Boise Girls Celebrate A Big Win At Bob Firman

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The girls from Boise High ID knew what they had going to the starting line at the Bob Firman Invitational on Saturday, even if they weren't sure how it would all play out against California power Great Oak. 

By the midpoint of the elite varsity girls race, it was apparent that the US#5 Wolfpack was being tested by the locals from Boise. 

Tori Gaitan and Arianna Griffiths went 1-2 for Great Oak, but that wasn't enough to hold off one of the biggest upsets of the high school cross country season and one of the biggest moments ever for an Idaho girls cross country team. 

It was Boise 85, Great Oak 95. RESULTS

"It's a good feeling," Boise coach Aaron Olswanger said. "We knew we had a shot if we packed up and ran our race. Now it's on to next week."

Maggie Liebich, a senior who smashed all-time Idaho records in the 800 (2:11.26) and 1,600 meters (4:46.87) last spring, finished third. 

Rosina Machu, a sophomore, was 14th. Eve Jensen, a senior who lit a fire for the program when she won the 2016 Stanford Invitational, was 20th. 

Freshman Logan Smith, a 12.9 100-meter dash sprinter in the eighth grade, passed at least eight runners in the final 100 on Saturday, Olswanger said. She was 34th. Junior Molly Elliott was 38th. 

"Logan Smith passed 8-10 runners in the last 100 meters," Olswanger said. "She's a tremendous track athlete and she gutted it out and we won by 10 points. We put ourselves in position (to win) and she sealed it for us."

Two years ago, after Jensen's big win at Stanford, the Boise girls finished fifth in the Idaho state finals and did not field a full team at NXR Northwest. 

But the effort to build something had begun.

"A lot of girls looked up to (Eve) for her work ethic," Olswanger said. 

Last year, Boise placed third in the state meet and sent three girls -- Jensen, Machu and Liebich -- to the NXR championship race.

"I knew our team had improved a lot, but I didn't know that (beating Great Oak) would happen," Jensen said. "Our team has gotten closer, packed together, and gotten stronger."

Boise's rise could set the stage for a battle at NXR Northwest, also on the Eagle Island State Park course. Oregon teams Summit and Jesuit were both in the preseason top 10, but Boise should be right there with them. And North Central WA, third on Saturday with 128 points, is lurking now, too. 

Boise will take a shot of confidence with it this week as the team travels to race Friday in the sweepstakes race at the Desert Twilight Festival in Casa Grande, Ariz. 

"It was exciting to see how we could move as a pack," Liebich said.  

Boise could become the fifth Idaho girls team to reach NXN. The Braves made it to Nike Team Nationals in 2005 and Bishop Kelly (2009) and Couer d'Alene (2012 and 2014) have also advanced to nationals. 

For Great Oak, there is a very strong group of four (Gaitan, Griffiths, Fatima Cortes and Audrey Dang) and the fifth spot is a work in progress. 

Coach Doug Soles said the team was in a similar position last year, but a fifth runner emerged in time to win a sixth straight CIF Division 1 title. 

"We have a couple of pieces that weren't with us today that are looking good," Soles said. "Boise's girls were gunning for us and they beat us.

"These are learning experiences. We go to races we know we could lose, to challenge our kids, put us in situations where we could find our weaknesses, and then take those weaknesses and try to eliminate them by the end of the season."