With districts coming up, both the boys and girls cross country teams are looking very strong. After good performances in both the Inland Empire Challenge and the William Johnson Invitational, the men and women are ranked 2nd and 4rd in the state, respectively. At the Inland Empire Challenge, Sandpoint High School history was made when Junior Nikolai Braedt shattered the all time school record by 13 seconds, with a time of 15:35. The previous record was held by Sam Levora, at 15:48. 

“It was kind of this surreal moment passing over that finish line, just because the school record is something I’ve been going after since the beginning of my sophomore year,” said Braedt. 

While Braedt is making huge strides, so is the rest of his team. This year the top five boys on the Varsity team are ranked in the top eight for all runners that have ever competed for Sandpoint High School. This strong core group of runners hopes to keep improving and advance through regionals to state. 

The girls team is also looking ahead to regionals after a very strong performance at the Inland Empire Challenge. Three of the runners, Seniors Page Davidson and Bionce Vincent, and Sophomore Megan Oulman, all broke 20 minutes at this meet, which was a big team goal for the season. 

“Doing well, and seeing all your teammates do well, makes you want to do it again and perform your best and your hardest, so it’s really exciting.” said Vincent. 

Braedt’s record was a powerful moment for both teams. The girls Varsity and JV, and the boys JV all stood by to cheer him on, and were ecstatic to hear he broke the record.

“It’s so cool to be on a team with not only extremely talented people, but people who are so invested in every part of their lives, and are great because of it.” said Vincent.