LC girls will easily win another title

How’s this for a possible encore to a state championship?

It’s not a matter if the Lake City High girls track team defends its 2003 State 5A championship. It’s a matter of by how much it wins by when the five state meets unfold today through Saturday at Boise State University.

It’s a good thing LC coach Kelly Reed is already in Boise this morning instead of at home where he could pick up his paper and read the aforementioned paragraphs. He’s as superstitious as coaches come.

Check out the rubber bands he has around his wrist if you don’t believe me. And don’t forget about “Lucky” — LC’s blue baton that had been in his T-Shirt drawer all season before he broke it out at the state-qualifying regional meet last week. It’s the same baton LC’s 400-meter relay team used to win a state title two years ago and the used last year in its sprint to the state title.

And if LC defends its title this weekend, Reed will retire the baton to the school’s trophy case.

As well he should. It should go out with seniors Meagan Garcia, Marisa Schneider, Natalie Hammons, et al. The T-Wolves are seeded first in all the races from the 100 through the 3,200 meters.

So I count myself blessed to be able to be in Boise to chronicle the accomplishments of North Idaho track athletes and a couple of baseball teams. My regret is I can’t be everywhere.

Take, for example, the Coeur d’Alene softball team. The undefeated Vikings will try to capture a third state title in seven years. And try to do so with five sophomores and a freshman in the starting lineup.

This is truly one of coach Larry Bieber’s best coaching jobs. It’s also one of his more enjoyable seasons. He said as much well before the Vikings qualified for state.

Before I headed south, there was Ryan Morton and his CdA boys golf team giving coach Darrell Hull the best going away present — a state championship, Hull’s third since 1999.

Morton won a dramatic five-hole playoff to capture the state medalist title. He had played on three straight state runner-up teams so you can imagine his delight to graduate as a state champion.

How much did playing in their home town benefit the Vikings? Immeasurably, Morton said.

“It was big to be able to play in front of all your family and friends,” he said. “We had a pretty big gallery following us around.”

Back to Boise. A story I want to write about is Timberlake’s boys giving serious chase to a state title. Sure, speedy and talented Caleb Cazier has gotten his share of recognition, but this is more than a one-man team. He wants to win a state championship more for his senior teammates than win another individual state title for himself.

Then there’s the smaller schools. This will be Gretchen Bailey’s final state track meet, and the Wallace standout will be seeking to defend her title in the long jump and push her school-record beyond 18 feet.

Could a State 1A threepeat be in the offing for the Kootenai girls? Yes, if the Collins sisters have anything to say about it.

It’s also the final track meet for Amy Dyck of Sandpoint. Next to Aubree Johnson of Post Falls and the late Corissa Yasen of Coeur d’Alene, there may not be another athlete I’ve written more about in my near 20 years at The Spokesman-Review.

Up the road from Boise in Ontario, Ore. — yes, in Oregon — the Timberlake baseball team, making its first trip to state, will be out to prove that rookies can contend for state gold.