Elite Set To Run At Farragut Invite

North Idaho high school cross country runners will race with the top teams and top individuals from Washington in the annual Farragut Invitational on Saturday.

Eight-time State AAA boys champion Mead and last year’s runner-up, Ferris, will join a field of about 40 teams and more than 1,300 runners at the meet. The teams were ranked one-two in last week’s coach’s poll.

Hosted by Lake City and Coeur d’Alene high schools, the meet will be held at Farragut State Park, located about 25 miles north of Coeur d’Alene off U.S. Highway 95.

The meet is divided into two divisions: A (for schools with enrollment of 800 or more) and B (for schools with enrollment less than 800). Some of the smaller schools - such as Chewelah and Riverside - have opted to race in the A division.

Racing begins at 10 a.m. The B girls will take the starting gun at 11:20, followed by the B boys at noon. The A girls will race at 12:20, followed by the A boys at 1:10.

Just three of the usual six teams from the Boise area will attend the meet - largely because of a scheduling snafu. Defending A boys champion Boise, expected to field the top A-1 team in Idaho, won’t be at the meet.

East Valley’s girls, the defending State AA champ in Washington, will be back to defend its A title at Farragut. Riverside’s boys won the B crown, while McCall-Donnelly was the B girls champ last year. A scheduling mistake will keep McCall-Donnelly from attending.

EV’s girls will be pushed by Ferris’ girls. EV defeated Ferris last week at a meet in Sandy, Ore.

A star-studded field of individual runners in the A boys race is headed up by defending AAA champion Isaac Hawkins of Ferris, a senior, and Mead seniors Jason Fayant and Morgan Thompson. In the A girls, EV’s Angie Simmers and Ferris’ Jennifer Smith headline a talented group of contenders.

Half of the field of 40 teams is from Washington. The more than 1,300 runners eclipses the previous field by nearly 400, LC coach Donna Messenger said. Mead’s boys alone are bringing 90.

The 3.1-mile course, which overlooks picturesque Lake Pend Oreille, offers several viewing points. The course’s signature - the 150-meter “goat hill” - grabs runners’ attention at the 2-mile mark of the race.

Farragut will be the site of Idaho’s state championships Nov. 2. The state races, however, will not include the goat hill. The race Saturday will easily be more than double the size of Idaho’s state races, Messenger said.

A $2 fee will be charged to each vehicle entering the state park Saturday. , DataTimes