STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEETS: Blue, times three ... Coeur d'Alene boys, Timberlake girls, Cd'A Charter's Annabelle Carr claim state titles Saturday in Lewiston Orchards

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

LEWISTON — Once the rain began at the Lewis-Clark State Country Course in Lewiston Orchards on Saturday, another reign continued, while another could be just getting started again.

Coeur d’Alene won its third straight state boys championship, led by four runners in the top six — junior Wyatt Carr (second), sophomore Rowan Henry (third), senior Mitchell Rietze (fifth) and sophomore Wyatt Morgenstern (sixth) — finishing with 30 team points, winning by 62 points in the 6A boys race. 

“This is why we run cross country is for days like today,” Carr said. “We wanted to bring another state championship to Coeur d’Alene. I’m so proud of everyone, from the coaching staff to the parents and families and athletes. We had people out here cheering us on. It just goes to show the great group of guys we’ve got.”

It was the fourth state championship for Coeur d'Alene's boys, who won their first in 2011.

Rietze has been part of all three state title teams.

“It feels really good,” Rietze said. “All the training we’ve put in this year, it’s really shown. We came in here confident and ready to dominate. Last year, it was really special to even get to come in and race. This one really feels like we deserved it.”

“The boys ran very, very well today,” second-year Coeur d’Alene coach Emry Carr said. “Every one of them had a PR today, which is saying something. We executed really well and Wyatt is coming back into form, Rowan ran amazing and Mitchell was great.”

Timberlake’s girls, led by juniors Lola Eggleston (third) and Vanessa McLachlan (fourth), won the program’s first state title since 2011, the last of three straight titles.

“I’m so proud of the girls,” said McLachlan, who was runner-up in 2024 at Eagle Island. “We were drawing on each other before the race. And I’m glad we did because I could see Lola on the course and she had a heart (drawn on her arm) with all of our initials on it, and that’s when I thought, ‘that’s why I’m running, for my girls.’ My mom said to run with my heart, and that’s my heart.”

Coeur d’Alene Charter senior Annabelle Carr defended her state 4A title, winning in 17 minutes, 53.5 seconds.

“The course was really good and there wasn’t any gravel, which the gravel usually bothers me,” Carr said. “But it worked out well. I had to run by myself for a while, but the crowd and the fans really kept me in it.”

The Oregon commit also won last year at Eagle Island State Park.

“My background in cross country isn’t very strong, and I’ve been injured doing cross country in the past, so I didn’t want to go too hard and miss track,” said Carr, a two-time state champion in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters on the track. “Oregon, they want me for cross country, and they’ll know how to train me for that. But I’m really looking forward to running track there.”

6A: Wyatt Carr had been battling injuries, but recently returned in the final two weeks of the regular season.

“It goes to show how good the state of Idaho is,” Carr said. “The last 30 meters, he (eventual winner Hyrum Tuft of Rocky Mountain) passed me and I didn’t have anything left. I didn’t have any oxygen and just couldn’t breathe. He’s super good and had a great race.”

Morgenstern was 28th at state last year.

“It feels really nice,” Morgenstern said. “To three-peat at state, it’s really nice. We didn’t get the top-four sweep, but it was pretty good.”

Junior Gabe Heule finished 14th to round out the Viking scoring runners.

“It just goes to show the kind of culture we’re building and the commitment that the boys have,” Emry Carr said. “Year after year, they will continue to build and perform. It’s a great win, and I’m super pumped for the school and community. But we’re not done yet.”

Post Falls senior Talia Bonville finished eighth to earn medalist honors (top-20 finish).

“This is the first year in a long time that both the boys and girls from our school have qualified for state,” said Bonville, who finished 13th as a sophomore. “So it really helped having an amazing team atmosphere. Today was great, because as a senior, it’s all or nothing today. It was a fun race today.”

Coeur d’Alene senior Olivia May was 11th after finishing sixth at state as a freshman on this same course.

“It was a full-circle moment for me,” May said. “The last time I was here was in 2022 as a freshman, so to get to come back here for my senior year was great. I’ve been battling injuries, so it was really big for me.”

Coeur d’Alene freshman Victoria Howard was 20th for the Viking girls, who were sixth. The top four teams received trophies. Rocky Mountain of Meridian won the girls team title.

“I was pretty nervous today, but just had to relax,” Howard said. “I just needed to get going and that got me through it.”

5A: Lakeland junior Frank McCarthy set a goal to be a medalist this year.

As it turned out, he turned to an old friend from Sandpoint to push him on the way.

“I’d never medaled at state, and wanted to get in the top 20, so I’m really happy about that,” said McCarthy, who finished 14th. “I’d like to go for the top 10, but it didn’t work out today. But I’m still really happy with how I did.”

Sandpoint junior Jack Lovin finished 16th overall to earn state medalist honors.

“It was a hard fought one,” Lovin said. “There were a lot of guys that were in front of me and I was trying to get through there and battle those guys.”

McCarthy was second at regionals, Lovin third on this same course on Oct. 22.

“When he came up to me on the straightaway, if I wouldn’t have known it was him, I wouldn’t have pushed so hard,” McCarthy said. “When I saw it was him, I kicked it in. We’ve got a goofy kind of thing between us.”

“We’re pretty good friends, and have always been close in competition,” Lovin said. “It’s always pretty close between us. He’s a fun guy to race.”

Sandpoint junior Elizabeth Storms finished 19th, completing her goal of finishing in the top 20 and being a medalist at state.

“This race was a lot better than districts,” Storms said. “Mentally, going into this, I felt good. But coming out with a medal feels even better.”

Sandpoint’s girls finished fifth, just one place off a trophy. Idaho Falls won the state title.

“My team and I sat down before the race and talked tactics,” Storms said. “We found we run better when we’ve got packs to run with and from there we used each other as our source of strength. We were in the zone, placed well.”

4A: Eggleston said it was nice to bring home that new banner for the Timberlake gymnasium.

“It feels like all of our hard work, and sweat and blood and tears are worth it,” Eggleston said. “All that work we put into it paid off. And I’d do it again over and over a million times.”

Senior Malia Miller was 20th for Timberlake, which finished with 68 points.

"These girls are my family and I couldn't have done it without them," Miller said. "Practice days are grueling, but they're just the best."

As for what's next ...

"Basketball season starts Monday," Miller said.

“Two years ago, we were sixth and last year we were fourth,” said Timberlake coach Shawn Lawler, who coached the girls to three straight 3A titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011. “To win it this year and have it come together this year, everything had to be right. And our No. 5 girl (Kayla Hyle), she was very mediocre as a middle schooler, but has bought into what we’re doing and set a goal to run 500 miles over the summer and be the first to do it. And she was our No. 5 to help us win that title.”

Hyle came in 31st for Timberlake finished nine points ahead of runner-up Snake River.

“It’s been 14 years, and you just get to the point where you think this isn’t going to happen again,” Lawler said. “That maybe that was it. And here we are winning another one. And hopefully this gets some kids excited about putting in that work that Kayla did over the summer.”

“I’ve been injured all season, so it’s been hard,” McLachlan said. “This is the best team you can ask for. They really motivated me out on the course, the guys and the parents, they really made this happen.”

Timberlake junior Jonathan Barnhart was fourth, junior Caleb Royce eighth and senior Josh Yeager 20th for the Tigers, who finished third.

Sugar-Salem won with 49 points. McCall-Donnelly was second with 54 points, and Timberlake was third with 68 — the Tiger boys' best finish at state.

“McCall just ran lights-out today,” said Royce, the District 1 champion last week. “We just have days like that sometimes. Today just wasn’t our day. I definitely felt like I let my team down a little bit, but sometimes you have bad days. You’ve just got to get through it.”

Timberlake’s girls were runner-up and the boys fourth in 2018, the last time both teams claimed trophies at state.

“It’s always a good day when both teams can bring home a trophy,” Lawler said. “It’s exciting for those kids. I know the boys are going to be bummed, but two teams had a great day and we had a really good day.”

3A: Malad swept team titles after Ririe completed the feat last year at Eagle Island State Park.

2A: Victory Charter of Nampa swept team titles. It was the second straight for the girls program.

BOYS

6A

TEAM SCORES — 1, Coeur d’Alene 30. 2, Highland 92. 3, Rocky Mountain 103. 4, Eagle 107. 5, Boise 113. 6, Rigby 129. 7, Centennial 155. 8, Mountain View 192. 9, Timberline 233. 10, Meridian 276. 11, Post Falls 326. 12, Madison 348. 

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Hyrum Tuft, Rocky Mountain, 14:28.2. 2, Wyatt Carr, Coeur d’Alene, 14:31.3. 3, Rowan Henry, Coeur d’Alene, 14:38.9. 5, Mitchell Rietze, Coeur d’Alene, 14:47.4. 6, Wyatt Morgenstern, Coeur d’Alene, 14:48.2. 14, Gabe Heule, Coeur d’Alene, 15:07.1. 24, Blaise Howard, Coeur d’Alene, 15:25. 60, Cole Holley, Post Falls, 16:06.3. 66, Andrew Grady, Coeur d’Alene, 16:11.6. 68, Jackson Collins, Post Falls, 16:13.1. 73, Ethan Turner, Post Falls, 16:20.1. 78, Conner Johnson, Lake City, 16:31.5. 87, Oliver Peters, Post Falls, 17:03.2. 90, David McKinney, Post Falls, 17:21.8. 94, Daniel Fuqua, Post Falls, 18:05.4. 95, Nico Ortega, Post Falls, 18:38.8.

5A

TEAM SCORES — 1, Skyline 64. 2, Preston 76. 3, Century 106. 4, Idaho Falls 111. 5, Sandpoint 138. 6, Bishop Kelly 151. 7, Moscow 160. 8, Blackfoot 169. 9, Skyview 192. 10, Middleton 250. 11, Jerome 294. 12, Twin Falls 311. 13, Burley 319. 14, Vallivue 413.

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Ethan Hansen, Century, 14:51.1. 2, Christopher Peterson, Skyview, 14:53.9. 3, Davis Roberts, Skyline, 15:06.4. 14, Frank McCarthy, Lakeland, 15:44.1. 16, Jack Lovin, Sandpoint, 15:44.7. 26, Kai Budensiek, Sandpoint, 16:07.6. 36, Paul Kent, Sandpoint, 16:16.4. 38, Parker Sterling, Lakeland, 16:17.2. 39, Charlie Mattila, Lakeland, 16:18.4. 44, Trace Evans, Sandpoint, 16:20.1. 54, Hobbes Conley, Sandpoint, 16:35.3. 57, Cy Marshall, Sandpoint, 16:38.9. 61, Landon Connor, Sandpoint, 16:43.3. 

4A

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sugar-Salem 49. 2, McCall-Donnelly 54. 3, Timberlake 68. 4, South Fremont 103. 5, Snake River 125. 6, Fruitland 140. 7, Filer 191. 8, Marsh Valley 201. 9, Kimberly 212. 10, Cole Valley Christian 239. 11, Bonners Ferry 334. 

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Charlie Spiers, McCall-Donnelly, 14:53.1. 2, Darrel Dickson, Sugar-Salem, 14:59.3. 3, Landon Hillam, Fruitland, 15:14. 4, Jonathan Barnhart, Timberlake, 15:20.6. 8, Caleb Royce, Timberlake, 15:49. 20, Josh Yeager, Timberlake, 16:29. 21, Joseph Sateren, Timberlake, 16:30. 22, Eli Royce, Timberlake, 16:35.2. 29, Cameron Barnhart, Timberlake, 16:50.7. 49, Jacob Sateren, Timberlake, 17:14. 53, Brecken Miller, Bonners Ferry, 17:21.8. 70, Gordon Woelfle, Bonners Ferry, 18:36. 76, Brock Tuma, Bonners Ferry, 19:05.4. 79, Micah Thomson, Bonners Ferry, 19:59.1. 80, Tyler Cordle, Bonners Ferry, 22:53.6. 

3A

TEAM SCORES — 1, Malad 49. 2, Ririe 62. 3, North Fremont 80. 4, Soda Springs 98. 5, Nampa Christian 102. 6, West Side 104. 7, New Plymouth 220. 8, Ambrose 238. 9, Kellogg 241. 10, Melba 267. 11, Marsing 272. 

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Boston Burbidge, Malad, 15:18.6. 2, Ethan Willis, West Side, 15:30.9. 3, Jace Nalder, Malad, 15:38.1. 26, Shadrach Creswell, Kellogg, 16:47.9. 47, Tadhg McLaimtaig, Priest River, 17:32.8. 50, Alex Cassidy, Kellogg, 17:35.3. 61, Davin Harju, Kellogg, 18:02.6. 62, Daniel Gunkle, Priest River, 18:03.4. 63, Buck Coe, Kellogg, 18:11.7. 82, Gage Pierce, Kellogg, 20:08.4. 83, Manik Sharma, Kellogg, 20:28.1. 88, Eavin Knight, Kellogg, 22:05.7.

2A

TEAM SCORES — 1, Victory Charter 46. 2, Rockland 74. 3, Logos 120. 4, Liberty Charter 125. 5, Grace 147. 6, Valley 169. 7, Rimrock 171. 8, Alturas Prep 201. 9, Challis 211. 10, Council 250. 11, Troy 252. 12, Raft River 299.

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, John Henry Crapuchetts, Logos, 15:41.6. 2, Benjamin Farr, Genesee, 16:07.7. 3, JD Wiley, Victory Charter, 16:11.1. 56, Ashton Lewis, Kootenai, 18:17.6. 

GIRLS

6A 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Rocky Mountain 58. 2, Timberline 79. 3, Boise 88. 4, Eagle 131. 5, Centennial 152. 6, Coeur d’Alene 158. 7, Thunder Ridge 171. 8, Highland 183. 9, Mountain View 197. 10, Madison 221. 11, Post Falls 264.

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Hallie Heemeyer, Rocky Mountain, 16:29.2. 2, Audrey Orme, Boise, 16:49.9. 3, Annie Herd, Centennia, 17:21.9. 8, Talia Bonville, Post Falls, 17:39.8. 11, Olivia May, Coeur d’Alene, 17:48.3. 20, Victoria Howard, Coeur d’Alene, 18:11. 31, Dakota Keyworth, Coeur d’Alene, 18:31.8. 42, Gracie McVey, Coeur d’Alene, 18:47.3. 55, Madison Zimmerman, Lake City, 19:22.9. 66, Dorothy Pope, Post Falls, 19:47.7. 70, Emmalyn Sorensen, Post Falls, 20:02.6. 71, Kimberly Lackey, Post Falls, 20:22.9. 77, Ainsley Parker, Post Falls, 21:07.4. 79, Grace Callahan, Coeur d’Alene, 21:26.4. 81, Kamilah Luna, Post Falls, 21:40. 83. Emily Taylor, Post Falls, 22:38.4. 

5A 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Idaho Falls 78. 2, Twin Falls 100. 3, Bishop Kelly 101. 4, Skyline 121. 5, Sandpoint, 144. 6, Jerome 153. 7, Preston 174. 8, Shelley 200. 9, Century 245. 10, Lakeland 263. 11, Skyview 290. 12, Vallivue 291. 13, Middleton 296. 14, Burley 335.

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Raelee Richardson, Twin Falls, 17:25.3. 2, Jaycee Jensen, Idaho Falls, 18:04.7. 3, Katie Boyle, Pocatello, 18:07.5. 19, Elizabeth Storms, Sandpoint, 19:00.4. 24, Olivia Mereidth, Lakeland, 19:14.1. 25, Ruthie Laughridge, Sandpoint, 19:15.6. 26, Delaney Barron, Sandpoint, 19:16. 43, Maddison Chapple, Lakeland, 19:51. 50, Lillian Grant, Sandpoint, 20:10.0. 51, Sophie Brubaker, Sandpoint, 20:13.6. 65, Vivian Schuck, Sandpoint, 20:29.2. 72, Piper Peterson, Lakeland, 20:36.5. 76, Bristol Burnside, Lakeland, 20:40.3. 88, Sienna Szabo, Sandpoint, 21:15.4. 94, Annie Mattila, Lakeland, 21:39.1. 101, Bailey Haag, Lakeland, 22:36.9. 105, Savannah O’Hara, Lakeland, 23:22. 

4A

TEAM SCORES — 1, Timberlake 68. 2, Snake River 77. 3, Sugar-Salem 89. 4, Teton 98. 5, McCall-Donnelly 121. 6, Weiser 172. 7, Filer 183. 8, Cole Valley Christian, 197. 9, Gooding, 201. 10, Marsh Valley 216. 

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Annabelle Carr, Cd’A Charter, 17:53.5. 2, Ella Smith, Fruitland, 18:01.5. 3, Lola Eggleston, Timberlake, 18:10.1. 4, Vanessa McLachlan, Timberlake, 18:26.2. 20, Malia Miller, Timberlake, 19:36.3. 22, Emily Wright, Timberlake, 19:48.8. 29, Kylie Calderone, Bonners Ferry, 20:02.9. 31, Kayla Hyle, Timberlake, 20:10.7. 42, Kenzie Jezek, Timberlake, 20:35.6. 44, Emmaline Carr, Cd’A Charter, 20:44.7. 47, Addisen Berg, Timberlake, 20:59. 61, Camas Horsmon, Cd’A Charter, 22:35.3. 76, Alice Mcvay, Cd’A Charter, 26:51.9. 

3A

TEAM SCORES — 1, Malad 51. 2, Ririe 62. 3, Soda Springs 65. 4, Nampa Christian 95. 5, North Fremont 125. 6, Ambrose 145. 7, Firth 207. 8, Parma 227. 9, Grangeville 261. 10, Priest River 262.

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Lucy Boone, Ririe, 18:05.3. 2, Bella Spencer, West Jefferson, 18:17.4. 3, Andrea Anderson, North Fremont, 18:20. 41, Alannah McLaimtaig, Priest River, 21:44.4. 53, Kyla White, Priest River, 23:04. 59, Maiyu Smith, Priest River, 24:06.9. 67, Breelynn Duran, Priest River, 24:50.2. 70, Sakura Smith, Priest River, 25:55.2. 72, Abagail Shaulis, Priest River, 26:19.3. 

2A 

TEAM SCORES — 1, Victory Charter 21. 2, Logos 77. 3, Tri-Valley 97. 4, Butte County 98. 5, Raft River 115. 6, Rimrock 135. 7, Rockland 169. 8, Prairie 170.

TOP THREE, LOCALS — 1, Alyssa Hust, Victory Charter, 18:29.03. 2, Libby Stockett, Victory Charter, 18:40.25. 3, Lydia Babcock, Butte County, 18:42.35. 44, Juniper Stevenson, Kootenai, 22:31.64. 51, Hazel Stevenson, Kootenai, 23:20.71.

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene Charter senior Annabelle Carr runs to the finish line to win her second straight state 4A cross country title on Saturday at the Lewis-Clark State Course at Lewiston Orchards.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Post Falls senior Talia Bonville completes her second lap at the state 6A cross country meet at Lewiston Orchards on Saturday. Bonville finished eighth.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Lakeland junior Frank McCarthy takes a lead on Sandpoint's Jack Lovin during the second lap of the state 5A boys cross country race at Lewiston Orchards. McCarthy was 14th, Lovin 16th to earn state medalist honors for finishing in the top 20.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene's Wyatt Carr, Mitchell Rietze and Rowan Henry get off the starting line in Saturday's state 6A boys cross country race at Lewiston Orchards.
  

    Courtesy photo The Timberlake girls cross country team won the state 4A title on Saturday at Lewiston Orchards, the program’s first since 2011. In the front row from left are Naomi Dirks, Kenzie Jezek, Addisen Berg and Emily Wright. In the back row from left are head coach Shawn Lawler, Malia Miller, Lola Eggleston, Vanessa McLachlan, Kayla Hyle and assistant coach Jennifer Wenstrom.
  

    JASON ELLIOTT/Press Coeur d'Alene senior Olivia May crosses the finish line 11th to earn state medalists honors at the state 6A cross country meet on Saturday in Lewiston Orchards.