammate and recognizing everybody’s strengths,” he said, “and then these last two years have really been trying to take what I learned from [teammates] and apply it.”

Start time: The girls will hit the course at 1 p.m. PST, followed by the boys at 1:30 p.m. PST.