CdA sweeps team titles; Armon, Sande top fields
The 5A Region I cross country meet exceeded Coeur d’Alene coach Cathy Compton’s expectations, and dreams, for that matter.
Compton’s girls and boys teams captured regional championships in impressive fashion Wednesday at Kiwanis Park in Post Falls.
The Vikings girls, who hope to challenge for a state title a week from Saturday, packed together to score 24 points. Lake City, which also qualified for state, was next with 35.
The Vikings boys pulled off an upset, knocking off favored Lake City. Michael Armon, second at state as a freshman last year, won the individual title by more than a minute.
Armon finished the 3.1-mile double-loop trek, that included a stretch along a scenic trail near the Spokane River, in a speedy 16 minutes, 15 seconds. Teammate John Hopper was a distant second (18:01).
CdA’s boys put their five scoring runners in the top 13 – four in the top five.
“I’m beyond elated,” Compton said. “The boys ran their brains out. Our younger guys made the difference.”
Armon cut 16 seconds off his time on the same course he ran in a season-opening meet.
“I just wanted to go out and set a fast pace,” said Armon, who did so by running alone.
Armon started faster than he planned. He wanted to run the first mile in 5:30 and cut 10 seconds off each additional mile. Instead, he ran 5:13 splits the first two miles.
“I was a little tired by the time I got to the third mile,” Armon said. “Overall, it’s good to see I’ve improved since the start of the season.”
LC senior Breanna Sande, meanwhile, captured her fourth regional title, pulling away from CdA sophomore Anna Stone in the last 500 meters. Sande finished in 19:46 – an improvement by 1:01 over her season-opening time on the same course.
Stone took an early lead and pushed the pace, but Sande was comfortable hanging back on her shoulder until the end.
“I feel more relaxed when I’m in front,” said Stone, who is in her first year of cross country. “But she (Sande) has a great kick.”
Stone and three teammates – Kristen Palmer, Cheyenne Brown and Whitney Pfeifer – made the top six.
Sande – second at state last year, a state champ the year before and second as a freshman – wants to add another gold medal to her collection.
The 5A and 4A races were contested simultaneously. Moscow’s boys and girls won 4A team titles.
The Moscow boys posted 26 points, topping runner-up Sandpoint by 30, while Moscow’s girls had 29, 21 ahead of runner-up Sandpoint.
A pair of Bears won the individual titles, too. Steven Potratz finished in 17:58, six seconds ahead of Seth Hyde of Post Falls. Allix Lee-Painter coasted to a regional title, finishing 36 seconds ahead of Melissa McFadden of Post Falls.
State is Oct. 30 in Soda Springs.
–Greg Lee
Prep volleyball
Kelsey Taylor finished with 13 kills and five blocks while leading Moscow to a 20-25, 25-11, 25-10, 17-25, 15-12 win over visiting Lakeland in the title match of the 4A Region I tournament. Moscow’s Kelly Scott added five blocks and a tip for the 14th point in the fifth game. Moscow qualified for the state tournament, which starts Oct. 29 in Idaho Falls. Lakeland will play at Sandpoint tonight for a shot at a state play-in match on Saturday. … Kelsey James totaled 14 kills, 17 assists and five aces as Sandpoint defeated visiting Post Falls 3-0 in a loser-out match. Cody Helander added 21 digs and five aces for Sandpoint.
College soccer
Juan Arias scored late in the first half to give Columbia Basin College a 1-all tie in men’s play at North Idaho.
NIC scored in the 41st minute on Josh Fruge’s pass to Andy Bestwick. NIC (8-4-3, 7-4-2) entered the day tied for first place with Edmonds in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges’ Northeast Division. CBC, which lost to NIC 1-0 on Sept. 15, is 2-6-2 in conference.
“Vanessa Hileman scored in the 12th minute and Columbia Basin upset host North Idaho 1-0 in NWAACC women’s play. The Cardinals defeated CBC 5-0 five weeks ago. NIC began the day in first place in the Northeast, one point ahead of idle CC Spokane.