Vikings girls 2nd, boys 4th at state

BOISE – Losses do not sit well with Coeur d’Alene hurdler Morgan Struble.

After suffering a rare defeat in the 100-meter event, the Vikings junior ran the 300 like she’d been shot from a cannon, blitzing the course in 43.4 seconds to capture the Idaho State 5A Friday at Bronco Stadium.

Struble’s run set an Idaho all-class record, propelling the Vikings to a second-place finish and their first state trophy since 1991.

“Morgan ran the best 100 of her life, but she was mad,” CdA coach Linda Lanker said. “I’ve never seen her so fired up. She gave the 300 absolutely everything she had. She barely made it over that last hurdle.”

Struble ran a personal-best 14.44 in the 100 but lost to Centennial’s Sofia Huerta (14.40). When the two runners met again less than two hours later, Struble was not to be denied.

“I really wanted it,” Struble said. “Losing the first one pushed me to run my best. My 300 time was a huge (personal record) and I got the win, so I was really happy.”

Kinsey Gomez also captured a title Friday, capping her stellar prep career by winning the 1,600 in 5:03. Gomez, who won the 3,200 Thursday, swept the long-distance events for the second consecutive year.

Overall, the CdA girls scored 76 points, finishing runner-up to Mountain View (127).

“What a night!” Lanker beamed after Gomez’s victory clinched second place. “I’m so excited and so proud of our kids. This is a huge accomplishment and a huge step forward for our program.”

On the boys’ side, CdA captured fourth-place hardware with 52 points. The Vikings were led by senior David Norris, who successfully defended his 800-meter title in 1:55. “This was my race,” Norris said. “I felt like this was the perfect way to end my high school career.”

Senior Cody Curtis also repeated as champion, winning the 1,600 in 4:19 to complete his own sweep of the long-distance events.

Lake City was led by junior Zack Linscott’s second-place high jump finish. Sophomore Brittany Pope added third-place finishes in both the high jump and long jump for the Timberwolves.

Rocky Mountain won the 5A boys title with 101 points, led by sprinter Dallas Burroughs’ record-breaking victories in the 100 and 200.

4A: Moscow junior Wade Schumaker swept the hurdle events, defending his 300 title in 39.30 seconds and capturing his first 110 championship in 14.77. Schumaker also finished eighth in the long jump and helped the 4x100 relay team place fifth.

“It was a long day,” Schumaker said. “I definitely feel the toll of doing four events today, but overall I’m really happy that I was able to run well in the hurdles and win two state titles.”

Sandpoint senior Melinda Van Dyk finished third in the 300 hurdles and Lakeland senior Latecia Howell placed third in the 200. The Rigby boys (87½ points) and Jerome girls (96) won the 4A team titles.

3A: Timberlake junior Sam Simmons defended her pole vault title with a 3A-record mark of 11 feet, 1 inch. Meanwhile, the Bonners Ferry girls got a second-place discus finish from Markayle Acord and a third-place high jump finish from Jessica Merz. The Badgers (28½ points) and Tigers (22) both are in trophy contention behind Buhl (38).

On the boys’ side, Bonners Ferry junior Micah Krmpotich finished runner-up in the 3,200 meters. Payette has a big lead in the team race with 52½ points.

2A: Coeur d’Alene Charter senior Jacob Bowman had a pair of top-five finishes, placing third in discus and fifth in long jump. Lewis Ellis added a third-place long jump finish for the Panthers.

The 3A, 2A and 1A championships wrap up this afternoon.