SPOKANE — In the boys and girls 5A Region 1 championship races at The Course in Spokane, the first athletes to cross the finish line wore Sandpoint Bulldog red on Thursday. 

For the girls' team, freshman Olivia Betz put together a new personal best (19:47) to win the race by over nine seconds for a regional title in her first districts. Sandpoint head coach Mike Ehredt said Betz has been consistent and patient working through an injury that allowed her to have a great day. 

“I’ve been coming back from an injury, so I didn’t expect this at all,” Betz said. “I just didn’t. It was a lot harder than any other race I’ve ever had.” 

Junior Kai Budensiek (16:01) continued his dominant year with a seven-second win for the boys team, his first regional title. Ehredt said Budensiek leads the boys in training and helped them develop a love for running. 

“I just came in as the top guys and knew we were going to execute what we did,” said Budensiek, who ran the race in spikes instead of running shoes for traction. “Especially on courses like this, where it’s really grassy, they’re plated, and it gives you an extra boost.” 

Both the Sandpoint cross country teams rolled past their opposition in those races to claim the District 1-2 title and punch their ticket to the 5A State Championship next week.  

"Our plan today was to stalk in the first mile, hunt in the second mile and then terminate in the third mile, and that's the way we like to run our races," Ehredt said. "They know now that it's more important to have a team aspiration; it's more powerful to have one big unit with everybody working together." 

Betz was backed up by a third-place finish from junior Ruthie Laughridge (20:11) and a personal best from fellow freshman Charli Hall (20:24), who finished fourth. Junior Delaney Barron quickly trailed Hall, finishing fifth with a 20:25 final time. Freshman Theresa Hurt rounded out the scoring for the Sandpoint girls with a seventh-place finish and 20:34 time. 

The Lady Bulldogs have been stellar at scoring in bunches throughout the season, and it paid off as they allowed only two other runners from other schools to finish in the top seven. Their combined dominance allowed them to score 20 points, while the second-place team, Lakeland, totaled 53. 

The Sandpoint boys won their title in a very similar manner, scoring 20 points while the second-place team, Moscow, scored 50. Budensiek's elite performance was supported by a trio of Bulldogs behind him, sophomore Landon Connor (16:10) in third, junior Hobbes Conley (16:13) in fourth and senior Jack Lovin (16:17) in fifth. Sophomore Cy Marshall (16:26) rounded out the scoring with a seventh-place finish. 

The district title is the 14th straight for the Sandpoint boys and fourth straight for the Sandpoint girls team. Sandpoint now looks ahead to the 5A State Championship race held on Oct. 31 at the Portneuf Wellness Complex in Pocatello. 

"I'm pretty confident in what they will accomplish if they execute the plan and with the way we've been running all year," Ehredt said. "I like to tell them 'It's just another 5K'... I fully expect if they execute the way they've been doing all season, really good things will happen to Sandpoint." 

5A  

BOYS  

TEAM SCORES (Top two to state) — 1, Sandpoint 20. 2, Moscow 50. 3, Lewiston 86. 4, Lakeland 91.  

STATE QUALIFIERS (Top 10) — 1, Kai Budensiek, Sandpoint, 16:01.1. 2, Trenton Stypa, Moscow, 16:08.9. 3, Landon (Thor) Connor, Sandpoint, 16:10.5. 4, Hobbes Conley, Sandpoint, 16:13.8. 5, Jack Lovin, Sandpoint, 16:17.7. 6, Orion McClory, Moscow, 16:20.6. 7, Cy Marshall, Sandpoint, 16:26.1. 8, Lucas Clements, Lewiston, 16:30.5. 9, Parker Sterling, Lakeland, 16:38.3. 10, Frank McCarthy, Lakeland, 16:39.2. 

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES (Top two to state) — 1, Sandpoint 20. 2, Lakeland 53. 3, Moscow 77. 4, Lewiston 93.  

STATE QUALIFIERS (Top 10) – 1, Olivia Betz, Sandpoint, 19:47.2. 2, Addisyn Storm, Lewiston, 19:56.4. 3, Ruthie Laughridge, Sandpoint, 20:11.6. 4, Charli Hall, Sandpoint, 20:24.5. 5, Delaney Brown, Sandpoint, 20:25.5. 6, Maddison Chapple, Lakeland, 20:29.4. 7, Theresa Hart, Sandpoint, 20:34.3. 8, Olivia Meredith, Lakeland, 20:35.6. 9, Galena Dyk, Lakeland, 20:38.3. 10, Elizabeth Storms, Sandpoint, 20:44. 

    Sandpoint junior Kai Budensiek hits the final stretch of the boys 5A Region 1 cross country race on the way to a win at The Course in Spokane Valley on Thursday.