HRV XC RUNNERS had a banner year at the annual NXR Northwest race in Boise, Idaho, last weekend, where the Eagles ran against some of the best teams in the Pacific Northwest. The team entered the second-tier race. The girls placed fifth out of 41 teams.
HRV XC RUNNERS had a banner year at the annual NXR Northwest race in Boise, Idaho, last weekend, where the Eagles ran against some of the best teams in the Pacific Northwest. The team entered the second-tier race. The girls placed fifth out of 41 teams.
Fresh off a fourth-place finish at the 5A state championships two weeks ago, the HRV boys and girls cross country team had arguably an even better performance last week at a race that was simply for fun… and bragging rights.
The boys team placed eighth out of 50 teams and the girls placed fifth out of 41 teams at the annual NXR Northwest race in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, running in the second-tier race. The invitational featured some of the best teams in the country from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, and Montana. An added bonus: both the boys and the girls were well ahead of Columbia River Conference rivals, the Hermiston Bulldogs, who also attended the race. The Bulldogs placed 38th in the boys race and 39th in the girls race.
HRV Head Coach Brandon Bertram said the event is both a way for the athletes to reward themselves after another successful cross country season (which also included both teams winning the CRC), but also as a way to see how they stack up against some of the better runners in the Northwest.
Nobody from the Eagles set a personal record in Boise, as Bertram has described the race as “a true cross country course,” featuring “hills, sandy beach sections, and narrow trails” designed to challenge runners. But the team placed well in the large competitive races and generally saw a “substantially better” outcome compared to last year’s effort in the same race at the same course.
Leading the way for the HRV boys was Jacob Bromham, who placed 14th out of 496 runners in the Section 2 Open Invitational, recording a time of 16 minutes, 35.4 seconds on the 3.1-mile course. For the girls, it was Daisy Dolan, who placed 17th out of 386 runners, clocking in at 19:41.5.
‘...The teams took advantage of an exciting race opportunity and competed at a high level. A great barometer of how well the HRV XC program ranks amongst XC programs in the Northwest.’
BRANDON BERTRAM
“It was exciting for the kids to race teams from other states, including several teams we train with during our Montana summer running camp at Kalispell… the teams took advantage of an exciting race opportunity and competed at a high level,” Bertram said. “A great barometer of how well the HRV XC program ranks amongst XC programs in the Northwest.”
The boys will lose top runners Jacob Bromham and Jesse Wiley to graduation and the girls will lose Daisy Dolan for the same reason, but will retain a great deal of talent on both sides, as well as continue to be fed by an active and growing middle school cross country program.
Boys results:
Overall winner: Nichola Russell, 15:53.8, Onward Knights (Bishop Kelly High School; Boise, Idaho)
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