Preview Track and field

Returning regional/district champs

5A: Boys – Dominic Schmidt of Lewiston (200 meters); John Coyle of Lake City (800; 3,200); Michael Armon of Coeur d’Alene (1,600); Brad Reynolds of Post Falls (in 4A, 110 hurdles; 300 hurdles); Cody Hays of Lewiston (discus); Carson York of LC (shot put); Girls – Kacy Wessels of Lewiston (100); Anna Stone of CdA (1,600; 3,200); Arica Johnson of LC (100 hurdles); Janie Perez of Lewiston (300 hurdles); Angie Whalen of Post Falls (1,600; 3,200); Brenna Lawson of LC (pole vault); Circe Cansino of PF (long jump)

4A: Boys – Steven Farr of Moscow (1,600 meters; 3,200); Paul Morgan of Moscow (shot put); Girls – Caitlin Sanchez of Moscow (100); Kari Rucker of Lakeland (400); Katie Adams of Sandpoint (100 hurdles); Brooke DeMers of Sandpoint (high jump); Ariel Johnson of Moscow (pole vault).

3A: Boys – Nick Puckett of Timberlake (200 meters; 400); Andrew Scott of Priest River (800); Frank Lagrimanta of Timberlake (1,600; 3,200); John Macklin of Timberlake (110 hurdles; pole vault); Levi Powers of Timberlake (300 hurdles; triple jump); Adam Furlin of Kellogg (shot put; discus). Girls – Chelsea Cazier of Timberlake (200; 400); Casey Hampton of Bonners Ferry (1,600); Melody Braden of BF (3,200); Kaitie Poston of BF (shot put; discus).

1A: Boys – Seth Gray of Mullan (100 meters; 200); Mark Weller of Coeur d’Alene Charter (400). Girls – Jessica Johnson of Wallace (triple jump).

Team outlooks

5A: Lake City’s boys and girls and Lewiston’s boys figure to challenge for state trophies.

LC’s girls held off Lewiston to capture an eighth straight regional title last year. LC’s boys won a second consecutive regional title in a tight match with Lewiston last year.

4A: Moscow’s girls captured a state title last year, but the Bears graduated the bulk of that team and will be hardly recognizable.

Moscow’s girls and boys are the defending regional champs. Lakeland’s and Sandpoint’s boys and girls will challenge the Bears for regional titles. None of the teams appears to have enough depth to make a run at a state trophy.

3A: Timberlake’s boys will likely lap the field in pursuit of a fifth straight district title.

Bonners Ferry’s girls, the defending district champ, are favored to repeat. The Badgers also will contend for a state trophy behind senior standout thrower Kaitie Poston and a handful of pole vaulters.

1A: Kootenai’s string of five straight state girls titles will come to an end. The Warriors have run out of Collins sisters – Tess, Amy and Darcy – who scored the majority of their teams’ points during their title run.

Returning state champs

Seven state champs return, four of whom hail from the Intermountain League.

Two are double winners. Timberlake senior Frank Lagrimanta captured championships in the 1,600 meters (4:29.06) and 3,200 (9:43.5) and Bonners Ferry senior Kaitie Poston nabbed titles in the discus (149-3) and shot put (43-9). Lagrimanta also anchored Timberlake’s winning medley relay.

The other returning IML state champs are Priest River senior Andrew Scott, who won in the 800 (1:58.27), and Timberlake junior Levi Powers, who won in the triple jump (42-6 ¼).

Other returning state champs are Lewiston junior Cody Hays, who won in the shot put (49-9 ¾); Post Falls senior Circe Cansino, who won in the long jump (17-1 ½); and Moscow junior Ariel Johnson, who won in the pole vault (10-0).

Road to state

Here’s a look at how area athletes can qualify for state, which will be held May 17-19 at Boise State University.

5A: The Region I meet will be held May 10-11 at Volmer Bowl in Lewiston. The top three individuals and winning relays advance to state. An additional individual berth will be decided between Region I and District IV-V-VI. Also, one at-large relay berth, the eighth-best time among the six districts, will be determined.

4A: The 4A teams will join the 5A schools at regionals in Lewiston. The top three individuals and winning relay advance to state.

3A: Intermountain League schools will decide the district titles and state berths May 11-12 at Timberlake in Spirit Lake. The top three individuals and the winning relay qualify for state. Some at-large individual berths also are available.

1A: The Region I meet between the North Star and White Pine league schools will be held May 11-12 at Kamiah. The top four individuals and top two relays advance to state. Two additional at-large individual berths and one relay berth also are available.

Other key dates

The 18th annual Lakeland Relays, the longest-running meet in District I, will be held April 20. The Lake City Invite, which will feature the two-time 5A state champion Borah boys and girls, will be held April 21. The Inland Empire League championships are April 27 at LC. The District I Meet of Champions is May 3 at Post Falls.