Salmon Tolman Fam: XC Season 2018

I absolutely loved cross country season this year! It was a bit hectic, as our three younger boys ran for two different schools, and often in 3 different races, but it was so enjoyable and rewarding to watch them all do their best and to see them progress over the season!

Jonah and Micah ran with the Salmon High School team, which had a very successful season, and Kanyon ran with the West Jefferson Jr. High team. This was Kanyon's first year running. His friend Jackson convinced him to run, and although he was hesitant to because he doesn't like running, he ultimately decided to. I'm so glad he did! It was so fun to see him involved in a team sport, trying his best at something that doesn't come easy for him. I cried watching him in several races because it felt totally different from watching my other boys run--Kanyon doesn't run competitively, he runs to get in shape and be part of a team. The two schools competed in most of the same meets, which was nice for my scheduling purposes. The bigger meets also split up high school races into Varsity and Junior Varsity, which resulted in Jonah and Micah often running in two different races. I actually liked that because then I could focus on one boy at a time and didn't feel like I was being split as to where my attention was going.

The season began at the end of August (with practices starting mid-August), and was over at the end of October. This is a rather lengthy post, but I've recapped the entire XC season on it!

Friday August 24: Madison Dash & Splash in Rexburg
This was Kanyon's first race. Salmon didn't go to it this year, as it was during their fair week. At this meet, the races are split up by grade level, so he ran with the Jr. High kids from his team who were in 5th and 6th grade. At the junior high level, it's also a multi-gender race at this meet, which was nice, as it was Kanyon's first race, and that way he didn't feel as much pressure to not be last (his worst fear of running XC). It was also the shortest race of the season: just 1 mile. He did awesome!!! He'd forgotten his team shirt in Salmon, so he just wore blue to represent his team's color. He ran the mile in 8:28.

5th & 6th graders running in the race together:

Izzy, Jackson, and Kanyon were the only 6th graders

Thursday August 30: W.J. Invite in Terreton
This was the first meet that all 3 boys ran in. It was right after school had ended, and was in the field adjacent to the high school, so it was nice that I didn't have to take any time off to go to it--I just had to walk out the back door!! It was a really fun race, and I liked having friends from both schools at one place! My favorite part of the race was when I saw Abby Williams run--this was also her first year running for the Salmon Jr. High team. She was the first runner in from the Salmon team, and was in the top 10 overall. As she approached the finish line, I started screaming her name and jumping up and down because I was so surprised and so excited, and when she saw me, she started to slow down and stared at me, because she couldn't figure out what I was doing--if I wanted to get her attention or something (because it was her very first race of the season, she wasn't used to all the cheers at the end!). I was like "NO...keep GOING!!!". It totally made me laugh!!! In the high school 5K race, Micah got 6th place with a time of 19:15 and earned a medal, and Jonah took 20th place with a time of 21:16. The Jr. High race was 1.8 miles (nearly twice as long as the previous week's race); Kanyon's time was 16:11. I was proud of him for never stopping to walk.

Jonah and Micah are on the left with former teammate Hyrum in between them

Josh cheering on Kanyon from across the ditch bank. Kanyon is 2nd from the right.

Friday September 7: Tiger/Grizz in Idaho Falls
This was the first race that the twins were in separate varsity and JV races. The Tiger Grizz meet at Freeman Park in Idaho Falls is one of THE largest meets that we go to each year. The whole park is swarming with people and runners, similar to giant beehive. The JV race was first. Jonah placed 36th place out of 337 runners with a time of 20:26, cutting nearly a minute from the previous week's time! (Sometimes the race times are really variable based on the course--if it has more hills or more grass, then it's slower.) In the Varsity race, Micah placed 26th with a time of 19:34. The Jr. High race was 1.6 miles long (the Jr. High races are inconsistent in length each time, so it's hard to compare times) and Kanyon ran it in 15:04.

The JV runners change over the season because the

top 7 runners' times move to Varsity the following week.

This week's JV team: Jonah, Anthony, Nathan, Dylan, & Erik

This week's varsity team: Eli, Connor, Andy, McClay, Johnny, Micah, and Treygan

Their team cheer is:

"Who wears short shorts? We wear short shorts!"

Kanyon is a strong finisher. This is gradual incline leading to the finish line.

He totally passed this opponent...

It was so exciting to see all of his strong finishes and the kids he passed at the end!

Thursday September 13: Harriman Meet at Harriman State Park
Salmon did not attend this meet. I took the afternoon off work so that I could go watch Kanyon run. I've never been to Harriman park before (Josh had, because Salmon ran there a couple of years ago at their district race). It was a pretty drive, but took about an hour and a half to get there from Mud Lake. It's not a very spectator-friendly course (especially the Jr. High race), and had I known, I would've brought a bike! I saw him run at the beginning and the end and that was all. We stayed and watched the high school races before driving back to Terreton. The Jr. High course was 1.5 miles, and Kanyon ran it in 14:42.

Starting at this race, they finally had a 7-man team:

Luke, Ryan, John, Kanyon, Daniel, Kade, and Jackson

Kanyon and Addy watching the older kids run.

Saturday September 15: Mile High Classic in Challis
The West Jefferson team did not attend this meet, but Kanyon ran in the coaches' race after the competitive races. We love this meet; it's one of our favorites! It's very spectator-friendly, and usually not super busy, and the atmosphere is fun and relaxing. The water crossing was deeper this year than it ever has been, which was a bit of a challenge for the runners and they all finished with soggy feet and mud-splattered bodies. The twins both ran a fantastic race!! Their times were really great! Micah ran the high school 5K in 18:29 and received 22nd place overall and 6th in our division (earning a medal), Jonah ran it in 19:51 and got 11th place in our division (just ONE place out of medal contention!!).

The entire high school boys team has 12 strong runners!

The first turn near the beginning of the race is a bottle-necker.

I spy both Jonah and Micah towards the middle!

People kept tripping on an unseen log in the deep water.

There's a pretty steep muddy stretch straight out of the water.

Approaching the finish line

Ammon came home from college this weekend and

watched the boys race. He also ran in the coaches'

race afterwards, too!

Friday Sept. 21-Saturday Sept. 22: Bob Firman Invitational in Eagle

This is the largest event that the XC team goes to every year in the Boise area. Teams from several states come to attend. Races for several divisions occur all day long on Saturday. This year, they held the Jr. High races on Friday night rather than at the end of the day on Saturday. Kanyon's team opted not to take Jr. High students to this, since they went to the closer meet at Ririe that same week, but any parent wishing to take a Jr. High student could still attend as long as they were in charge of their transportation. The only two who ran it from the Jr. High team were Kanyon and his friend Jackson (they are the only ones who had older siblings who were competing, so would be there anyway). The Jr. High race was 1.8 miles long. It was the largest race of his year, with 383 runners in it. Kanyon ran it in 15:32--it was fun to see his times decrease and his running improve each week! The JV and Varsity 5K races were at separate times on Saturday. It also happened to be the same day as the twin's birthday! They got to hang out all day with their friends, and we celebrated by bringing healthy popsicles to share, and I made several birthday posters that people held along the route of each of their races. They were also the biggest races that the twins had participated in that year: in Micah's varsity race, there were 290 runners, and in Jonah's JV race there were 393 runners. They both had outstanding times: Micah ran it in 18:08, and Jonah had a finish of 19:20. The Salmon Varsity team got a team trophy for earning 3rd place overall, which was exciting considering the amount of teams and runners that competed!

Josh drove the bus from Salmon, and had arrived

before us because we stopped to eat (we actually

drove part of the way caravanning with the bus!).

Josh and I previewed the course with Kanyon

that afternoon before his race started.

Kanyon stayed in the same hotel room as Josh and I, which was just down the

hall from his friends Aidan and Abby! He had fun hanging out in their room

with them, eating and watching TV, and swimming in the hotel pool (until he

stubbed his toe in the pool and it was bleeding--good thing his race was already done!).

I purposely drove right past the

Meridian temple on my way to the meet!

This was the first time I'd seen it so up close before.

Birthday Boys

Hanging out our tent waiting for our turns to race.

The team walking up to get their 3rd place trophy from Bob Firman himself!

Friday September 28: Rob Campbell Invitational in Shelley
This meet is at a golf course in Shelley, and is pretty spectator-friendly. It's flat, but most of it is on grass rather than trails or dirt, so it runs slower--but the twins still got faster times from the previous week's race, which was awesome! The Jr. High race of 1.8 miles was first--and was huge with 283 runners. Kanyon beat his newest teammate Luke and got a time of 16:50. The Varsity and JV races were run separately at this meet. Micah's time was 18:04 and Jonah finished at 19:55. Kanyon and I met up at with the Salmon team at Arby's in Idaho Falls after the race, so it was nice to have a little bit of extra time with Josh and the twins before they returned to Salmon for the night.

Wednesday October 3: Salmon Invitational in Salmon
This is our favorite XC meet of the season! It's fun to take our golf carts out on the course to watch the athletes run, the weather is always nice, and the course is spectator friendly and challenging! This race was during my two-week harvest break from school, so I didn't have to take time off from work to watch it, either. It was such a fun, rewarding race. The boys ran their hearts out, and I was so proud of them all!!! The Jr. High 1.8 mile race was first. Kanyon finished with a time of 16:31. In the high school's 5K race, Micah finished with 20:01 and Jonah ran it in 21: 25.

They wore pink armbands for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Thursday October 11: Firth Invitational in Firth
Salmon high school chose not to attend, because it was their Homecoming week. They brought their jr. high students, though, and Josh was able to drive the bus for it, so he got to come watch Kanyon run. It was nice to have him there with me! The Jr. High race was 1.6 miles, and Kanyon's time was 14:27--his fastest time of the season for an event longer than a mile! It was also the last race of Kanyon's season as well.

They run one lap around the track at the end of the race.

He passed the kid from Ririe by the last stretch!

Another strong finish!

Wednesday October 17: 2A District Championships in Salmon
We were fortunate to have two meets in Salmon this year, since Salmon also hosted the District meet. I took the afternoon off from work to go, and made Kanyon come with me, too. He drove some of his friends around on a golf cart for the girls race, and Josh took me around in it for the boys' race. Josh also got a cart for Grandma and Grandpa to ride around in, too. The twins both had an exceptional race: Micah cut 20 seconds off from the previous time on the course, and Jonah shaved off a whopping 35 seconds!!! (He had been recovering from a cold at the previous race in Salmon). In the boys' 5K race, Micah got 13th place with a time of 19:39, and Jonah earned 19th place with his time of 20:50.

Something about this picture makes me want to say,

"Run, Forrest, Run!!!"

It was a tight race for Micah and Anthony the entire

race. They were battling it out for the 7th position on

the Varsity team to run in the state race the following week.

Kanyon and his friend Izzy from WJ watched

the boys race from the sidelines since Josh & I

had the golf cart.

At one point, Anthony was beating Micah. Josh is yelling at Micah encouraging him!

Jonah was so close behind the senior runner Connor

most of the race, which was exciting!

Approaching the finish line...

Micah beat Anthony! I was so proud of both of them!

They both gave their all the whole race!

Jonah was unable to beat Connor, but he kept him

in view, and got super close!

Their fans talking to the twins after the race!

Micah got 6th place on the team, and qualified to run with the team at state.

Jonah got 10th place on the team, and ran a phenomenal race!

The Salmon boys were District Champions!!

Saturday October 27: IHSAA XC State Championships in Lewiston
I've never gone to a state IHSAA activity in northern Idaho before. Josh and Ammon have, but I always stayed home with the other boys. This time, I knew there was a very good chance that our team could take state, and I didn't want to miss it (last year, we heart-breakingly only lost by one point!). I debated about driving myself to Lewiston, but I knew it would be a long drive back to Mud Lake alone after watching XC all day, and leaving late to endure the 9-hour drive myself. I opted to ride the bus with Josh, instead. And since I was on the bus, then Jonah rode on it, too (I was going to drive him in the car separately because he wanted to support his team, too!). Connor Born (the 9th runner from the team) also rode the bus, so Jonah was glad to not be the only non-qualifier riding on the bus with the team (they only take the 7 runners and one alternate to state).

It was rather hectic leading up to going as I'd hosted parent-teacher conference the night before we left, and didn't get home to Salmon until 10:30pm (after hitting a small bear cub on the drive home and crashing my car, which will be discussed in another post). I had to pack my bags that night, since we were leaving early the next morning to make the 7-hour drive to Lewiston in order to preview the course on Friday evening. I was very stressed and tired on Thursday night, but on Friday I got to sit and relax as Josh drove. It was a long, but peaceful and beautiful, drive.

We got to Lewiston early (because they're an hour ahead of us), so we had to wait at the hotel before we could check in, then wait while the hotel sorted all the wrong rooms (they'd given wrong keys, and some of the rooms weren't clean or the keys didn't work), before we could leave to drive to the course to preview it. It was a very flat course with hardly any parking! Josh dropped the kids off, then we parked the bus a half mile away and walked. The course was super spectator-friendly, as it loops certain areas 3 times. It's mostly flat and they had areas for spectators along the outside of the course and in between the middle of the loops, too. Because it was so flat, and in a field, it was a very FAST course! The team worked to set up their tent, and walked/jogged the course to get familiar with it as no one had run it before. After we previewed it, we headed back to the hotel and changed into nice clothes for a nice, sit-down dinner at a restaurant. All of the restaurant choices that the kids had requested had super long wait times, so we ended up eating at Shari's. It wasn't busy when we first got there, but then it picked up, and the waitress basically had to serve the entire restaurant, and she'd forgotten to put in Anthony's order. He was starving, and didn't get his dinner until the others were eating their dessert. Poor kid! We spent the night at the hotel, and Jonah stayed in Josh and I's room. Connor stayed at the same hotel as us in a room with his dad that night, too.

You could feel the excitement in the air on Saturday morning! It was hard to contain! The 2A division had one of the later running times in the afternoon, but the kids were antsy to leave the hotel, so we checked out earlier than anticipated. Josh dropped the kids off by the entrance, and we had to park aways away again and walk. I enjoyed watching the other races, while waiting for our turn. Ammon and Tim came over from U of I, and some of last year's female runners had come to watch from their Oregon college as well (Kaitlyn and Katie Jo). We watched Josh's cousin Joey run in the race right before the twin's race, and their team from Boise won by just one point, which was exciting (and totally reminded me of our loss from last year!)! I was on pins and needles waiting for our team's turn, and then I was nervous while watching them throughout their whole race, too. I have never been so nervous for one of my children's races before!

It was a very exciting race! Andy and Johnny along with a runner from West Side separated themselves as the leaders early on, and Andy and Johnny ended up taking the 1 and 2 positions individually. Treygan got 12th and Nathan earned 15th. They give medals to the top 20 individuals, and four of our runners were in the top 20!! Micah nearly caught up to McClay who was our 5th (and final scoring) runner. McClay was running side-by-side with a Soda Springs runner, who I feared was their 5th runner (which is EXACTLY what happened last year: Ammon was our 5th runner who was alongside Soda's 5th runner, and the Soda runner beat him at the end). McClay didn't have a good state race last year, and I knew if it went down this year the same way it ended for Ammon last year, that it would tough to get over. I screamed and screamed, wanting to give him some of my energy!!! However, unbeknownst to me at that moment, it was only Soda's 4th runner, and we had the win IN THE BAG!!! McClay did his best, and passed out from exertion and stress at the finish line. Micah had the race of his life, and finished with an astounding time of 17:39. As I approached the cool-down area, I could see on my phone (with real-time results of the race), that our boys' team took the title of State Champions for the first time in the school's history!!! It was a VERY exciting day, and so rewarding to come home with the title that should've been ours last year! We ended a 5-year winning streak for the Soda Springs boys, which felt good too! We were the last team to pack up and leave the state meet. The drive home was very long (particularly the one section where we drove down a 99-mile mountain/river road without any signs of civilization! and eery in the dark. There was no bathrooms, and at one point, the kids just had to use trees away from the bus!! We didn't get home until 2am on Sunday morning! It was a very fulfilling, and exhausting, day!