ORDER GAME PHOTOS

For the first time since 2018, Idaho high school cross country runners will head north to Lewiston to pursue individual and team titles. The official course of Lewis-Clark State College is known for being flat and fast, evident by the times produced earlier this month at the Inland Empire Championships on that very course.

Here is a look at runners and teams to keep an eye on this weekend.

Class 5A

Defending team champions Rocky Mountain (boys) and Boise (girls) enter Saturday seeking to add another blue trophy and banner to their respective collections. 

Rocky Mountain is enjoying arguably its best season in program history. The Grizzlies became the first Idaho team to win the elite boys team title of the annual Bob Firman Invitational Sept. 23 at Eagle Island State Park, where junior Landon Heemeyer became the first Idaho boy to win the meet since Highland's Dallin Farnsworth in 2011.

Their performances at that meet vaulted them into DyeStat.com's U.S. top 30 rankings, where they were most recently ranked No. 16 on Oct. 13. Heemeyer has broken the 15-minute barrier three times this season, including a personal best 14:51, while teammate Tyler Sainsbury broke 15 minutes with a personal best (and all-time Idaho best) 14:48 at Inland Empire. They join Blackfoot's Matt Thomas, Nampa Christian graduate Grady Mylander and former Salmon runner Danny Simmons as the lone Idaho boys on record to run sub-15 minute times for the 5k.

Heemeyer and Sainsbury are the favorites for the individual title, and will face their biggest competition from their own teammates as well as Coeur d'Alene's Maximus Cervi-Skinner (personal best 15:16.5). Coeur d'Alene, which won its district meet with an impressive low score of 18 and District 3 runner-up

Boise will both push the Grizzlies in the team trophy race, but the separation between first and second place will likely be a large one.

The 5A girls individual and team races are shaping up to be particularly intense this weekend. Post Falls senior Annastasia Peters has not lost a single 5k race this season, which included stops at large meets in Montana and Washington, and has not lost to an Idaho runner since last year's state meet. Additionally, she has broken the 18-minute barrier five times this season and owns the two of the fastest 5k times on a record for an Idaho girl: 17:13.6 (last week's District 1-2 championships, No. 4 all-time for Idaho) and 16:53 (last year's Inland Empire Challenge, No. 1 all-time for Idaho).

No other 5A girl has broken 18 minutes so far this season, but Saturday's course could bring out some more sub-18 times. Defending 5A state champion Allie Bruce of Boise (season best 18:33.7), Mountain View's Rilyn Stevens (season best 18:03.9), Thunder Ridge's Courtney Earl (personal best 18:07) and Coeur d'Alene's Olivia May (personal best 18:10.2) are other runners to watch.

The team race could be both intriguing and tighter this year than previous seasons. Boise, the four-time defending champion which attained a No. 6 U.S. ranking from DyeStat a year ago, took second at the District 3 championships to Rocky Mountain last week, 52-76. Absent from that meet: Boise junior Sammy Smith, who has spent the entirety of October with the U.S. U-17 women's team playing at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India. The U.S. was eliminated by Nigeria in a quarterfinal penalty shoot out loss on Oct. 21.

The victory margin of Saturday's state champion team likely won't be anywhere near the 86-point margin last year from Boise. The Brave, who have been led in Smith's absence by Bruce, Lydia Nance, Zoe Sims and Kayla Wiechowski, will be challenged by the likes of Rocky Mountain and District 1-2 champion Post Falls. 

Class 4A

History is on the line for the 4A girls individual race.

Skyline junior Nelah Roberts, who competed at last year's EastBay Cross Country Nationals in San Diego and placed second in the elite girls race of last month's Bob Firman Invitational in a personal best 17:46.5, is two-time defending 4A individual state champion. Bishop Kelly's Emily Nist and Twin Falls' Mattalyn Geddes are the only Idaho girls to have ever won three total 4A individual state titles in their careers, with Geddes the only one on record to win three consecutive titles. Thunder Ridge's Courtney Earl (two-time 5A District 5-6 champion) and Coeur d'Alene Charter's McKenna Kozeluh (defending 3A state champion) are the lone Idaho girls to beat Roberts this season.

Roberts' Skyline teammate Marina Renna (personal best 18:20), Pocatello's Bailey Bird (season best 18:22.9) and Idaho Falls' Elanor Eddington (personal best 18:21) will be chasing after her.

As for the 4A girls team race, defending state champion Preston is the heavy favorite upon displaying its strength and depth all season. Preston was sixth in the Bob Firman elite girls race--the third best Idaho team in that race--and has won five meets this season, including two with a perfect score of 15. Preston's stiffest competition will come from other eastern Idaho programs--Skyline and district rival Pocatello--as well as Twin Falls. 

Much like the 4A girls, the 4A boys individual and team title races will have an influx of eastern Idaho competitors. While defending 4A boys individual champion Eli Gregory of Blackfoot has graduated, his teammate Matt Thomas enters Saturday with the fastest time by an Idaho 4A boy this season (15:07) and three wins.

Thomas has broken 16 minutes in every meet this season. Twin Falls senior Stockton Stevens, who has a personal best 15:17 and six sub-16 times of his own this season, should also be up in the front pack as well as Burley's Aaron Bradshaw (personal best 15:23), Bishop Kelly's Austin Clough (season best 15:42.9), Vallivue's
Samuel Fish (personal best 15:31.4) and Idaho Falls' Ben Behrmann (personal best 15:43).

Defending 4A state champion Blackfoot looks a bit different this year with Gregory and Justin Whitehead having graduated, and the Broncos are in arguably one of the most competitive districts in Idaho for 4A. Idaho Falls, which rejoined 4A this fall after two years in 5A, has put together an impressive season by winning six of the 10 meets that have taken place so far.

Furthermore, the Tigers have done this without junior Luke Athay, last year's 5A individual state champion and EastBay Cross Country Nationals qualifier who has been recovering from a broken foot since April. Idaho Falls has won four state titles (three 4A, one 5A) and a second -place trophy (5A) in the last five state meets. Blackfoot's and Idaho Falls' fellow District 6 team Skyline will also be in the trophy race, as will Bishop Kelly, Burley and Twin Falls.

Class 3A

Entering this season, longtime Sugar-Salem coach Brett Hill said this is the first time the Diggers will not be the favorites to win either 3A state team title since six years ago when Shelley was still in 3A. 

Two months later, Hill's prediction appears to be on point, as the 3A state trophy race is shaping up to be crowded. Kimberly, the boys team Hill pinned as the one to beat this season, is coming off a district championship win with seven boys placing in the top 20. Kimberly also placed third in the varsity B race of the annual Bob Conley Invitational, the top performance by a 3A boys team. Another team to keep an eye on is Timberlake, which won the District 1 championship with a score of 19 thanks to eight top-10 finishes.

Timberlake's Jacob Barnhart is also one of two 3A boys in Idaho to have broken 16 minutes so far this season, running a 15:59 at the Inland Empire Championships. Expect Sugar-Salem, District 6 champions by a 3-point margin over South Fremont, to still be in the trophy race even in a year the Diggers are rebuilding, as well as District 3 champion Fruitland. Barnhart and McCall Donnelly's Jack McManus (personal best 15:58) are the top contenders for the boys individual title.

On the girls side, Coeur d'Alene's McKenna Kozeluh has put together one of the most impressive seasons by a 3A girl in recent memory. She has broken 18:40 for every 5k she has run this fall, including breaking 18 minutes three times. She is coming off a personal best 17:38 at the District 1 championships and has only been beaten by one girl all season: undefeated Post Falls senior Annastasia Peters.

Highly favored to repeat as 3A individual state champion, Kozeluh could also lead Coeur d'Alene Charter to a team title. Couer d'Alene Charter has produced three of the top four fastest 3A girls times this season in Idaho, with Kozeluh's freshmen teammates Annabelle Carr and Helen Oyler attaining personal bests of 19:02 and 19:15. Weiser's Kylee Quinton, the District 3 champion who has a personal best 18:24, should also be near the front this weekend.

Don't overlook defending champion Snake River from eastern Idaho in the girls team race. Hill's preseason favorite, the Panthers came one point shy of a perfect score last week, winning the District 5 title with a score of 16 with their top finishers going 1-2-3-4. District 6 also has strong state trophy contenders with Hill's Diggers and Teton, which was second by 12 points to Sugar-Salem at last week's district championships.

Class 2A

District 6 swept 2A state titles last season, with the North Fremont boys winning a program first state title and  Salmon's girls winning their first state title since 2003. Eastern Idaho has remained as loaded as ever in 2A thus far this season, and the top team contenders are from Districts 5 and 6.

North Fremont will be contending for not only a repeat boys team title, but an individual boys title. Sophomore Corbin Johnston, third at last year's state meet, has collected big win after big win this fall. He has won six of eight 5Ks he has run this season, including varsity B titles at Tiger-Grizz and Bob Conley and the varsity division 2 title at Bob Firman. His personal best of 15:56.4 is one of two sub-16 times this season by a 2A boy. District 5 should provide North Fremont's biggest competition for the boys team title.

Powerhouse Soda Springs edged district rival West Side by five points to win last week's District 5 title and is led by Kayden Gentry, an individual state title contender whose 15:53 is the fastest time by a 2A boy this season. West Side, meanwhile, won the varsity B team title at Bob Conley and was sixth in the varsity division 2 race at Bob Firman, the top performance by an Idaho 2A team. 

The 2A girls team title race could be a nailbiter once again. Powerhouse Soda Springs won the varsity B title at Tiger-Grizz in a particularly tight team race, taking first over district rival Malad by three points and by five points over third place Ririe of District 6. The Cardinals won the District 5 title last week by four points over Malad.

Expect Malad to also be in the title mix, as well as Bob Conley varsity B champion Ririe, which last week won its first district championship since 2002. Salmon and Declo cannot be counted out, either.

The top contenders for the individual title are part of an accomplished group indeed. Wendell's Jessica Duran, the 2020 individual state champion, has the fastest time by a 2A girl so far in Idaho this season (19:08). Behind her is returning medalist Kynzie Nielson of Firth (personal best 19:22.4), who repeated as District 6 champion last week, defending 2A state champion Cameron Moore of Ambrose (season best 19:40.8), Ririe freshman Lucy Boone (personal best 19:42.8, third at District 6 championships) and Kellogg's Lacey Medina (personal best 19:43, District 1 champion).

Class 1A

Victory Charter won last year's 1A boys state title by a 17-point margin over Rockland and with no seniors on its team. The Vipers are again leading the way into this weekend, as defending 1A boys individual state champion Ian Stockett and teammate Luke Stockett own the fastest times by Idaho 1A boys this season (15:21 and 15:37.3, respectively). Together with teammates Connor-Dougals Robbins and Benton Bernard, Victory Charter owns four of the top 15 times by 1A boys this fall. The Vipers won last week's District 3 team title by 40 points, getting seven boys in the top 12.

Keep an eye on District 5's Rockland and Grace, the defending second and third place state teams who were separated by one point at last week's district meet. Grace's Cole Wilkerson, the defending state runner-up with a season best 16:21, Rockland's Ezra Hubbard (personal best 16:05) and Challis's Garrett Hunt (personal best 16:12.7) could challenge the Stocketts.

Logos edged defending champion Raft River by two points last year to claim the 1A girls state title, and those teams enter this weekend with yet another intense battle ahead. Logos put up a low score of 19 to win last week's District 1-2 title, getting a 1-2-3 finish from Sara Casebolt, Mari Calene and Lizzie Crawford and eight top-10 finishes overall.

Raft River placed second in the varsity division 2 race at Bob Firman, was third in the varsity B race of Bob Conley and won last week's District 4 championships with a perfect score of 15. Defending 1A girls individual state champion Allie Black, a junior with a personal best 19:07.7, has been on a tear this season, placing in the top five of every race and winning Tiger-Grizz varsity B, Bob Conley varsity B and repeating as District 4 individual champion. Casebolt, Calene and Greenleaf Friends' Anna Dixon, the District 3 runner-up, are also individuals to watch.