Badger cross county is off to the races.

This season, eight boys have come out, most of whom are juniors. A dozen girls have also come out to run, with six freshmen coming out to compete. 

Lyndsay Hart, a sixth-grade math teacher at Boundary County Middle School, is the new head XC coach. Hart, although she personally prefers longer distances, is not new to cross country as she coached the middle school team last year. She is excited to work with the incoming freshmen and see them progress in running, since she coached many of them last year.  

Hart is excited to coach, noting that running is a lifelong sport.  

“I have high hopes that we will have a successful season with a lot of personal growth and improvement,” Hart said. “Right now, we are focused on developing endurance and strength, hoping to avoid injury.” 

Alethia Ussher has also returned as assistant coach.  

Typically, the Badgers would open the season with the Youth Endowment for Activities Foundation cross country jamboree, a joint practice and time trial at the Bonners Ferry High School course with local teams. However, due to a lack of signups by regional teams, the jamboree scheduled for August 17, was canceled.  

It’s the second year that the event has been canceled with the jamboree canceled last year due to poor air quality.  

Last season, Sydney Beckle and Maitsyn Stiern represented Bonners Ferry at the IHSAA State Cross Country Championships held at the Portneuf Wellness Complex.  

Beckle finished 35th with a time of 21:45.92 and then sophomore Matisyn Stiern finished 59th with a time of 23:17.34. The state race had a significant elevation change, as the Badgers had to run upwards of 4,600 feet compared to an average 2,000 elevation in Bonners Ferry.  

Stiern’s personal best for last season was 21:57.4 and Beckle ran a 21:03.  

The Badgers’ top male runners did not qualify for state last year due to not finishing in the top seven of runners. However, the Badgers had tough competition in Jacob Barnhart and Caleb Royce of Timberlake. Barnhart had a season best of 15:55 and Royce had a 15:56, ranking them as No. 2 and 3 in 3A state and 24th and 25th overall in Idaho.  

Badger boys top runner, Micah Thomson suffered a leg injury before districts and was out for the rest of the season. He had a PR of 18:38.  

Jack Woods, another leading man for Badger cross country had a PR of 20:30.1 and Matthew McCabe had a PR of 20:52.8. All three have returned for their junior year.  

    Bonners Ferry XC coaches (left) Assistant Coach Alethia Ussher and (right) head coach Lyndsay Hart.
  

    Badger XC runner leads the pack in laps at practice.