The two best words to describe the status of the local high school cross country scene could be: youthful and talented.

And Thompson Falls’ group of young and talented harriers does nothing to disprove that assessment. 

The Blue Hawks boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams traveled to Athol, Idaho this past weekend to take part in the Timberlake Farragut Invitational at scenic Farragut State Park. 

And their results were testimony to a group of young and top-notch runners. 

Leading the way for the T Falls girls was sophomore standout Aubrey Baxter, who placed second out of a field of 162 runners, covering the 5,000-meter course in 22:47.05. Race winner Paige Dance of Coeur d’Alene, a freshman, posted a time of 22:06.65. 

Baxter’s second place performance helped the Lady Hawks finish fifth in a field of top schools from Idaho and Washington. Thompson Falls freshman Lexi Franck gave the Hawks two top twenty finishers when she crossed the line fourteenth, crossing the finish line at 23:49.38. 

T Falls’ girls placed sixth in the team chase with 171 points, behind winner Gonzaga Prep of Spokane which had 38 points, 10 lower than second place Coeur d’Alene. 

The Thompson Falls boys, meanwhile, placed sixteenth out of 26 teams, paced by freshman Weston Block, who placed 61st out of 184 runners, with a time of 20:10.98. 

Davey Dance posted a boys’ best time of 17:22.14, leading the Coeur d’Alene squad to a first-place team finish with 35 points.  Lewis and Clark, a Spokane school, was runner up in the team chase with 46 points.   

T Falls head coach Sarah Naegeli was pleased with the improvements shown by her team.  She also had good words for the Farragut course. 

“We had some nice improvements since last week (Ronan Canal Run) by Franck, Peighton Kenney, Tuff Ryder and Jakob Molina”, she said. “This is a really nice course, grass and dirt surfaces with lots of shade and sun sections in and out of the forest”. 

Two T Falls runners posted personal best time at the Farragut event, with Maddy Zyromski posting a time of 28:34, and Nathan Baxter coming across the finish line with a time of 21:46. 

Other runners who took part for the girls' team were: Evy Edwards (25:27) and Kenney (25:43). 

In the boys’ competition, in addition to Block and Baxter, T Falls results included: Blake Shustermann (20:54), Ryder (21:48), Luke Pastorius (22:21) and Molina (25:02) 

Next up for the T Falls cross country team is the Corvallis Invitational this Saturday (Sept 14). 

    Blue Hawks freshman Weston Block was the top finisher for the T Falls boys team at Saturday's Farragut Invitational meet in Idaho. (Photo by Sarah Naegali)