Top-flight elite races set for Bob Firman Invite

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The numbers keep growing and the quality never seems to ebb at the Bob Firman Invitational, which will feature three of the top 10 boys in the country and four returning Foot Locker finalists in the girls race at Eagle Island State Park in Idaho on Saturday.

Powerful Davis ventures out of Utah for the first time this season and will return to the meet where the girls scored 51 points in a resounding win last year.

And the North Central boys of Spokane will come back to the place where they often run well, seeking to move on from a disappointing opener at the Tracy Walters Invitational. They will get tested by Davis' boys, Ogden UT, Timpanogos UT and Californian entrant Trabuco Hills.

North Central is one of the few Northwest teams that come to Idaho twice per season and familiarity with the course is something the team holds dear.

"(North Central) races this course as much as Idaho teams do," meet director Ryan Canning said. "They bring their middle school team and their high school team to Firman and also NXN (regionals). The only thing they don't do is the state meet (here)."

Eagle Island is part of a three-year rotation for the Idaho state meet and this is one of the years that it's here. That means teams from Idaho are eager to get onto the course as a rehearsal, and additional teams want to use the opportunity to prep for NXN regionals.

Canning said there have been slight alterations, including more room to navigate at the first corner.

But then, there are also 24 Utah schools coming this weekend, and they are part of the NXN Southwest lineup.

"It's a solid regional competition," Canning said of this year's Firman meet.

It happens to be an area of the country with a lot of talent. The boys elite race includes Washington state champion Tanner Anderson of North Central and Foot Locker finalists Conner Mantz of Sky View Utah and Elijah Armstrong of Pocatello Idaho. All three were among the 10 invited to Nike Elite Camp over the summer.

Last year, that trio finished within six seconds. Armstrong was third (15:19.1), Mantz was fifth (15:24.6) and Anderson was sixth (15:25.1).

Other boys to keep an eye on include Logan Morley of Bigfork – making the trip down from Montana with his more well-known sisters – Scott Kopczynski of East Valley WA, Paul Ryan from Logos ID, Dwain Stucker from Meridian ID, Davis' Josh Ward and Ogden UT's Alek Parsons.

On the girls side, Herriman UT senior and defending champion Lucy Biles returns to the site of one of her best performances in 2013. She will face Bigfork standout senior Makena Morley and freshman Bryn Morley (2-3 at last week's Mountain West Classic). In addition to Biles and Morley, Mikayla Malaspina of Vallivue ID and MarLee Mitchell of Bingham UT made it to Foot Locker last year. Additionally, Park City's Alyssa Snyder was third in this meet last year and Whitney Rich of Bingham was sixth. And Boise's Emily Hamlin, a three-event state champion in the spring, should be a factor too.

An interesting team competition features Davis, led by sophomore Aubrey Argyle (fifth last year), along with Coeur d'Alene ID (preseason NW#1), American Fork (record-breakers at the Grass Relays in August) and Trabuco Hills (California #21).

The meet has grown to include more than 3,500 athletes, which Canning said is a record. That includes 2,818 registered high school athletes and a big jump in middle schoolers, to 709.