SPORTS | page 21
A recap of the 2020 fall season for SHS varsity sports.
Graphic by: Peyton Mullen Above: Sandpoint High School Athletes compete in their sport during the fall season. By Chris Koch Boys Soccer: News Editor The boys soccer team went to state for his past fall, Sandpoint High the first time since 2017. Their record School athletes were able to comthis season was 5-6-2. pete despite the unusual circumThe Bulldogs won the Inland Empire stances this season. This year, 4 and 5A League with an undefeated record. They schools in the area recreated the Inland competed in the state tournament in Empire League which gave the Bulldogs Idaho Falls where they lost to Bishop an opportunity to play more games Kelly and Vallieview. against tougher schools. Playing during Although the Bulldogs were not able a pandemic didn’t stop the athletes from to make it far in the state tournament, succeeding. the feat of getting to compete contributFootball: ed to a memorable season. The Football team had a season to Girls Soccer: remember and ended up winning the The girls soccer team ended their regional title and went to the state semi- season with a record of 5-7-1. finals for the first time since 2015. Despite their struggle this season, the The team’s overall record was 5-5 and team hopes to recapture their league the Bulldogs dominated the other 4A title. “I think that’s entirely up to my schools in the region. After beating players quite frankly” Baranski exLakeland, the Bulldogs played Hillcrest plained, “it doesn’t matter how much and won. Sandpoint then beat Moscow that frustrates me...And I think my which gave them the ticket to the state players will respond appropriately.” semifinals. Volleyball: The team is hopeful they will make it The volleyball team had a record of to the state championship next season. 5-10 this season. The head coach, Karen
T
Nolan Angel | Boys Soccer
“I felt like the season was pretty good. I feel like we did well as a team and I did well individually.”
Bella Phillips | Volleyball
“Overall I feel like [our season] was pretty good. It was rough at times, but I feel like every season is like that.”
Alsager, had an optimistic view on her team’s season. “I’m happy that we did better than we did the previous year.” She said. Alsager was also pleased that the team beat a variety of different school levels. “This year, we had 2 5A wins and 2 4A wins, so we were beating better teams.” She said. The team performed better this year in the district tournament than last year. Sandpoint beat Moscow, but lost to Lakeland. The Bulldogs came out of their season with their heads high and ambitions for next year. Boys Cross-Country: The boys cross-country team had an outstanding season. They beat all division one and two teams in their league. Coach Matt Brass enjoyed coaching the team saying, “[It was just] a really fun team, they were a really fun team to coach and be around.” Coach Brass said that Nikoli Braedt, Jett Lucas, and Keegan Nelson were influential to the team’s performance and placed high in every meet. At the end of the season, the Bulldogs went undefeated in every regional meet and earned a fourth place title in the state of Idaho. Girls Cross-Country: The girls cross-country team did very well placing ninth at the state competition. Coach Angie Brass said, “It was a great season...We placed in the top three of most of our meets we attended,” The girl’s team were regional champions and made it to state which is always one of the many goals for their season. There were some key runners for the Bulldogs success this season including Mackenzie Suhy Gregoire, Megan Oulman, and Ara Clark. Nueder described her season with
Tag Benefield | Football
“[our season was] good...I wouldn’t say better than last year, but I’d say we, as a team, did better than last year.”
pride in her team. “I think this was my favorite season [and] the whole season is what really got our team through this crazy time,” she said. Swim Team: The swim team achieved success this season. The boys team came in second in the district competition and the girls came in first. Both teams competed in the state tournament, but this year it looked different considering it was a virtual event. Both teams placed second at state to cap off an amazing season. Kate Bokowy, one of the team’s leading swimmers, said “COVID gave us a new motivation to try our best everyday because for all we knew it was our last practice.” Dance: The dance team has had a great start to season with exciting performances at the home football games. Head Coach Laurie Buck was excited about the high skill level her team showed this year saying, “Our team this year has such a positive outlook and the skill level is higher than it’s ever been.” Captain Breann Klopman said, “[Our season has been] pretty good so far we haven’t had competition yet...But the football games have been great.” Cheer: The cheer team has cheered at most of the football games this year. Although their competitions do not start until late January. it is still beneficial for the team perform at the football games. Knowing whether they should be prepping for competition season since one of the competitions has already been canceled has been a struggle for the cheerleaders, but they are hopeful they will get to perform.
Hattie Larson | Girls Soccer
“My soccer season went well. I think I learned a lot from it and developed my leadership skills.”
