Who do you guys think are going to be the top Idaho athletes this 2023 track season?
I think that the boys teams will be dominated by Rocky and CDA, at least for distance events. (Although CDA probably will stay up north for much of the season, meaning that a lot of schools won't see them until championship season.)
The Girls teams will be a struggle for supremacy between Boise and Rocky, although many of the top individuals won't be from either of these schools.
3200m - Men: The clear favorite for the 3200 is Landon Heemeyer. Between his dominant XC season, and his track PR's of 4:20 and 9:26 as a sophomore, Landon is in a great spot to go sub 8:50 this season. The race for second will likely be a fierce battle between Luke Athay (if he's healthy), Matt Thomas, Tyler Sainsbury, Austin Clough, and Maximus Cervi-Skinner.
Women: There are really only 3 girls in Idaho who are clearly a step above the rest: Nelah Roberts, Allie Bruce, and Annastasia Peters. There are rumors that Allie Bruce has quit running (Boise athletes please confirm or deny) and in that case, it will be a duel between Annastasia and Nelah, with a slight edge in favor of Nelah.
1600m - Men: The 1600 is interesting, as many of the 3200 contenders are also very good 1600 runners. The top returning time from last year is Tyler Sainsbury with a 4:13. Given Ty's stellar XC season (14:48 PB) and his 800 PR of 1:54, he is the clear frontrunner. The remaining spots will be a battle between all of the 3200m runners mentioned above as well as Noe Kemper, Nate Stadtlander, Cole Wilkerson, and perhaps a few others.
Women: The Women's 1600 is going to be dominated by the 3 best 3200 runners, although we get to throw in a few other athletes into the mix such as Brighton Heywood, Kennedy Kunz, Lily Simmonds (although she didn't do xc, so we don't have much data on her right now), and Gracie Buhrley.
800m - Men: Just like the 1600, Tyler Sainsbury is the heavy favorite. That being said, other names like Kevin Corrigan, Matt Thomas, Bryson Blaser, Austin Clough, Brody Burch, Spencer Nelson, Nate Stadtlander, and Kaden Helder will almost appear high up in the results.
Women: The 800m for the women is extremely messy, with no clear frontrunner. Top names to look out for are: Marion Parker, Hailey Renzello, Lydia Nance, Brighton Heywood, Allie Bruce, Kennedy Kutz, Samantha Smith, Anna Dixon, Nelah Roberts, Kylene McCune, and many many many others.