2007 Bob Firman Invitational
Elite Girls
Sept. 22, 2007 Eagle ID
DyeStat on-site coverage
Mountain Brook AL 64 (Davis UT 80, Trabuco Hills CA 125)
Nicole Nielsen, Borah ID jr 18:19
Results - John Dye photo album - top 25 finishers
Mountain Brook girls trusted themselves and had fun, with whitewater rafting a side benefit of their long trip from Alabama.
by Dave Devine
It all took some careful orchestration. The girls from Mountain Brook AL had to take two different flights, travel hundreds of miles, arrive two days early, squeeze in a white water rafting trip, and survey a cross country course they’d never seen before. By Saturday, all they had left to do in Boise was run five kilometers. Their coach, Greg Echols, had a plan for that, too.
“Last year,” he noted, a few hours after his SE#4 team had toppled all comers to take the Bob Firman girls’ elite title, “the race went out in like 5:30, so we told the girls to lay back and not go out too fast.” The problem, of course, was that the race didn’t unfold as expected. “Today everyone went out in 5:50,” Echols laughed, “so we were sort of scrambling in that second mile, trying to push back up. Other than that, the idea was just trust yourself and have fun out there.” More below
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Madeline Morgan
| Nicole Nielsen |  | 
photos by John Dye
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The Spartans managed to do both, forging their way back into the race past teams like Boise ID and Gig Harbor WA which had been more ambitious in the opening mile. They were led by junior Madeline Morgan, who’d inserted herself in the lead pack by the first ascent up Spectator Hill, after an opening mile of 5:56.
Davis High of Utah, fronted by senior Natalie Haws and defending Firman champ Candace Eddy, were also asserting themselves in the second lap of the race, while pre-meet favorites like NW#3 Boise and NW#2 Gig Harbor were fading under the weight of expectations and off-days from key runners. “We got out quickly,” Davis UT coach Corbin Talley confirmed, “because we thought we had to be aggressive on this course. The race plan was to get out aggressively, be patient, and then really move on the second lap.” While a defense of her title wasn’t in the cards for Eddy, she never folded, hanging on for fifth behind her teammate Haws in 4th, helping to secure an impressive second place finish well clear of 3rd placers Trabuco Hills CA.
Up front, Morgan was trying to steal the individual title along with the team trophy for her Alabama squad. She led heading into the second ascent of Spectator Hill, but if her out-of-town team was going to take the girls’ team laurels, a hometown hero was out to defend the individual crown. Nicole Nielsen, a junior from local Borah High, was biding her time and planning a crushing move on the final hill.
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Start of mile 2 - girls curl away from the lake and head for The Hill
“I remember last year at Bob Firman,” Nielsen said later, “Candace Eddy took off at the second hill and then she just left everyone. The whole race I was anticipating when I’d hit that hill, knowing I just had to go. When I got to the hill I gave it everything I had.” Nielsen surged up the hill and crested in first, then used the downhill momentum to gap Morgan by 15 meters as they headed toward the finish. She gave all the credit to her coaches, Tim Severa and Pam Dietz. “I have amazing coaches, and they train me so well on hills. We do a lot of hill repeats, so I was trying to mentally tell myself it was just a hill repeat, thinking ‘You’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go!’”
Go she did, powering down the long final homestretch well clear of Morgan, narrowly missing Eddy’s course record from the previous year with her 18:18.4 clocking. Morgan was overtaken in the closing meters by a hard-charging Hailey Knettles (sr Judge Memorial UT) who nailed down her second consecutive runner-up performance at Firman. Still, Morgan’s third place finish initiated a run of Mountain Brook Spartans that placed their entire scoring five in the top 25, averaged 19:04.3 behind Morgan’s 18:25, and beat Davis easily, 64 to 80.
Boise and Gig Harbor, both highly-ranked coming in, were left to wonder what had gone so wrong, as they were beaten by a string of Utah schools and an unranked team (Bear Lake ID) from their own region. Boise coach Dave Mills and Gig Harbor coach Patty Ley both attributed the rough outing to lingering illnesses and off days by key performers. Each also acknowledged that the season is still young, with time to regroup before the state meet cycle and the Nike Northwest regional meet.
For Mountain Brook, it was mission accomplished on two fronts: they confirmed their status as a team to be feared, with a tight, close-running pack, and they measured themselves against competition outside the region.
“Our biggest strength is that we’re in a pack when we run,” Morgan said as the team waited for the awards presentation. “No matter where we go, we still try to run as a team and stick close together.”
Coach Echols agreed, adding, “It’s been 95 degrees in every race we’ve run this year, so dropping down to the 60s was a little bit of a change, but it worked out. We did well and had a great time. This was definitely worth it.”
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The Hill - runners climb this steep hill twice during the 5k race.
Leaders come up the hill. From left, Madeline Morgan AL, Sarah Olson ID and eventual winner Nicole Nielsen ID.
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. . . more runners climb the hill.
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Results
Capital High School Hy-Tek's Meet Manager
Bob Firman Cross Country Meet 2007 - 9/22/2007
Boise Schools Invite
Eagle Island State Park
Last Completed Event
Event 5 Girls 5k Run CC Elite
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Name Year School Finals Points
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1 #158 Nicole Nielsen JR Borah 18:19
2 #1023 Hailey Knettles SR Judge Memorial 18:25 1
3 #1361 Madeline Morgan JR Mountain Brook 18:25 2
4 #479 Natalie Haws SR Davis 18:29 3
5 #476 Candace Eddy JR Davis 18:42 4
6 #1350 Marie Demedicis FR Mountain Brook 18:51 5
7 #1811 Krystal Harper SR Orem 18:54 6
8 #2142 Brooke Hodson JR Timpanogos 18:56 7
9 #1809 Kendy Christensen JR Orem 19:00 8
10 #390 Bethany McInturff SR Century 19:02
11 #710 Alyssa Andrews JR Gig Harbor 19:03 9
12 #1495 Bug Simmons JR Mountain View-Idaho 19:04 10
13 #1944 Shalaya Kipp JR Skyline 19:04 11
14 #1351 Catherine Diethelm FR Mountain Brook 19:05 12
15 #6 Cydney Jacobsen SR Bear Lake 19:05 13
16 #2144 Suzie Sorensen JR Timpanogos 19:06 14
17 #489 Katie Swanson JR Davis 19:15 15
18 #835 Alex Litzsinger JR Highland (Poc) 19:16 16
19 #1391 Laura Hatch JR Mountain Crest 19:17 17
20 #101 Sarah Olson JR Boise 19:21 18
21 #2190 Makenna Smith SO Trabuco Hills 19:24 19
22 #1558 Ashley Robison SO Mountain View-Utah 19:26 20
23 #2451 Laken Skidmore SR West Jefferson 19:29
24 #2183 Lori Hoffman JR Trabuco Hills 19:30 21
25 #1346 Brigid Carey SR Mountain Brook 19:30 22
26 #1344 Leslie Boozer JR Mountain Brook 19:32 23
27 #2189 Sabrina Rathor JR Trabuco Hills 19:34 24
28 #723 Kate Stuart SR Gig Harbor 19:35 25
29 #340 Eden Lake JR Central Valley 19:36 26
30 #478 Emily Hansen SO Davis 19:38 27
31 #2179 Ximena Cruz JR Trabuco Hills 19:39 28
32 #335 Madi Barnes FR Central Valley 19:41 29
33 #1396 Talina Nelson JR Mountain Crest 19:45 30
34 #487 Loren Storey SR Davis 19:46 31
35 #36 Jordan Engelhardt JR Bishop Kelly 19:47 32
36 #2177 Kristin Arkin SR Trabuco Hills 19:48 33
37 #2187 Hayley Niles JR Trabuco Hills 19:50 34
38 #1808 Sarah Blackburn JR Orem 19:52 35
39 #1362 Lucy Newton JR Mountain Brook 19:55 36
40 #2139 Hannah Groom SO Timpanogos 19:55 37
41 #40 Codi Gifford JR Bishop Kelly 19:56 38
42 #94 Anne Lovelace SR Boise 19:56 39
43 #1022 Lizzie Hindert JR Judge Memorial 19:56 40
44 #436 Jordan Powell JR Columbia 19:57
45 #1562 Sarah Yingling SR Mountain View-Utah 20:01 41
46 #2143 Lecy Skousen FR Timpanogos 20:01 42
47 #1353 Reed Ellis SR Mountain Brook 20:02 43
48 #53 Lara Tuthill SO Bishop Kelly 20:03 44
49 #1942 Megan Combe JR Skyline 20:03 45
50 #2138 Kim Bringhurst SR Timpanogos 20:04 46
51 #1388 Whitney Curtis JR Mountain Crest 20:06 47
52 #8 Erika James SR Bear Lake 20:08 48
53 #481 Holly King JR Davis 20:08 49
54 #490 Kelsey Valentine SR Davis 20:10 50
55 #89 Kate Jamboretz FR Boise 20:10 51
56 #14 Jessi Timothy JR Bear Lake 20:11 52
57 #1946 Rachel Webb SR Skyline 20:13 53
58 #104 Jacque Sahlberg SR Boise 20:14 54
59 #1561 Makenzie Street SO Mountain View-Utah 20:15 55
60 #1471 Kelli Ellingson FR Mountain View-Idaho 20:17 56
61 #336 Breanna Barsten JR Central Valley 20:20 57
62 #2043 Alayna Oleksa SR South Eugene 20:21 58
63 #2 Amelia Crane FR Bear Lake 20:22 59
64 #717 Anna Kalbrener SR Gig Harbor 20:23 60
65 #1542 Andrea Eyestone JR Mountain View-Utah 20:26 61
66 #349 Josie Warner FR Central Valley 20:27 62
67 #1559 Emily Steele JR Mountain View-Utah 20:28 63
68 #833 Bradi Hutchison SR Highland (Poc) 20:28 64
69 #1866 Kiersten Blauer SR Parowan 20:29
70 #1019 Lindsay Baker SR Judge Memorial 20:30 65
71 #1393 Whitney Hopkins SR Mountain Crest 20:31 66
72 #2045 Whitney Pitman SR South Eugene 20:31 67
73 #12 Trichelle Schwab FR Bear Lake 20:32 68
74 #2370 Amanda Palmer SR Weiser 20:33
75 #2319 Jamie Van Lith JR Vallivue 20:34
76 #836 Mariah Meyer FR Highland (Poc) 20:34 69
77 #2046 Sasha Teninty SO South Eugene 20:37 70
78 #1398 Meghan O'Very FR Mountain Crest 20:39 71
79 #1947 Rebecca Winterton SO Skyline 20:40 72
80 #2106 Taylor Goodenoe SO Timberline (Boise) 20:41
81 #1807 Joanah Blackburn SR Orem 20:43 73
82 #1817 Megan Webb JR Orem 20:43 74
83 #712 Amanda Brager SR Gig Harbor 20:44 75
84 #2048 Brookie Wilson JR South Eugene 20:45 76
85 #42 Cara Gillespie SR Bishop Kelly 20:45 77
86 #841 Samantha Thayne SR Highland (Poc) 20:46 78
87 #1479 Hillary Holt SO Mountain View-Idaho 20:46 79
88 #41 Payton Gifford FR Bishop Kelly 20:47 80
89 #111 Fiona Wilhelm SR Boise 20:49 81
90 #95 Katie Lovelace SO Boise 20:49 82
91 #348 Kimberley Thatcher FR Central Valley 20:50 83
92 #1394 Kimber Labrum SR Mountain Crest 20:54 84
93 #2039 Lauren Graebner JR South Eugene 20:58 85
94 #714 Hannah Dewalt SR Gig Harbor 21:00 86
95 #722 Christy Sipes SO Gig Harbor 21:03 87
96 #2140 Amber Hart SR Timpanogos 21:04 88
97 #2141 Terra Hawkins SR Timpanogos 21:05 89
98 #2049 Nora Wilson FR South Eugene 21:08 90
99 #834 Kylie Hutchison FR Highland (Poc) 21:12 91
100 #7 Payge Jacobsen SO Bear Lake 21:13 92
101 #1477 Alexi Hawkins JR Mountain View-Idaho 21:17 93
102 #1545 Katie Harris SR Mountain View-Utah 21:18 94
103 #724 Kelly Williams FR Gig Harbor 21:19 95
104 #1488 Stephanie Larson JR Mountain View-Idaho 21:23 96
105 #840 Courtney Thayne FR Highland (Poc) 21:26 97
106 #1806 Sara Bartlett SR Orem 21:28 98
107 #9 Janessa Leonhardt JR Bear Lake 21:29 99
108 #45 Erin Kelly FR Bishop Kelly 21:34 100
109 #1812 Hillary Heaps JR Orem 21:35 101
110 #1389 Andrea Ferrin SO Mountain Crest 21:36 102
111 #96 Ellen Mering JR Boise 21:37 103
112 #344 Ashley Renz SO Central Valley 21:39 104
113 #1941 Taylor Berhow JR Skyline 21:41 105
114 #1030 Emma Welch SO Judge Memorial 21:47 106
115 #1943 Zara Guinard-Bachm SR Skyline 21:51 107
116 #837 Jaymee Novosel JR Highland (Poc) 21:55 108
117 #338 Brittany Carter SR Central Valley 22:02 109
118 #1021 Jessica Gaffney SO Judge Memorial 22:09 110
119 #1945 jasmine sharp SR Skyline 22:09 111
120 #1546 Alexis Harrison SR Mountain View-Utah 22:36 112
121 #2036 Meredith Dehaas SO South Eugene 22:38 113
122 #1480 Veronica Homme JR Mountain View-Idaho 22:40 114
123 #50 Stephanie Souza SO Bishop Kelly 22:46 115
124 #1025 Rosie Neville SO Judge Memorial 22:46 116
Team Scores
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Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9
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1 Mountain Brook 64 2 5 12 22 23 36 43
Total Time: 1:35:23.00
Average: 19:04.60
2 Davis 80 3 4 15 27 31 49 50
Total Time: 1:35:50.00
Average: 19:10.00
3 Trabuco Hills 125 19 21 24 28 33 34
Total Time: 1:37:55.00
Average: 19:35.00
4 Timpanogos 146 7 14 37 42 46 88 89
Total Time: 1:38:02.00
Average: 19:36.40
5 Orem 196 6 8 35 73 74 98 101
Total Time: 1:39:12.00
Average: 19:50.40
6 Mountain Crest 231 17 30 47 66 71 84 102
Total Time: 1:40:18.00
Average: 20:03.60
7 Bear Lake 240 13 48 52 59 68 92 99
Total Time: 1:40:18.00
Average: 20:03.60
8 Mountain View-Utah 240 20 41 55 61 63 94 112
Total Time: 1:40:36.00
Average: 20:07.20
9 Boise 243 18 39 51 54 81 82 103
Total Time: 1:40:30.00
Average: 20:06.00
10 Gig Harbor 255 9 25 60 75 86 87 95
Total Time: 1:40:45.00
Average: 20:09.00
11 Central Valley 257 26 29 57 62 83 104 109
Total Time: 1:40:54.00
Average: 20:10.80
12 Bishop Kelly 271 32 38 44 77 80 100 115
Total Time: 1:41:18.00
Average: 20:15.60
13 Skyline 286 11 45 53 72 105 107 111
Total Time: 1:41:41.00
Average: 20:20.20
14 Highland (Poc) 318 16 64 69 78 91 97 108
Total Time: 1:42:16.00
Average: 20:27.20
15 Judge Memorial 322 1 40 65 106 110 116
Total Time: 1:42:47.00
Average: 20:33.40
16 Mountain View-Idaho 334 10 56 79 93 96 114
Total Time: 1:42:47.00
Average: 20:33.40
17 South Eugene 356 58 67 70 76 85 90 113
Total Time: 1:43:12.00
Average: 20:38.40
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