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The 2021 season raised the standard yet again for Idaho high school cross country runners.

Three boys broke the elusive 15-minute barrier for the 5k. Salmon's Danny Simmons and Blackfoot's Matt Thomas did so at the Garmin RunningLane Nationals in Alabama with times of 14:37 and 14:50.6, respectively, while Nampa Christian's Grady Mylander ran 14:59 at the Winston Tilzey Invitational in Nampa.

Two eastern Idaho runners, Luke Athay of Idaho Falls and Nelah Roberts of Skyline, qualified for and competed in the EastBay (formerly Footlocker) National Cross Country Championships in San Diego. Athay placed 20th in the boys race in 15:40.3 and Roberts placed 25th in the girls race in 18:14.2, and both Athay and Roberts went on to receive Gatorade Player of the Year awards for Idaho in January.

The Boise girls, who entered the 5A state meet ranked No. 6 in DyeStat.com's U.S. rankings, claimed a fourth consecutive 5A state title and in 3A, the Sugar-Salem boys extended their 3A record state title streak to seven.

Once again this fall, IdahoSports.com will be providing live coverage of three regular season meets:

The Cardinal Classic in Soda Springs on September 3rd
The Tiger/Grizz Invitational at Idaho Falls’ Freeman Park on September 9th
and the Bob Conley Invitational at Pocatello’s Portneuf Wellness Complex on October 6th

The 2022 season is just getting started with its first meets. Here are the storylines to follow this fall.

Class 5A

Boise added to its historic accomplishments as a program last season upon becoming the first Idaho girls program to win four consecutive 5A state titles since Meridian did so from 1999 to 2002.

Jamie Hamlin, Annika Zuschlag and Stanford soccer signee Logan Smith graduated from that team, which won by an 86-point margin at Eagle Island State Park.

Defending individual state champion Allie Bruce, a junior this fall, returns for the Brave, as does fellow junior Sammy Smith and senior Lydia Nance from the seven who competed at state. Boise coach Aaron Olswanger said Bruce gave up soccer for cross country this fall. She has competed in both sports the past two years.

"She's played soccer her whole life," Olswanger said. "She wants to see where running will take her."

He added that Sammy Smith, who spent the summer at Nordic ski camps, will continue competing in both soccer and cross country this fall. 

After Bruce, Smith, Lance and senior Jane Carney, Olswanger said the Brave are "pretty young."

The Boise boys team, which placed third at the 5A state meet last fall, have many reasons to be enthusiastic as well. Boise had two seniors who ran at state, and Olswanger said the top five performers from track season were underclassmen. 

"We're optimistic on the boys side and we're hopeful on the girls side," Olswanger said.

Olswanger said the Brave are especially looking forward to the Dani Bates Invitational in Twin Falls, which takes place on a new course at Sunway Complex this year, the Ultimook Race on the Oregon Coast over Labor Day weekend and the Bob Firman Invitational at Eagle Island State Park, which was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19. Olswanger said more than half the runners in his program have never run Firman.

Olswanger said it has been a long time since an Idaho 5A school has been in contention for a boys and girls team title sweep and it is extremely difficult to do. Boise emphasizes culture, and he said the older runners have done a great job of passing that down to younger teammates.

"Every year is a clean slate for us whether we won the title the year before or not," Olswanger said. "If you talk to any coach, especially in 5A, the hardest thing to do is get both programs clicking at the same time. It's really, really hard. Getting that culture program wide is super fun and rewarding if you can get it there."

The 5A boys individual title will be up for grabs this fall, as defending champion Athay and his Idaho Falls teammates have rejoined 4A after two years in 5A. Defending boys team champion Rocky Mountain, which won for the first time since 2018, graduated four from the group of seven who competed at last year's state meet. Tyler Sainsbury, who won the 5A boys 1,600 individual state title and was a member of Rocky Mountain's 5A state champion 4x800 relay, is a senior this year.

Class 4A

The 4A classification will continue to be stacked this fall, especially in eastern Idaho.

The top three teams from last year's 4A girls state meet--Preston, Pocatello and Skyline--had a combined three seniors who ran at state. Pocatello and Skyline are also coming off a track season that ended with Pocatello winning its first girls track state title since 1996 and Skyline taking second for a third consecutive season.

Two-time defending 4A girls individual state champion Roberts, who ran a personal best 17:50.0 last season and is the only eastern Idaho girl to break 18 minutes multiple times for the 5k, repeated as 4A state 1,600 and 3,200 champion with respective times of 4:58.06 (personal best) and 10:30.63 (all-classification state meet record, No. 3 all-time in Idaho). After competing in the girls championship 2-mile at Nike Outdoor Nationals in June, she took a week off and then fit running in around family reunions and camps at BYU and Utah State.

Now a junior, Roberts said staying healthy will be a priority this year, as she has seen other runners get injured their junior seasons.

"I'm going to try to do everything I can to not get injured," Roberts said. 

Roberts said the Grizz have "a fire" in them after placing third last year and with so many returning runners. She is also taking on a new role as one of the older members of Skyline's team. 

"(State) is lower elevation," Roberts said. "I'm really confident. I think we are better than we were last year."

Longtime Skyline coach Sean Schmidt has noticed this new role as well, and commended Roberts for the job she has done so far.

"She's really becoming a leader for the kids," Schmidt said. "She's putting out a great effort at practice."

Roberts said she is looking forward to Bob Firman, which she has yet to experience, previewing the state meet course at the Inland Empire Championships on Oct. 1 in Lewiston and hopefully qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals, which have not taken place since 2019 due to COVID. Schmidt said his seniors competed at the last Bob Firman in 2019, but the younger runners have not been.

"I've been waiting to do that meet my entire running career," Roberts said. "So many people I know have gone."

Blackfoot made history last fall upon claiming its first boys cross country state title since 1975 and first boys individual state title since 1974. Two seniors graduated from the group of seven who ran at state, including individual state champion Eli Gregory.

Returning is Thomas, who placed third at state last year and broke 15 minutes at the Garmin RunningLane Nationals in Alabama last December. Now a senior, Thomas said he is adjusting to not having Gregory to trade off with anymore.

"It was great to have him by my side," Thomas said. "It will take some adjusting but it will be a good experience overall."

Like Roberts, Thomas claimed 4A state titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 and also competed at the Arcadia Invitational in California and Nike Outdoor Nationals at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field, finishing the season with personal bests of 4:15.67 (1,600), 9:13.74 (3,200) and 9:03.65 (2-mile). With Gregory graduated, the 4A individual state title is up for the taking, and Thomas anticipates a tough battle.

"That's definitely a thought that's been in my mind," Thomas said, noting that Twin Falls' Stockton Stevens, Bishop Kelly's boys and a healthy Athay could be vying for it. He added that he hopes Athay, a junior whose return to competition is uncertain since suffering a foot injury in April, makes a full recovery.

Thomas said he and the Broncos are approaching the season week by week. He is also optimistic for Blackfoot's future as a program considering the progress the team has made during his high school career, going from sixth in 2019 to third in 2020 to winning the 2021 title.

"It's been really cool to witness," Thomas said. "A big part of it is our team came into it as one, mostly holding each other accountable and doing the best we can to stay healthy."

Rejoining 4A after a boys team championship, second place boys finish, fourth place girls finish and a boys individual title after two years in 5A is Idaho Falls, which will compete in the same conference as Skyline and Blackfoot. Tigers coach Alan McMurtrey said seniors Ben Behrmann and Ammon Atamanczyk are leading the way for the boys team so far. He said Athay is back in a boot and cannot do anything weight bearing on that foot.

"(We will) just try to help him through this mentally and physically," McMurtrey said. "I do think his goals are past this fall. I still really like my team. It's gonna give some other kids an opportunity to develop leadership and we're gonna need some other kids to step up."

Idaho Falls returns multiple state medalists and seniors Elanor Eddington and Allison Lemons on the girls side. McMurtrey said a big focus for the girls team will be staying healthy, as the Tigers do not have as much depth as previous seasons.

Class 3A

The 2021 3A team titles went to eastern Idaho, a region that looks to be stacked again this fall.

The Snake River girls edged four-time defending state champion Sugar-Salem 67-69. The Panthers graduated one from that group of seven who ran at state, and Sugar-Salem head coach Brett Hill anticipates them to be state title favorites again this year. Sugar-Salem had three senior girls at state last year.

The Diggers, who edged Snake River 42-47 for their seventh consecutive boys state title, graduated four from their group of seven who ran at the state meet. Hill said the Diggers graduated 18 runners combined from the girls and boys programs and that this might be the first time since Shelley was in 3A that Sugar-Salem is not the favorite to win either team title. Sugar-Salem returns state qualifiers Hailey Dalling (sophomore), Sophie Dougherty (sophomore) and Kate Dickson (senior) from its girls team and Mason Smith (junior), Porter Holt (senior) and Dylan Ball (sophomore) on the boys side.

"This year, we are kind of rebuilding," Hill said. "That doesn't mean we don't have some good kids. Our young kids for sure are gonna step up. They surprise me every year."

The defending 3A girls individual state champion, Coeur d'Alene Charter's McKenna Kozeluh, was a junior last year. The 3A boys individual title will be up for grabs as defending champion Keegan McCraw of Snake River graduated. As for the team title, Hill said Kimberly is his predicted favorite. Kimberly placed third last year and had one senior at the state meet.

"I think Kimberly is gonna be the team to beat this year," Hill said. "Their whole team was very young."

Class 2A

The boys and girls state champions both came from District 6 last fall, and both teams were young.

The North Fremont boys took the title over fellow District 6 team and three-time defending state champion Salmon 60-64. Two graduated from the group of seven runners who ran for North Fremont at state, and the returning runners are motivated to repeat as champions.

"We've noticed a big increase in our younger squads," said North Fremont coach Holly Johnston. "They want to mimic the boys."

Returning from the state champion boys team are brothers Corbin and Zack Johnston, whom coach Johnston said will trade off as No. 1 runner, Eric Anderson, Hunter Goedhart and Michael Grant. She added that the North Fremont girls, who return Brayleigh Johnston, Ella Cude and Christiana Smith, are also poised for a great season.

"It's gonna be the best women's program we've had since we started the program," she said.

Salmon edged eastern Idaho powerhouse Soda Springs 62-66 last year to win its first girls cross country state title since 2003. Johnston said the Huskies have a lot of respect for Salmon, and sharing a conference with them only makes them better.

"They're an excellent program," Johnston said. "Our kids enjoy racing against them and they're good friends in general. Good coaching staff as well."

While Salmon had four seniors on last year's state runner-up boys team, it had no seniors among its seven girls who competed at state. Salmon girls coach Teva Bragg said the girls team got a welcome home parade after winning state and the community has been supportive and excited. 

All but one of Salmon's state qualifying girls has returned, and there are promising newcomers as well. 

"The teammates they are, the girls they are, they have been very focused on helping each other to succeed," Bragg said. "They've been very motivated toward helping each other to become better."

Like Johnston, Bragg said a competitive 2A District 6 benefits all the teams in the league. She added that Soda Springs, which had one senior among its seven girls at state last year, is always tough competition.

"The other schools push our kids to be better," Bragg said.

A first-year coach, Bragg has seen her own kids run for Salmon over the last decade. Last year's girls state title came after Salmon placed second or third in six of seven of the previous 2A state meets.

Bragg said the progress of the program has been fun to watch, and said last year's coach developed a strong bond with the runners.

"I had a daughter go through and be close to that state champion and never quite get it," Bragg said. "Granted, we have some very talented girls. We're lucky that they're showing up right at this time. It's great to see these kids finally succeed and get what they've been working so hard for."

The 2A boys individual title will be anyone's for the taking this fall as defending champion Mylander graduated and defending runner-up Simmons has moved back to his home state of Utah. The defending girls individual state champion Cameron Moore of Ambrose won as a junior last fall. 

Class 1A

The 1A girls team title was decided by the slimmest of margins last fall, as Logos prevailed 39-41 over defending champion Raft River.

Logos had two seniors among its seven runners who competed at state while Raft River had one senior. 

Raft River coaches Mike and Brooke Christensen said they anticipate the girls team title to be competitive once again.

"We're expecting to be right up in there," Brooke said. "Logos will be there, Victory Charter might be there. Logos has got some really good runners. It'll be close again."

Raft River returns defending girls individual state champion Allie Black, a junior this year, as well as Ashlee Christensen, Haven Campbell, Heidi Harper, Jennie and Audrey Gilbert. Libby Boden, who won four gold medals as part of the Raft River girls track team which won its fourth consecutive 1A state title in May, has rejoined the cross country team for her senior season after taking last year off from the sport.

Getting in shape for basketball influenced her decision to run cross country.

"She's actually a really good distance runner," Mike said.

"She loves basketball," Brooke said. "After a missing a year of not doing (cross country), she noticed a lot in basketball just how she felt."

The Christensens said Black had a hip injury during track season and took time off over the summer.  

"As long as we can keep her healthy, I think she'll do well," Brooke said. "She's one that could push every single day. Sometimes we have to reign her in a little bit." 

"I think she'll be ready," Mike said. "She was frustrated with her performance at state (track)."

Raft River also has a boys cross country team this season for what is believed to be the first time ever, consisting of five runners. 

New to the sport since putting together a full girls team two years ago for its first school sponsored team since 1999, the Christensens said they are grateful for the advice and support they continue to receive from other coaches and the running community. They credited Utah State's coaches, Skyline coach Sean Schmidt, Valley coach Steve Hunter and Oakley coach Michael Jenks for the advice they have provided, and they said the community is unlike any other they have experienced. 

"It transcends down to the kids," Mike said. "These kids realize, 'Hey, I can be friends with these other kids. They're all asking each other, 'Did you get a PR?' It's a whole different community compared to other sports."

They added that they have seen interest grow within their school. Thanks to generous donors, Raft River will have its own rubberized asphalt track that will allow for home meets next spring. Participation has also grown. Mike said between the girls junior high and high school programs, the Trojans now have 19 runners.

Seeing kids try cross country and gain confidence has been especially rewarding for the Christensens.

"There's a lot of kids who come out who are like, 'I've never run two miles, never run three miles,'" Brooke said. "Then they go out and do it."

"That's the most exciting part," Mike said. "Seeing them set goals and meet them and go, 'Hey, maybe I can do even more.'"

The 2021 1A boys title was settled by a bit more decisive margin, as Victory Charter won 53-70 over Rockland. Victory Charter had no seniors among its seven runners who competed at state. The Vipers also have the defending boys individual state champion in Ian Stockett, who is a senior this year. Keep an eye out for the defending second and third place teams, District 5's Rockland and Grace, who graduated a combined two seniors and were separated by five points last year.