STATE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS: Building to a bigger goal ... Viking boys lose Division I athletes, keep running toward third straight state title

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

It might have been a popular belief that after two straight state championships, and losing three seniors — two now running in the Atlantic Coast Conference — that the Coeur d’Alene High boys cross country team might be taking a step back this season.

It didn’t.

In fact, this group of Vikings — ranked fourth in the nation by DyeStat.com  — might just be getting started.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that are dedicated to the program,” junior Wyatt Carr said. “Not only that, they’re not just putting in the work during the season, but in the offseason. Stacking miles and being consistent over time has really helped the younger guys fill in the roles that we’ve needed.”

Max Cervi-Skinner (third at state in 2024) and Zack Cervi-Skinner (fourth at state last year) are now competing at Wake Forest. Kyle Rohlinger is currently studying at Notre Dame, where he is a member of the Fighting Irish club track and field team.

“Losing Max, Zack and Kyle last year was really hard,” Carr said. “But everyone has really stepped up this year.”

Emry Carr, in his second year as head coach, stressed the structure of the program as the key to its success.

“I think it’s our best team to date,” Emry Carr said. “And that’s not taking anything away from Max or Zack, or the guys that came before them. Max and Zack were our No. 1 and 2 all last season last year. But the way the program works, it’s the consistency over time. It’s week to week and month to month and year to year, built to supersede the kind of runners they were last year. You have Wyatt Morgenstern, Gabe Heule, Rowan Henry and Mitchell Rietze, they’re all better than they were last year. And that’s what this program is built on. Even though we’re going to consistently lose people, the younger guys, if they stay healthy, they continue to progress and be rock solid.” 

Coeur d'Alene was ranked fourth nationally by DyeStat.com in its latest rankings on Oct. 16.

Wyatt Carr, Emry's son, was sixth at state last year. Junior Gabe Heule was 13th, sophomore Rowan Henry 14th and senior Mitchell Rietze 16th, all state medalists (top-20 finishers) in helping the Vikings finish with 40 points. Freshman Wyatt Morgenstern was 28th at state last year.

“At state last year, I was running with Morgan and Rowan a little bit,” Heule said. “This year, I’ve kind of dropped back a little bit, but I’m working on getting back. I had my PR at state last year, and it felt pretty good.”

Morgenstern is excited to improve on his showing from last year at state.

“Last year, the state meet was not my best showing,” Morgenstern said. “Having a re-do sounds like a great time.” 

“We know the kind of team we’ve built,” Henry said. “We know what it’s going to take to compete against some of those tougher guys like Hyrum Tuft (Rocky Mountain) and Drew Donahue (Centennial). I think we’re all feeling ready rather than nervous.” 

THE STATE meet in all classifications is Saturday at the Lewis-Clark State Cross Country Course in Lewiston Orchards. The 6A boys race is at 12:30 p.m.

Coeur d’Alene breezed to a fifth straight district title last Wednesday at Lewiston Orchards.

“We make sure we get all of our stuff done,” Heule said. “We focus on working very hard and our mentality is quite good. We always try to go into races as good as we can and have good strategy meetings. We always think of things to make us better.” 

“It’s the brotherhood that we have,” Henry said. “We focus on a lot of team building over the summer to become a team. We work together and compete together to win.” 

Rietze, the lone senior, was the district champion, with the Vikings forming a 'flying V', with the younger runners taking a step back as Rietze finished.

"It was really special for me to win," Rietze said. "I've been right there with them all year, but for them to let me have that one, knowing it was my final district race, it was special to win that."

Carr recently returned from a leg injury, missing a meet in California and the Nike Hole in the Wall event in Washington.

“I was dealing with an injury at the start of the year,” Wyatt Carr said. “I’m working my way back, but have been cross training three times a week for about three weeks now. I’m able to run with the guys now, and I’m super happy about it.” 

Wyatt Carr still attended the meets, supporting his teammates as he could.

“Going to California and not being able to race and not being able to work hard with the guys on the course, it was tough,” Wyatt Carr said. “But I knew the stuff I was doing would get me back for the championship season when it really mattered.” 

Rietze was 46th at state as a freshman in 2022 at Lewiston Orchards, when Coeur d'Alene finished third.

"We went into that race knowing that we probably weren't going to win because there were a lot of really good teams," Rietze said. "It's a fast course, with a lot of flat spots. This year, we're going in this race really confident. We just want to go out and execute and win. Running last week really helped a lot of the younger guys get mentally prepared. We're looking forward to it."

For sophomore Blaise Howard, it will be his first state meet after missing last season with a broken left tibia.

“I’m really looking forward to running with my team,” Howard said. “It’s been something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.” 

Howard added he trained with the team up until his injury last year, just days into the season.

“I ran with both Max and Zack last summer up to my injury and then during track season,” Howard said. “They’re great examples for the team and taught us to work hard. They’re really good role models, and we want to be just like them when we’re older.” 

Carr was fourth at regionals last week.

“I’m definitely improving and starting to get my stride back,” Wyatt Carr said. “Next week, I’m hoping all five of our top guys can make a statement. I’m hoping to lead the team and have everyone just work together.”

In 2023, the Viking boys won their first title since 2011 at the Portneuf Wellness Complex in Pocatello, then followed that up with another title in 2024 at Eagle Island State Park in Eagle.

The boys state record at Lewiston Orchards was set by Landon Heemeyer of Rocky Mountain in 2022 in 14 minutes, 38.8 seconds.

“It’s a fast course,” said Wyatt Carr of Lewiston Orchards. “Even if the weather is rainy, as long as the wind is OK. We've got four or five guys that can compete to win and get that state record.”

TO DO that, Heule feels the team’s strategy will be key.

“We need to keep our top five runners together and in the front loop to push the pack,” Heule said. “We need to stay in the front and hopefully that will lead us to winning state.” 

“I’m a little bit nervous,” Morgenstern said. “It’s one of our smaller races, but there’s a lot of pressure on this one. The state title, you can’t mess that up.” 

Coeur d’Alene competed in the Woodbridge Classic on Sept. 20 in Great Park, Calif., as well as the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational at Lakewood High in Marysville, Wash. At the Nike event, the Viking boys won the elite race with 43 points.

“It’s not another meet, and it’s the state championships,” Henry said. “But it does help that we’ve been in some big races just because we know we’ve been somewhere larger, with more people, so it isn't as big to us.” 

“Everyone is talented, and we’ve got a lot of talent on this team,” Emry Carr said. “But there’s a lot of talent in the state of Idaho and northwest. What separates this group from them is the work. The consistency and commitment to that. There’s no days off in this program. And they thrive in that type of environment. They’ve learned to enjoy the peril and the terribleness of training all the time. They’ve got a good group together and they always say they’re brothers. When things get ugly, and not fun, it actually becomes fun because they’re with their brothers.”