Halladay comeback overtakes Jensen for 5A title

By Mary Albl for DyeStat

POCATELLO, Idaho --Freshman Lexy Halladay recovered in time to tackle a big challenge and slay her own nerves Saturday afternoon at the Portneuf Wellness Complex.    

A week after having to drop out of her district cross country meet due to health reasons, the Mountain View freshman made a dominating statement winning the 5A state title in 18 minutes, 10.27 seconds.

“She's been sick, legitimately very sick,” Mountain View head coach Tracy Harris said. “She was a little nervous and she responded great, and that's the mark of a true champion.”

Still not 100 percent, Harris said they tweaked the game plan for Halladay to start out much slower on the 5,000-meter course that was described as “soggy.” Halladay was able to do that and pull away from Boise High sophomore Eve Jensen on the long gradual hill on the backstretch to claim her first state cross country title. District 3 5A champion Jensen was runner-up in 18:21.75.

“I was nervous thinking about 'what if this happens again?' But really, I knew what I was capable of doing, and I just had to go in knowing what I could do, and what I had done, and I think that just really helped me,” Halladay said.

Halladay's victory was just part of an amazing day for the Mavericks. Five runners placed in the top 13 as Mountain View scored 35 points to win the team title. The Mavericks entered Saturday's meet after winning the district title without having Halladay factor in the scoring.

“The girls were confident. I was a little nervous, because again, anything can happen,” Harris said. “We are just so deep, it really helps our cause.”

Runner-up Eagle scored 56 points.

“It was really cool,” Halladay said. “We knew we could do it.”

Mountain View will now turn its attention to Nike Cross Northwest Regional on Nov. 12 at Eagle Island State Park.

“Now that this is finally over, we can finally focus on NXN,” Harris said. “We're excited now to go show people what we can do in cross country.”

The boys 5A race was a lot tighter as Rocky Mountain tallied 92 points to edge out Borah (99). Mountain View was third (108).

Lewiston senior Austin Byrer won the race in 15:58.53.

Led by Taylor Philips' eighth place finish, Rocky Mountain placed four in the top 25. Mountain View's Charles Paul was third (16:14.42) overall.

One of the big stories of the day, though, was the performance of the Soda Springs girls. The team made state history becoming the first girls or boys cross country program to win 11 straight state titles.

Soda Springs scored 29 points to win 2A. Freshman Dani Smith was the top finisher in third, running 20:14.50 and Soda Springs captured fifth through eighth place.

The Soda Springs boys made it a clean sweep scoring 38 points to narrowly defeat Westside (42). Soda Springs placed five in the 17. It was the fourth straight title for the program.

Jackson Pratt of Bear Lake was the top finisher in 16:21.

In 4A action, Skyline's Ryan Barna captured second (15:52.13) as four of his other teammates placed in the top 11 to finish with 33 points. Bishop Kelly was runner-up (111 points) as sophomore Nicholas Russell won the race in 15:50.23.

In the girls' race, Blackfoot's Michelle Pratt clocked 18:40.80 to win the 4A individual title. Twin Falls' Haley Schaeffer placed second (19:00.40) as the Bruins won the team trophy with 40 points.

The Shelley girls recorded a 3A three-peat as they tallied 41 points to hold off Sugar-Salem (48). Shelley senior Paytin Drollinger ran 19:13.53 for first place.

For the boys, Sugar-Salem ran away from the field, scoring 22 points to win. Coeur D'Alene Charter's Landon Chang won the 3A individual title in 16:39.90.

In 1A action, Britta Holmberg of The Ambrose School won the title in 20:56.58. Deary placed four in the top 25 to win the team title with 50 points.

Colege Olsen of Clearwater ran 16:44.49 to win the 1A title.

The Logos won the team title with 59 points.