THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: A familiar feel to this Viking bunch

It’s difficult to predict state championships, especially at the high school level.

Granted, there’s been a few teams that have been loaded — the 2023 Lake City High boys basketball team, 2013 Lake City softball team just to name a few — that have made it look easy in the final moments to a championship.

And there’s a few that have fallen a little short, that maybe, just maybe, shouldn’t have.

Today, Coeur d’Alene’s boys — ranked 10th in the nation by DyeStat — will hit the course seeking the program’s first team title since 2011, at the Portneuf Wellness Complex in Pocatello.

AT THE state cross country meet last year in Lewiston, the north had three runners — Annastasia Peters (Post Falls), McKenna Kozeluh (Coeur d’Alene Charter) and Jacob Barnhart (Timberlake) that won individual titles.

But alas, there were no team champions.

Later today, we’ll find out if the Coeur d’Alene boys can bring back the program’s first team title since 2011. Coeur d’Alene’s boys were third at state last year.

Three members — Max Cervi-Skinner, Kyle Rohlinger and Zach Cervi-Skinner — were part of a Junior Olympic national title in 2020 in Louisville, Ky.

“Running was a little easier back then,” said Zack Cervi-Skinner, who was fourth in the 13-14 year old boys race in 2020 to key the victory. “I’ve been on the same team with a lot of these guys for a long time. This is just a good group of guys. And we do stuff outside of running as well, so we’re all really close and into the same things.”

In 2020, Max Cervi-Skinner, Zack’s twin brother, won that 13-14 year-old race.

“It used to be a little nerve wracking competing with him when we were younger because we used to be so competitive with each other,” Max Cervi-Skinner said. “Now, it’s really fun for us to run together, either by ourselves or with the team in the races. We love it, we both do.”

Watching as they prepared for last week’s 5A Region 1 race at Farragut State Park, you wouldn’t have thought it was a state-qualifying meet.

The boys were relaxed, but focused as other races were going on leading into their event.

When the team went to warm up, they left in a tandem, never with one without the other as the race drew closer.

NOW, IF you think you’ve heard this story out of a Cathy Compton-coached team from Coeur d’Alene, maybe you might have.

In 2012, a relatively unknown group of underclassmen from the Viking girls team captured a team title at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston in dominating fashion.

Among that team was Josie Brown, who finished second, Jocelyn ‘Punky’ Duran fifth, Kara Story sixth, Emily Callahan seventh and Krista Story 10th.

Later, Brown competed at Washington State, Krista Story, Kara Story and Callahan at Idaho and Duran at Point Loma, a Division II school in Azusa, Calif..

That group also won 5A titles in 2013 and 2014.

On the current Viking boys team, only Jacob King and Lachlan May are seniors. The rest will be back for another run at a title next year.

After graduation this spring, King will serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then continue his studies at BYU.

“I don’t think I’m going to run in college, but I’m not 100% sure yet,” King said. “But I’m definitely serving a mission.”

May doesn’t plan to run in college either.

However, the underclassmen, they just might.

“I’d love to continue running in college, or maybe someday go pro,” Max Cervi-Skinner said. 

Should the Vikings find a way to prevail today, chances are whatever path they take from here will seem a lot clearer.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.