2 course records shattered at Inland Empire Championships cross country meet

Oct. 5—Rocky Mountain senior Hallie Heemeyer woke up Saturday to an email from her brother, Landon, who is serving a mission in Japan.

He had a couple of pointers and words of encouragement for his sister ahead of the cross country Inland Empire Championships in Lewiston, where in 2022 he set a boys course record as a member of the Grizzlies of Meridian.

Several hours later, Hallie Heemeyer both stood all alone at the top of the morning's leaderboard and joined her brother in the all-time ranks with a girls 5K course record of 16 minutes and 37 seconds.

Earlier in the day, local phenom Paisley Bonner of Sacagawea Middle School set a girls middle school course record at 9:16 in the 2,500-meter reace.

Drew Donahue of Centennial (Boise) took the high school boys race in 14:56.

The senior's sub-15-minute race was a 25-second personal best and was just five seconds short of Landon Heemeyer's course record.

Records shattered

On a course that packs a punch with slight inclines and sharp corners, Hallie Heemeyer was prepared. With her brother's tips in mind, the senior maintained her mental focus through a tough second lap in just her second time on the course.

"He's really been my main support in coaching me through this," Hallie Heemeyer said of her brother, who last year was on the BYU track and field team. "He's always been there for me, and we have a really strong relationship. So I love him."

Heemeyer leapt to a convincing lead from the jump and turned it into a 46-second advantage over the runner-up.

Mike Collins, the Lewis-Clark State cross country coach, said that he did not expect the girls course record, which was set by Post Falls' Annastasia Peters four years ago, to be broken so soon.

Peters is now a part of the University of Utah track and field team.

Heemeyer said that when she first ran the course during her freshman year, she did not imagine doing as well as she did on Saturday.

"At the time, I was struggling with some injuries, so just being able to see the progression and just how much I've grown with my body is amazing," Heemeyer said. "I'm so happy and proud of it."

Bonner's middle school course record is the latest entry in an impressive start to the Lewiston native's budding running career.

"Bonner continues to astound," Collins said. "As a seventh grader (with) another year of middle school (left), she looks to be doing some incredible things in the future."

A 25-second PR

Much like the girls race, Donahue jumped out to an early lead and maintained it.

With no one in front of him over the final 300 feet and the timer in sight, Donahue put on the jets with one message in his mind.

"Just gotta win. I just gotta win. Gotta leave it all out there," Donahue said. "I don't want a bus ride home full of regret."

Donahue's first time racing in the Lewiston Orchards led to the day's only sub-15-minute time and a 25-second PR.

With his beaming mother recording the interview, Donahue gave his glory to God, his mother, his coaches and his teammates for putting him in a position to win Saturday.

"She drove five hours here to support me from Boise, Idaho," Donahue said. "And I just love my mom so much."

Close to home

The Lewiston Bengals do most of their workouts near the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, although they are quite familiar with the Inland Empire Championships course, with it being the home for the Lewis-Clark State cross country team. It is also across the street from Lewiston High School.

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Most relevant to the Idaho schools in attendance, the course is occasionally home to district and state championship meets.

"It's a great opportunity for our kids to practice where the ultimate competition is," Lewiston coach John Potter said. "Having a lot of other schools here to compete against gets us in that mentality of championships."

Lewiston welcomed approximately 650 runners between the varsity, junior varsity and middle school divisions, including some of the state's finest.

Runners stood side-by-side at the start of each race with their backs to the picturesque Lewiston hill and a blue sky littered with puffy clouds above them on a 70-degree fall day.

After navigating the winding 3.1-mile Lewiston Orchards course, runners gleefully grabbed water cups handed out by members of the LC State cross country team.

Colton was one of the few Washington schools in attendance, making the trip from just up the hill.

Wildcat senior Tanner Baerlocher logged the finest local finish, running a 16:09 for 27th place.

Baerlocher said that he sees many of the same faces at meets, including Lewiston's Lucas Clements, who he had wanted to keep up with today and ended up passing.

"Last year I kind of really started running with the same guys every single race," Baerlocher said. "It doesn't matter where you go, you're pretty much running with someone you know, and that's great."

Clements turned in a personal record finish of 16:18, good for 31st place.

The Lewiston junior said he did not start the season as he would have wanted, but is gradually improving.

Clements said he enjoys running a home course because of the high number of home fans supporting the Bengals.

Lewiston's Addisyn Storm was the top girls local finisher at 45th overall with a 20:09.

Like Clements, Storm said Saturday's race was not her finest, but she appreciated the chance to compete in a large meet with a State-like atmosphere.

"She's just really dedicated to it," Potter said of Storm. "She has that sort of work ethic that you can't coach in kids. So she's doing all the right things in the offseason, in-season, nutrition. She takes care of the small stuff, but also has a big enough picture that she knows what it takes to get where she wants to be at the end of the season."

GIRLS

Winner — Hallie Heemeyer, Rocky Mountain, sr., 16:37.

Team scores — 1. Rocky Mountain 37; 2. Mountain View 72; 3. Centennial 107; 4. Thunder Ridge 141; 5. Twin Falls 145; 6. Enterprise 148; 7. Timberlake 182; 8. Skyline 212; 9. Shelley 233; 10. Hillcrest 286; 11. McCall-Donnelly 310; 12. Middleton 320; 13. Bonneville 340; 14. Bonners Ferry 405; 15. Gooding 423; 16. Rockland 473.

Top 10 individuals — 1. Hallie Heemeyer, Rocky Mountain, 16:37; 2. Annie Herd, Centennial, 17:23; 3. Raelee Richardson, Twin Falls, 17:24; 4. Jeweliet Pence, Mountain View, 17:40; 5. Eve Archibald, Rocky Mountain, 17:49; 6. Brooke Thompson, Rocky Mountain, 18:06; 7. Lola Eggleston, Timberlake, 18:19; 8. Solana Lucas, Rocky Mountain, 18:19; 9. Klarisa Earl, Thunder Ridge, 18:21; 10. Lauren Burrup, Centennial, 18:24.

Top local individuals — 45. Addisyn Storm, Lewiston, 20:09; 91. Alexis King, Grangeville, 22:39; 97. Lela Rehder, Lewiston, 23:05; 102. Rori Weber, Colton, 23:35; 105. Gretchen Fiedler, Troy, 23:53; 115. Tenley Taylor, Lewiston, 25:16; 119. Libby Green, Grangeville, 27:16; 120. Jenna Denuit, Grangeville, 27:19.

BOYS

Winner — Drew Donahue, Centennial, sr., 14:56.

Team scores — 1. Rocky Mountain 48; 2. Skyline 64; 3. Centennial 76; 4. Timberlake 144; 5. Mountain View 164; 6. Blackfoot 206; 7. McCall-Donnelly 207; 8. Bonneville 210; 9. Middleton 265; 10. Twin Falls 302; 11. Shelley 310; 12. Thunder Ridge 322; 13. Lewiston 355; 14. Hillcrest 363; 15. Mountain Home; 16. Rockland 416; 17. Colton 473; 18. Grangeville 476.

Top 10 individuals — 1. Drew Donahue, Centennial, 14:56; 2. Hyrum Tuft, Rocky Mountain, 15:02; 3. Austin Riley, Mountain View, 15:04; 4. Alexander Renna, Skyline, 15:10; 5. Charlie Speirs, McCall-Donnelly, 15:11; 6. Davis Roberts, Skyline, 15:20; 7. Thomas Kurtz, Rocky Mountain, 15:26; 8. Owen Gregory, Blackfoot, 15:29; 9. Camus Book, Caldwell, 15:30; 10. Jacob Mascheroni, McCall-Donnelly, 15:30.

Top local individuals — 27. Tanner Baerlocher, Colton, 16:09; 31. Lucas Clements, Lewiston, 16:18; 60. AJ Rose, Grangeville, 17:03; 61. Ian Franklin, Lewiston, 17:04; 64. Finnegan O'Donnell, Kamiah, 17:13; 88. Benjamin Jones, Troy, 17:49; 99. Chase Isbelle, Lewiston, 18:02; 100. Tevyn Baldus, Grangeville, 18:10; 101. Paxtin Kytonen, Lewiston, 18:13; 105. Lee Miller, Lewiston, 18:19.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.