Furst takes first

A first for Furst.

Jessica Furst won the second annual Rusty Fender Invitational Cross Country Meet at Strike Dam Thursday.

Her time of 22:22 set a new course record. The course has a change of altitude of over 780 feet.

Teammate Jessi Cameron's time of 26:58 was good for the number 12 spot, just ahead of Ali Howe, who came in at 27:07. Jennica Quintal ran a 27:44 (17), Cindy Blacklock ran a 33:14 (35), and Courtney Ashford, Piper Coffin and Sarah Hyde were in a group of 38-40.

Ashford ran a 34:07, Coffin, 34:54, and Hyde, 35:32.

The Mountain Home girls finished third behind Vale and Greenleaf Friends Academy. Vale had 45 points, Greenleaf, 55, and Mountain Home 78. Melba was fourth, with 127, and Parma totaled 155.

Vale also won the boys competition, with 52 points. Idaho City was a distant second with 101, Liberty Charter and Greenleaf both came in with 104, Mountain home was fifth with 117, Parma next with 158, and New Plymouth had 168 points.

Matt Bernyk led Mountain Home, finishing in the nine spot with a 21:58. Charlie Blacklock came in at the number 16 spot, with a 22:34, a place ahead of Nico Pinque, 22:37. Brett Kohring ran a 23:19 (31), Garrett Wood ran a 25:12 (44), and Mason Steven came in with a time of 26:09 (49).

Three Rimrock boys competed in the boys race. Stephen Campbell led the way among the local racers, finishing at the number 19 spot, with a time of 22:41. Brian Meyers came in at 28, with a 23:10, and Alan Draper ran 37th, with a time of 24:02.

There was also a junior high race, with the Mountain Home girls finishing third. Kacee Cameron came in second with a time of 12:33. Amanda Brown was the seventh runner across the finish line, with a time of 13:58. Amanda Ethridge was six back of Brown, with a time of 16:11. Kesha Janis (18:49), Jessica Melville (19:30) and Cecily Hyde (19:38) came in 15,16 and 17.

Only one Mountain Home boy ran in the junior high race.

Tyler Bonate finished ninth, with a time of 13:08.

Rimrock cross country coach Kermit Tate was pleased with the meet, which had runners from 10 schools competing. Coach Tate also had some thank you's to hand out.

"We need a big thank you to Idaho Power personnel Rena May and Nick Billiard, who provided logistic support and helped work the finish chute and control traffic, and to Carl and Helen Lindsay, the Camp Hosts, for their help and encouragement. Also, many thanks to the Elmore County Sheriff's Office COPS volunteers and Deputy Alan Long. They came out in force to provide us with primary traffic control, without which we never would have been able to host a meet this size. Having this much help was an awe-inspiring experience for me."

Next up for the Mountain Home Tigers is the Mountain Home Invitational tomorrow (Thursday) at Desert Canyon Golf Course.