The Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational victory over Jesuit (Ore.) vaulted Coeur d'Alene past Jesuit in the most recent boys team rankings released Oct. 16 by DyeStat.com, with Coeur d'Alene moving up from No. 8 to No. 4 and Jesuit remaining at the No. 5 spot.

Idaho is also represented in the girls team rankings. Rocky Mountain is ranked No. 20 and Boise No. 26.

DyeStat will release the next national rankings on Oct. 30, two days before Idaho's state championship meet. The next regional team rankings will be released this Thursday. In the last regional rankings from Oct. 9, the Coeur d'Alene boys and Rocky Mountain boys were ranked No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in the Northwest while Rocky Mountain and Boise were No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the Northwest girls team rankings.

Last Meets Before Districts

On October 15 at the Winston Tilzey Classic in Nampa, the Nampa Christian boys and Victory Charter girls claimed varsity team titles. Sophomore Alyssa Hust won the individual title in 18:40.37, her second win in as many meets, and her teammates junior Libby Stockett (fourth place, 19:17.60), junior Lydia Brewer (seventh place, 19:57.35), sophomore Alyssa Lee (eighth place, 19:58.15) and freshman Annika Snyder (ninth place, 20:09.42) all placed in the top 10 for the Vipers in the team win. Hust is currently the only 2A girl in Idaho to have broken 19 minutes this season. Fruitland junior Landon Hillam won the boys individual title in 15:58.43, his fourth win this season. Junior Ethan Lee (seventh place, 16:58.41), junior Eli Howerzyl (eighth place, 17:06.33), junior Kaden Howerzyl (11th place, 17:17.13), junior Hudson Raney (15th place, 17:21.21.60) and sophomore Cru Gumm (18th place, 17:28.65) had top-20 finishes for team champion Nampa Christian.

Also on October 15 but in eastern Idaho, defending 4A state champion Sugar-Salem beat host team and current 5A (former 4A) powerhouse Preston for the varsity girls team title at the Preston Invitational in a tiebreaker. Both teams had identical final scores of 64 but Sugar-Salem's girls won due to their sixth runner finishing ahead of Preston's sixth runner. Individual champion, Sugar-Salem junior Janyja Jackson, won in 19:38.8 for her first victory of the season and her teammates, sophomore Sarah Galbraith (eighth place, 20:44.6), senior Aubree Ricks (13th place, 21:05.9) and junior Mckenzie Bean (20th place, 21:30.8) all placed in the top 20 for the Diggers. Defending 4A boys state champion Sugar-Salem beat Preston for the boys title by 14 points, getting an individual title from sophomore Darrel Dickson (15:54.2)--his fourth win this season--and top-15 finishes from sophomore Adam Willis (fourth place, 16:36), sophomore Jaxon Johansen (seventh place, 16:48.9) and freshman Bradley Dickson (11th place, 16:57).

Twin Falls won the varsity girls team title at the Bugtown Open on Oct. 17 in Caldwell, led by junior Raelee Richardson's individual win in 18:19:53. Richardson, senior Lydia Lee (fourth place, 20:15.20), junior Elizabeth Frampton (eighth place, 20:46.83) and junior Lauren Garling (10th place, 20:54.74), sophomore Bricelyn Allen (18th place, 21:18.50) and senior Gloria Hernandez (19th place, 21:23.16) all finished in the top 20 for the Bruins. The defending 5A girls individual state champion, Richardson has won five meets this season and her personal best 17:24 from placing third at the Inland Empire Championships on Oct. 4 is the fastest 5A girls time this season in Idaho. Meridian won the varsity boys team title, getting top 20 finishes from sophomore Keyer Ryden (sixth place, 16:19.90), senior Logan Payne (eighth, 16:30.80), senior Caleb Knox (11th, 16:53.30), sophomore Clay Sallee (13th, 17:00.50) and senior Brycen Bousquet (18th, 17:14.50. Canyon Ridge senior Daxin Holtzen won the individual title in 15:48.30, his second win in as many meets.

On The Horizon

District championship week has arrived, with team and individual qualifications up for grabs for the state meet on Nov. 1 at Lewiston Orchards.

The first meets are scheduled for Tuesday, the 2A District II championships at Lewiston Orchards and the 4A District III championships at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Weiser. District meets take place every day from Tuesday to Friday, concluding with the 6A and 5A District III championships at Vallivue.

This will be the last edition of Breaking the Tape until next week's state meet preview.