IDAHO STATE MEET

Coeur d'Alene Boys, Rocky Mountain Girls Repeat As Idaho 6A Champions

By Marlowe Hereford for DyeStat

LEWISTON, Idaho -- Two all-time Idaho records went down Saturday at the state meet on Lewis-Clark State College's official course in Lewiston Orchards.

Rocky Mountain seniors and teammates Hallie Heemeyer and Hyrum Tuft won the individual titles in the 6A races in respective personal bests of 16:29.2 and 14:28.2, the fastest times ever run by an Idaho girl and boy on a 5,000-meter course. Those times are also course records for Lewiston Orchards.

Heemeyer, who is committed to BYU, had previously broken 17 minutes on the same course in October upon winning the Inland Empire Championships in 16:37. She is also Rocky Mountain's first girls individual cross country state champion, and she had never broken 18 minutes, much less 17, before this season.

"Then we got that (sub-18), and I thought, 'Why not go for more?'" Heemeyer said. "I wanted to break 17 and once I got to that point I was just like, let's see how low 16s we can get, you know? Just keep pushing every week."

Her win made her the second member of her family to win an individual cross country state title. Older brother Landon, a 2024 Rocky Mountain graduate, won the 2022 5A individual state title in Lewiston and held the high school boys course record at Lewiston Orchards (14:38.8) until it went down in Saturday's 6A race.

"It is so special," Heemeyer said. "Landon has been a great mentor for my whole life. We're best friends."

Tuft won his race in the final stretch over Coeur d'Alene junior Wyatt Carr after battling with multiple Coeur d'Alene boys in the lead pack throughout the race.

"Right before the finish, I think there was probably at most like 100 meters left, I got Wyatt," Tuft said.

Tuft had never broken 15 minutes before Saturday. Now he joins Heemeyer and 2023 graduate Tyler Sainsbury with sub-15 minute 5k times for Rocky Mountain.

"I'm really happy about it but it just is a reminder of all the work I've put in and the belief it's taken to get here," Tuft said. "I hadn't even broken 15. It really was a joy to be able to know the work I've put in has paid off. For the team, a lot of the work I've put in is for them. I have a lot of talent in this sport, but if I really want to set an example for all the teammates and set them up in a good spot to be where I'm at right now, I have to really lead by example. And I think Landon and Ty did a really good job of that, and I was thinking about that on the course. Just like, this is where my brothers fought and won and conquered, so I want to do the same and set that example."

Boise senior Audrey Orme, who placed second Saturday, also went sub-17 with a personal best 16:49.9. Heemeyer and Orme join 2023 Post Falls graduate Annastasia Peters (now at the University of Utah) as the only Idaho girls on record to break 17 minutes for the 5k.

Heemeyer and junior Brooke Thompson (fourth place, personal best 17:25) and sophomore Eve Archibald (fifth place, personal best 17:30.3) medaled in the repeat state title win for the defending NXR Northwest champion Grizzlies, who are No. 27 ranked team.

Rocky Mountain head coach Jeff Howard said he and his coaching staff encouraged the Grizzlies to think of different teammates they were running for during the race, be they teammates on the starting line or those who didn't qualify as members of the varsity top seven.

"'Do it with your brothers and sisters on the team," Howard said of his reminder to his runners. "You're a huge part of a team.' We had a couple runners reflect after (the race) and say, "I thought of this person, then I thought of this person."

The top nine finishers in the 6A boys race all broke 15 minutes.

The No. 3-ranked and two-time NXR Northwest champion Coeur d'Alene boys got medals from Carr (second place, 14:31.3), sophomore Rowan Henry (third place, 14:38.9), senior Mitchell Rietze (fifth place, 14:47.4), sophomore Wyatt Morgenstern (sixth place, 14:48.2) and junior Gabe Heule (14th place, 15:07.1) to win a third consecutive boys state title, their second in 6A.

"Every year, it seems we get better, even when we think we're as good as we can be," Carr, who cross-trained for almost all of September to recover from injury and rejoin his teammates for the Nike Hole in the Wall on Oct. 11. "It definitely stems from that first team and that team motto, 'We before me.' It's about every day going out, you're not working for yourself, you're doing it for your brothers. It definitely shows and that's how we're able to keep getting better year by year."

'We before me' was printed on the back of team sweatshirts the team wore Saturday.

As he described how the Vikings have embodied that mantra this season, head coach Emry Carr choked up.

"Every year is special," he said. "One's not better than the other. The way they trust each other, the way they get better every single day, there's nothing but love between them."

Twin Falls junior Raelee Richardson repeated as 5A girls individual state champion in 17:25.3, nearly matching her personal best 17:24 from last month's Inland Empire Championships on the same course.

It was Richardson's seventh win this season, and she also became the fastest girl cross country runner on record at Twin Falls High. Three-time individual state champion Mattalyn Geddes, a 2020 Twin Falls graduate who continued her career at Utah State, ran a personal best and Twin Falls record 17:27.6 for the 5k.

"I wanted to PR and I wanted to get the school record and I was actually able to get both of those earlier in the season," Richardson said. "I was really happy about that. One of my goals has been to break 17 minutes and I'm planning to go to NXR later in two weeks and I hope I can break it there."

The 5A team titles went to district rivals Idaho Falls (girls) and Skyline (boys). Idaho Falls claimed the 5A girls title over defending champion Twin Falls, getting medals from senior Jaycee Jensen (second place, personal best 18:04.7), sophomore Eliza Peck (eighth place, personal best 18:32.1), senior Tess Eddington (15th place, personal best 18:47.5). This was I.F.'s second girls state title and first since 2019 in 4A.

"I don't think a lot of people believed we could do it, but this group of girls did," Idaho Falls head coach Alan McMurtrey said. "They ran their little hearts out. That's actually a quote from one of our alumnus. They sent us videos telling us good luck and one of them said, 'run your little hearts out.'"

Jensen became I.F.'s fastest girls cross country runner on record with her second-place finish, beating 2023 graduate Elanor Eddington's personal best 18:21 (also recorded in Lewiston). She competed Saturday with good luck messages she'd written on her arms, all words of encouragement she'd received in the days leading up to the race. Some were from former teammates and others were from former competitors such as four-time state champion 2024 Skyline graduate Nelah Roberts.

Jensen missed almost a month of competition this season due to a hip flexor injury that occurred Sept. 12 during the Tiger-Grizz Invitational, which Idaho Falls and Skyline co-host. Since returning on Oct. 11 at Hole in the Wall, she lowered her personal best twice, repeated as individual district champion and became Idaho Falls' school record holder for girls cross country in a hard-fought second place individual finish at state.

"I could hear all those girls behind me," Jensen said. "Katie (Boyle) from Pocatello, Clare (Murphy) from Bishop Kelly, Cora (Crawford) from Skyview, even Sailor (Tomazin) from Blackfoot were right behind me. We all wanted that second place spot. With 400 to go, I was in fourth."

She added, "I couldn't ask for a better way to end my senior season than to win as a team. We were ranked third (going in)."

Skyline repeated as 5A state champions thanks to medals from junior Davis Roberts (third place, personal best 15:06.4), senior Alexander Renna (fourth place, 15:10.9) and junior Will McCombs (ninth place, personal best 15:31.2). This is the first time in program history that Skyline has won back-to-back cross country titles.

"We did what we needed to do," Renna said. "We trusted in the work we put in. I think this season has been amazing. I'm really happy with how our team did my senior year."

Family bonds made the group even stronger.

"I like running with (Renna)," added Roberts, whose older sister Nelah was teammates with Renna's older sister Marina while at Skyline. "We can always help each other out. We know each other super well."

Skyline head coach Sean Schmidt said several times this season that the Grizz had not been entirely happy with their one-point win at state a year ago, and they chose to not be complacent this year.

"They have a lot of strengths," Schmidt said. "They encourage each other. They push each other, too."

Century junior Ethan Hansen won the 5A boys race in a personal best 14:51.1. He became Century's first boys individual state champion since Aaron Jenkins in 2007, and Saturday was his sixth win this season.

"That's really exciting," Hansen said of being the first individual boys champion in 18 years. "It's definitely very exciting. I'm happy to bring back a cross country state championship. Hopefully putting a little bit of a statement, me and my teammate (fellow junior and top-five finisher Ammon Bitton), really going with it for the next couple years and having a good time."

Sugar-Salem repeated as 4A boys state champions, getting medals from sophomore Darrel Dickson (second place, personal best 14:59.3), junior Adam Willis (seventh place, personal best 15:40.1), sophomore Jaxon Johansen (11th place, personal best 16:05.4), sophomore Henry Baker (17th place, personal best 16:18.7) and freshman Bradley Dickson (18th place, personal best 16:23.5).

Timberlake won the 4A girls state championship, its state title since 2011 and its first ever at 4A. The Tigers got medals from junior Lola Eggleston (third place, 18:10.1), senior Vanessa McLachlan (fourth place, personal best 18:26.2), senior Malia Miller (20th place, personal best 19:36.3).

Coeur d'Alene Charter senior and Oregon commit Annabelle Carr repeated as 4A girls individual state champion in 17:53.5. Carr is Coeur d'Alene Charter's first repeat individual state champion since 2023 graduate McKenna Kozeluh (now at the University of Idaho), and her only losses to Idaho competition this season have been to 6A's Heemeyer and Thompson.

McCall-Donnelly junior Charlie Speirs, last year's 4A individual state runner-up, won Saturday's 4A individual title in a personal best 14:53.1 and helped lead the Vandals to a second-place trophy.

Sugar-Salem head coach Brett Hill was pulling double duty Saturday between coaching his teams and helping time the meet. He arrived at Lewiston Orchards at 7 a.m. and spent the early part of the day in the timing van, occasionally running out to the course to check the clocks and cameras. Live timing went down after the first race of the day, but he was able to post final results directly after each race and provide hard copies for the awards presentations.

By afternoon when the wind picked up and some rain drops fell, he was coaching his girls and boys for the 4A races at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. The 4A awards were the last of the day, and Hill secured a first-place boys and third-place girls trophy to bring his career state title total to 56 combined between cross country and track in coaching stints at Firth and Sugar-Salem.

"We love coming to Lewiston," Hill said. "It's a fast course. You love to just come up here and compete at sea level."

Darrel Dickson, older brother to Bradley Dickson, became the first sub-15 boy from Sugar-Salem with his time on Saturday.

"I love competing with Landon (Hillam), Charlie (Spiers) and all these guys," he said. "I'm so excited to compete with them in track."

"Those (4A) records, they're not safe," Hill added, referring to Dickson, Hillam and Speirs, who are all underclassmen. "This group is the best group of 4A runners I've seen, ever."

Hill was also happy for the 3A team champions Saturday, who were also from eastern Idaho, and congratulated them personally. Malad swept the 3A boys and girls team titles for the first time in program history. The last state titles for the Dragons came in 1991 (boys) and 2001 (girls), both under legendary coach Terry Jones. Hill, a 1985 Malad graduate and member of the 1984 state champion boys Malad team, ran for Jones.

Malad, which placed fourth last year, won the 3A girls title over defending champion Ririe, getting medals from sophomore Aezlyn Summers (seventh place, personal best 19:12.4), junior Kaycee Venable (11th place, personal best 19:47.2), sophomore Ellie Angell (12th place, personal best 19:48.3), sophomore Brielle Bastian (14th place, personal best 19:56.7) and sophomore Kallee Talbot (16th place, personal best 20:03.5).

None of Malad's seven girls who competed Saturday are seniors.

Eastern Idaho also claimed both individual titles in 3A. Ririe senior Lucy Boone won the 3A girls race in a personal best 18:05.3, becoming the first Ririe girls individual cross country state champion since Christy Luthy in 2000.

The win also put a bow on her high school cross country career. Boone, who starts varsity basketball practice on Monday and will not be competing at NXR, won eight of the nine 5ks she competed in this season.

"I think every race comes with nerves no matter what, just for the pain and also the outcome I think it's always scary," Boone said. "I was actually really excited for this race. I think I was more excited for this race than, I don't know, the most excited I've been for a while."

Malad senior Boston Burbidge won the 3A boys title in a personal best 15:18.6 to become Malad's first individual boys state champion since Toby Conley in 1989. He and freshman Jace Nalder (third place, personal best 15:38.1), junior Braun Nalder (eighth place, personal best 16:06.6), senior Levi Angell (12th place, personal best 16:13) all medaled for the Dragons, who won Saturday over defending state champion Ririe after placing second a year ago.

The Victory Charter girls won with the lowest score of the day, boys or girls, getting six runners in the top 10 for a score of 21 points to repeat as 2A girls champions. The win came a week after the Vipers won their district meet with a score of 16.

Sophomore Alyssa Hust led the way with the individual title win in a personal best 18:29.03 and her teammate, junior Libby Stockett, finished second in a personal best 18:40.25. Freshman Annika Snyder (seventh place, personal best 19:18.63), Alyssa Lee (eighth place, personal best 19:20.04) and Lydia Brewer (ninth place, personal best 19:26.81) also medaled for the Vipers in the win. Hust is the first girls individual state cross country champion for Victory Charter.

Logos senior John Henry Crapuchettes won the 2A boys individual title in personal best 15:41.6, helping to lead his team to a third-place trophy and becoming Logos' first individual boys state champion since 2015 graduate and 2015 Brooks PR mile champion Paul Ryan.

Victory Charter completed the sweep of the 2A team titles thanks to medals from sophomore JD Willey (third place, personal best 16:11.1), senior Caleb Schlerf (10th place, 16:45.5), freshman Eli Baker (13th place, 16:58.6) and freshman Santiago Pena (17:06.7) to give the Vipers their first boys team title since 2022.

Team Champions - RESULTS

Class 6A: Coeur d'Alene boys 30 points, Rocky Mountain girls 58 points

Class 5A: Skyline boys 64 points, Idaho Falls girls 78 points

Class 4A: Sugar-Salem boys 49 points, Timberlake girls 68 points

Class 3A: Malad boys 49 points, Malad girls 51 points

Class 2A: Victory Charter boys 46 points, Victory Charter girls 21 points