• More than 60 teams expected at this week’s Bozeman Invite
Often considered an early season litmus test for cross-country teams in the region, the Cardinal Classic in Soda Springs continues to provide a tough and competitive race that challenges all of the runners. Based on this past weekend’s results, the Star Valley teams will be the ones battling for podium spots out of the 4A West as the Lady Braves placed second and the Braves finished fourth overall.
“It was kind of business as usual and a step in the right direction,” said Ty Draney in response to the results. “I think this was the 25th run of the Cardinal Classic and we’ve been to about all of them so it’s been a mother ship for us and comparing us to all of those schools.”
The Lady Braves had three runners finish in the top-20 led by the one-two punch of Kellsie Dunne and Tyler Bond who placed 10th and 11th overall. Carlee Angell was 19th with Evelyn Scharmann and Kayvri Dockstader rounding out the varsity five. As a team, the girls finished with a team score of 106, well behind a dominant showing by Mountain View (ID) but well in front of third-place Rigby.
The Braves finished with a score of 151 in what turned out to be a battle for the third overall spot in the team standings. Rigby won the race with a 62 while Skyline was second with a 114. Century edged Star Valley for third with a 144 and the Braves finished in front of Blackfoot who had to settle for fifth with a 159.
Caleb Crowther went under 17 minutes to lead the way with a 12th place finish overall. Luke Harris was close behind with a 14th spot. Ben Hirschi, Maven Oliversen and Carter King rounded out the varsity five.
“We feel pretty good about it,” Draney added. “There were about 30 teams for our girls to come up second to a team out of Boise and our boys for being a little inexperienced to run in a fairly tight pack and end up fourth; we feel good about that.”
Now the team will head to Bozeman, Montana for the first time for an invitational with more than 60 teams scheduled to run. There will be some familiar squads but also a few Wyoming teams and those from Montana and northern Idaho that will be new faces.
“It’s a giant meet, a great course,” Draney continued. “I went up last fall to watch Pete [Visser] and Wes [Kallgren] run at the Big Sky meet. It’s got a decent hill at first and then it’s pretty fast. It’s a chance to run a fast time against a way different crowd. We’ll see Sheridan and Powell and then all the big schools out of the region with about 65 teams. We’re excited to see some new competition and some new terrain and help us hone our craft.”
Cardinal Classic (Girls Team)
Mountain View (ID) 42
Star Valley 106
Rigby 166
Preston 179
Malad 185
Jerome 194
Sky View 203
Highland 209
Century 212
Rock Springs 257
(20 Teams)
SVHS Varsity Girls
Kellsie Dunne 20:49 (10th)
Tylita Bond 20:51 (11th)
Carlee Angell 21:15 (19th)
Evelyn Scharmann 22:07 (40th)
Kayvri Dockstader 22:10 (42nd)
McKayla Baker 22:49
Cardinal Classic (Boys Team)
Rigby 62
Skyline (ID) 114
Century 144
Star Valley 151
Blackfoot 159
Sky View 197
Highland 218
Mountain View (ID) 241
Idaho Falls 270
Malad 312
(29 Teams)
SVHS Varsity Boys
Caleb Crowther 16:59 (12th)
Luke Harris 17:02 (14th)
Ben Hirschi 17:54 (34th)
Maven Oliversen 18:03 (42nd)
Carter King 18:18 (56th)
Jace Mitchell 19:24
Marc Harris 19:46
