THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Work pays off the right way

Give the coaches and athletes credit. 

Both put in the work this fall, starting practices on some of the hottest days of the year. 

Building programs, getting athletes out for their respective sports, and putting a good product on the field. 

While success wasn’t guaranteed, those miles and workouts paid off in the case of some area athletes. 

TWO WEEKS ago, the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy boys soccer team captured a state 4A title with a win over McCall-Donnelly at Meridian High. 

The match was delayed twice by lightning in the area. That same weather pushed the championship match of the 6A tournament, played at nearby Rocky Mountain High in Meridian, to Monday. 

That being said, the Panthers never lost focus in their match against the Vandals. 

“One of our seniors Creighton Lehosit, he encouraged everyone to stay on their feet,” sophomore Brooks Judd said. “It was now or never and we really started to play for each other from that moment.” 

As for an encore, the Panthers will graduate seven players from this year’s team. 

Of course, replacing goalkeeper Mattis Macmillan, who coach Craig Daigle referred to as the best goalie in the state — high school or college — might make things a little tougher. 

TOUGH WAS something that Coeur d’Alene Charter senior Annabelle Carr knew all too well as a freshman at the state cross country meet. 

After struggling to an 18th-place finish as a freshman at Lewiston Orchards due to a hip injury, Carr led as a sophomore at the Portneuf Wellness Complex in Pocatello before finishing fourth. She capped her high school cross country career with back-to-back state 4A titles, the second coming last weekend. 

“Two years ago, I froze up at the state meet and my legs froze, so it was nice to finish this way,” Carr said. “Last year, I had a foot injury and missed all but districts and state. I just happened to win last year because I pushed myself.” 

Totally healthy this season, Carr, an Oregon commit, won the Farragut Invitational on Sept. 6, as well as the 4A District 1 championship at Bonners Ferry High on Oct. 23. She also finished second in the Battle for the 509 in Spokane, and was third in the Hermiston (Ore.) Melon Fest on Sept. 13. 

“It was really nice to compete without being super stressed about it,” Carr said. “I really just wanted to run at state and get it over with.” 

Carr added that she intends to compete in the Nike Northwest Regional meet next weekend at the Spokane Polo Grounds. The event moved from Eagle Island State Park to Spokane this year, and will eventually move to its new location at The Course in Spokane Valley, which opened last weekend by holding the West Coast Conference cross country championships. 

OFTEN TIMES, if a team spends enough time together, eventually they begin to call themselves a family.

And in the case of the Timberlake boys cross country team, which finished third at state in 4A, with three sets of brothers, sometimes they really are.

But it was the Tiger girls program that brought home a fourth state title last weekend.

Surrounded at the finish line by parents, friends, grandparents, teachers, former athletic directors and their coaches.

Just celebrating.

All that hard work that seemed so tough all those months ago.

Talk about a family. That’s a big one they’ve got in Spirit Lake.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1206 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.