Cross country hits the ground running

The 2023-24 LHS cross-country season is in full swing and runners kicked it off strong with their first practice Aug. 7. They attended their first meet in Grangeville Aug. 25, with athletes Lee Miller and Anderson Parkhurst finishing in the top 10 in the men’s 5,000-meter race. Ali Van Mullem finished ninth in the women’s 5,000-meter race.
On Aug. 31, Lewiston runners competed in Post Falls. In the men’s 2-mile race, Lucas Clements finished in third place in the freshman division, and James Stubbers finished at eighth place in the senior division.
The team has a positive outlook going into the season.
“We have a lot of young runners, so I think there’s a lot of opportunity for young runners to improve. I like our opportunity to get better over the course of the year,” Coach John Potter said. “More long-term, I’m looking forward to seeing who trains this winter and runs track and trains next summer. I think we have a good chance of being competitive next year.”
The Lewiston cross-country team has acquired several records over the years. In 2006, they set the overall course record at the Timberlake Farragut Invitational, racking up new distance records over the past five to six years for track. One athlete became a state champion and Gatorade athlete of the year for the state of Idaho in 2016.
The team has the Inland Empire Challenge coming up Saturday, Oct. 7, at the LCSC XC Course. District-level competition will be Thursday, Oct. 19 at Farragut State Park.