Lake City seniors Little, Finney on course for success

Kyler Little and Jake Finney were tennis players in middle school.

That was just a passing fancy, though.

When Little gave up tennis, his father made him find another sport. So in seventh grade he told his dad he was doing cross country. But when dad checked up on him, Little had yet to turn out. He ran the second half of the season.

But when Little reached high school his love for running became acute. Finney also found he had an affinity for running.

Along the way, the Lake City seniors have essentially been side by side. Finney had the best year when they were freshmen, finishing 32nd at state. Little was 14 places behind.

As sophomores, Finney was fifth and Little sixth. As juniors, Little was fourth and Finney fifth.

They came into this fall with realistic hopes of challenging for a state championship.

Finney is on pace, if not ahead of schedule, in his pursuit of gold based on a solid summer training.

Little hasn’t been as fortunate. He injured an Achilles tendon in mid-June and soon after discovered he had a sprained foot. He didn’t begin meaningful training until five weeks ago.

Two weeks ago, Finney finished eighth at the prestigious Bob Firman Invitational in Boise, knocking 73 seconds off his time from the year before.

He was the highest-placing 5A runner. That vaulted him to No. 1 in the state rankings last week.

“That is a crazy improvement,” LC coach Heather Harmon-Reed said.

The state meet, Nov. 1, is at Eagle Island State Park, where the Firman race is staged.

Look into Finney’s eyes and one can see the excitement for state.

“I’m very happy with where I’m at,” Finney said. “I know I have it. It’s a matter of performing at the time. There’s a reason they run the race.”

Press a little deeper and Finney’s confidence comes forth.

“I’d be a little disappointed if I don’t win,” he said. “I can’t say I expect or I should win. I know I have a chance and that’s what matters.”

Firman was a big mental victory for Finney.

“It was a big breakthrough overall,” he said. “Having that competition and performing that way, it was a (personal best) by 9 seconds. I didn’t expect that.”

Little believes he has a chance even without the summer training. His time at Firman was 13 seconds faster than a year ago. He finished 46 seconds behind Finney.

“He’s already ahead of the game with just being back for five weeks,” Harmon-Reed said. “His legs are just getting back underneath him.”

Little isn’t sure he can close the gap on Finney by state, but he won’t shy away from the challenge.

“My goal is to aim for the top three,” Little said. “That’s realistic. Jake has taken a significant jump this year. I expected to be at that level if it wasn’t for the injuries.”

Little and Finney are best friends – a friendship forged through competition but a relationship that goes beyond their individual success in cross country and track.

As good as they are when the gun is fired, they’re better in the classroom.

Little is ranked second in his class with a weighted 4.46 grade-point average that includes college-level classes.

Finney, home-schooled since sixth grade, has been taking classes at North Idaho College since he was a sophomore as a dual enrolled student. He has a 3.98 GPA at NIC and will graduate with an associate’s degree. Most of his credits should transfer to college, allowing him to enter as a junior academically.

Little recently scored a 33 out of 36 on the ACT and Finney posted a 2,150 out of 2,400 on the SAT. Both want to run in college, which means the out-of-pocket expense should be minimal with athletic and academic scholarships.

While they want to beat each other, the duo have immense respect for each other.

“I know how much it would be hard on me if I had injuries,” Finney said. “So I know it’s been hard on him.

“It’s the worst thing to face as a runner. It’s a challenging balance to get back into training and not hurt yourself again. He’s working hard to get into form.”

Little said of Finney: “Kudos to him, he deserves everything he’s done so far because he trained so hard over the summer.”