Meet of Champions today at PF
The ninth annual District I Meet of Champions track meet is today at Post Falls High School.
The top athletes from all classifications will converge to decide who is best in the five most northern counties. Field events begin at 2 p.m. with running events starting at 3.
The usual 5A and 4A standouts will be on hand. But keep an eye on the 3A and 1A stars, especially those from Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy. This is their chance to prove they’re among the best no matter the division.
Most events will feature 16 athletes. The sprint and hurdle races will be contested in two heats. Just the top eight relay teams will face off. Medals are awarded to the top three finishers.
Nine returning champs will be out to defend titles. They are: Dominique Billingslea (100 meters) of Coeur d’Alene Charter; Desi Hutchings (200), Sandpoint; Lacy Hopkins (400), Priest River; Hanna Johnson (300 hurdles), Coeur d’Alene; Tiffany Kuehn (high jump), Lake City; Sabrina Ewing (triple jump), CCA; Nick Puckett (200), Timberlake; John Coyle (800), Lake City; and Adam Furlin (shot put), Kellogg.
State-qualifying events
The 5A Region I baseball and softball championships will be decided today.
In baseball, No. 2 seed and defending state champ Lake City (16-5) visits top-seeded Lewiston (19-1) at 5 p.m. In a loser-out game, No. 4 Coeur d’Alene (9-16) goes to No. 3 Post Falls (9-14) at 4.
The PF/CdA winner goes to the LC/Lewiston loser Friday to decide a second state berth.
In first-round matchups in softball, No. 4 Lewiston (11-11) is at No. 1 LC (19-4) and No. 2 CdA (17-7) takes on No. 3 Post Falls (16-8) at Memorial Field in CdA, both at 2 p.m. The winners meet at 4 to decide the title and top seed to state. The losers also play at 4 in a loser-out game. The loser-out survivor and title-game loser meet Friday at 4 at the site of the highest-remaining seed to decide a second state berth.
•The 3A District I baseball tournament is at Timberlake on Friday and Saturday.
In games Friday, No. 2 Priest River (7-6) takes on No. 3 Bonners Ferry (10-6) at 2 p.m. followed by No. 4 Timberlake (10-9) facing No. 1 St. Maries (13-4) at 4. The winners meet in the championship game Saturday at 10 a.m. with Friday’s losers facing off at noon. The game to decide the second state berth is at 2.
Project shelved for now
They’ve sacked the drive for field turf at Coeur d’Alene and Lake City. Perhaps calling a timeout is the best metaphor.
A group of boosters representing both schools launched a project last summer to raise money to install artificial turf at the schools’ football fields.
The ambitious goal was to raise about $1.1 million to have the synthetic turf in place for use as early as this fall and more like 2009.
“It’s been tabled because of the economy,” CdA coach Shawn Amos said. “At this point, with the economy and the levy (May 20), it’s not a good time to float something like this.”
•In other football-related news, the Inland Empire League’s two 5A state playoff qualifiers won’t have to play each other the next two years under a revised playoff format the state activities association is expected to approve.
The proposal calls for the IEL’s top seed to play the East No. 2 seed (Highland, Twin Falls, Skyline or Idaho Falls) and the IEL’s No. 2 going to the East No. 1 in first-round games. This puts the teams from both regions on opposite sides of the bracket and means that conceivably the two IEL qualifiers could end up playing each other in the state final.
“It’s about time,” Lake City coach Van Troxel said. “Now we don’t have to butt heads with the same people in the first round.”
The format also means the top teams from the Boise area could end up squaring off in the state title game.
“This is the best way to crown a true state champion,” CdA’s Amos said. “It makes it like a real state tournament like the others. Now winning your league title is huge.”