Spartans run to State

PRIEST RIVER — Priest River Lamanna High cross-country is headed to state this weekend with two boys and seven girls after the Lady Spartans won the 3A District 1-2 title at the Ranch Club Thursday, Oct. 23. “They worked hard, and it paid off,” coach Krystal Barton said. “I am more than proud of them. They ran smart.”

Junior Alannah Mc-Laimtaig placed second out of 18 runners with a time of 22:59 and she and her teammates finished 4-5-6 to claim the title and a trip to the state competition at Lewiston Orchards this Saturday. Seniors Capri White finished fourth at 23:59 and Kyla White was fifth at 24:38. Freshman Maiyu Smith was the season’s top freshman and ran a personal record (PR) at 25:55 winning sixth place. Junior Breelynn Duran finished 10th, clocking in at 27:00, rounding out the scorers for the Priest River girls and beating Kellogg by five points.

Spartan Tadhg McLaimtaig was the meet’s top freshman, placing third out of 22 runners with a time of 17:55, earning him a spot at state. Junior Daniel Gunkle placed fifth in 19:02 seconds for the Spartans, which were third out of three scoring teams with 59 points.

Priest River will compete at state Saturday, Nov. 1 for the 3A State Championship at the Lewiston Orchards near Lewis-Clark State College. The Spartans leave Friday morning from Priest River Lamanna Jr./Sr. High at 11:30 a.m.

SOPHIA MATTICE-ALDOUS IS A MURROW NEWS FELLOW WORKING DIRECTLY WITH NEWSROOMS AT THE NEWPORT MINER AND RANGE MEDIA THROUGH A PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY. HER REPORTING IS AVAILABLE FOR USE VIA CREATIVE COMMONS WITH CREDIT.