Season Preview

by Brett Hill of  Idaho XC

New Mountain View school draws from 3-time state champ Meridian girls

5A Preview:

Things in the 5A classification this year will be changed up a bit with the addition of a new school. Mountain View High School was created splitting up past powerhouse Meridian High(Past 3 years girls State Champs). Coach Tracy Harris left with many of his top girls to create a new program at MV. Early favorites in the division look to be for boys, Skyline which return all but one from last years 3rd place team. Other boys teams that might fit into the mix are, Highland, Meridian or Mountain View. On the girls side Mountain View, Skyline, Eagle, and Boise look to be returning the most depth.

Individually the top returning boy is Adam Follett of Idaho Falls. He should have his hands full from Frank Eanes(Timberline) and Austin Becker & Eric Borchel (Skyline). 4 girls return that were top 5 finishers in 2002. State champ Breanna Sande(Lake City) returns to defend her title against Abby Zimney(MV), Maddie Coffman(Boise), Heather Carlson(Skyline).

4A Preview:

Hillcrest will try and defend their 2002 title. They are definitely the team to beat returning 5 of last years title team. Century might have something to say about this, with Aaron Wolfe leading the way. Bishop Kelley and Jerome will also be fighting to topple Hillcrest. On the girls side this could be a real battle. Sandpoint returns almost everyone from their title team of 2002, but Hillcrest has their sites on the top honor this year. Vallivue will also be very strong lead by Taryn Trapp & Lindsey Miller. Never count out BK!

Individuals: Aaron Wolfe (Century) will run to defend his 2002 title and is probably the Best In Idaho all divisions. A few looking to dethrone Aaron are P. McGlynn (BK), and Mark Irving(Hillcrest). Once again the girls race in this division will be awesome. Ali Brosh(Sandpoint) 2002 State champ, Jackie Carter(BK) runner-up, Katie O'Neil(BK) 4th, Karley Meikle(Hillcrest) 5th, Allix Lee-Painter, and I can keep going. From last years top 25, only 2 girls were seniors. Three State Champs are included in the group and should be a great race. Favorite is Brosh if healthy.

3A Preview:

This division will probably see the most change amongst the top teams. The Preston boys who have won the last 3 titles lost a great deal to graduation, which will leave the door open for other teams. Gooding returns the most and is the early favorite, but Middleton, Snake River, and Bonners Ferry will all battle for supremacy. The girls race will be a good one. Salmon will be strong once again with the addition of Kayla Smith. The noise amongst the coaches is they feel Bear Lake is the early favorite. Preston, and Bonners Ferry return a solid core and will be in the mix.

Individuals: Rodger Jachim(Middleton) surprised the field last year and won the State title. He will not be a surprise this year with the bulls-eye on him as favorite. Looking to upset Rodger will be Dallas Eborn(Bear Lake), John Bell(Bonners Ferry), John Hitchcock(South Fremont), and Bryce Fletcher(Teton) which moved in from Utah. The girls race is up in the air with most top 10 lost to graduation, but early favorite is Meadow Braden(Bonners Ferry). Others running for the title will be Kayla Smith & Hanna Prange(Salmon), and Kate Eborn(Bear Lake).

2A Preview:

The Firth Boys have won 6 straight and look to be able to make it 7, returning 5 of their top 7 from 2002. Malad led by Steve Atkinson(2nd), Trevor Price(3rd) will make things tough for Firth. Likewise McCall-Donnelly will be in the mix. On the girls side Firth is favored to repeat their 2002 performance with 5 of their top 7 back and 4 top 20 finishers. McCall-Donnelly looks to have the best chance of dethroning Firth, but New Plymouth, Malad and Grangeville will have something to say about that.

Individuals: I think the 2003 boys race will be the best boys race of the day at State. There are 5-10 possible winners. Steve Atkinson(Malad) is the top returnee, but Alex Davies(Butte) kicked butt on the track. Included in the race Nathan Clayson(Firth) never finished worst than 8th at State and is now a hungry Senior, Soda's K. Shuler and Malad's Trevor Price will all be in a very tight race to the finish. The girls winner will be Ashley Puga(Nampa Christen) baring an injury. She is without a doubt the top runner in this division and maybe in the State.

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