Madison’s volleyball legacy continues, along with news and notes from cross country and soccer

EASTERN IDAHO – Madison volleyball coach Keanu Pukahi is a little busy this time of year as his team tries to make a run at another state title, but he occasionally gets a chance to see his former players on TV as they shine at the next level.

Former Bobcat standouts Nora Waddoups, Aspen Boice and Mia Walsh are having an impact just an hour or so down I-15 at Idaho State.

The trio were instrumental in Madison’s state title runs and have joined forces in Pocatello as the Bengals are off to an 8-4 start.

Walsh, a freshman, is second on the team with 97 kills, while Boice, another freshman, leads with 188 digs. Waddoups, a sophomore, leads ISU with 235 assists.

Boice is also among team leaders in assists and Walsh leads the Bengals with 13 aces and is among team leaders in blocks.

“I think these girls in their own right are making a name for themselves on the college level,” Pukahi said, noting the current players are obviously aware of the team’s recent history.

“They get their chance and are ‘Hey, this is my turn to make a mark on the Madison legacy.’ I think they’re doing just that,” he said.

Rexburg Classico

This week’s top cross country meet is at the Rexburg Municipal Golf Course, where 18 teams are registered to run in Thursday’s Rexburg Classico.

Last year’s boys A race was won by Century’s Ethan Hansen and Highland won the team title.

Thunder Ridge held of Highland by two points in the A girls race.

Bella Spencer of West Jefferson won the girls B race last year, with the North Fremont duo of Eliza Bingham and Andrea Anderson finishing third and fourth.

All are running on Thursday.

State best

There’s been some movement in the boys state cross country performance list as Wyatt Morgenstern of Coeur d’Alene holds the top spot with a time of 15:09.7.

Luke Bruce of Boise clocked 15:194 last week at the Eagle Island Invitational to move into second on the list.

The next four spots belong to eastern Idaho runners, led by Sugar-Salem’s Darrel Dickson, who ran a season-best 15:21.0 last week at the Mountain West Classic.

Rigby’s Jonas Porter (15:21.3) is fourth, followed by Century runners Ammon Bitton (15:21.6) and Ethan Hansen (15:23.6).

Bitton, who won at Tiger-Grizz, ran a season-best at the Eagle Island race.

The Skyline boys finished second in the team standings behind Boise.

On the girls side, the Eagle Island race produced several season-best times for District 6 runners, including Sophia Harrison of Skyline clocking 20:21.9 and teammate Melody Chandler running 20:46.4. Blackfoot’s Sailor Tomazin ran 20:48.0, and Allison Hansen of Skyline finished in 21:07.9.

Soccer rankings

Idaho Falls is No. 5 in this week’s MaxPreps boys 5A rankings.

The Tigers have won six straight heading into Thursday’s match at Blackfoot and are 8-1-0 in the High Country Conference.

In 4A, Teton and nemesis Sugar-Salem are 1-2, respectively, in the MaxPreps rankings.

Teton (6-0-0, 3-0-0) handed Sugar-Salem (7-1-2, 3-1) its only loss of the season on Sept. 10.

The girls 5A rankings have an east Idaho presence, with Hillcrest No. 2 behind Twin Falls.

Skyline is ranked third, with Pocatello at No. 5 and Idaho Falls ranked No. 9.

Three-time state champion Sugar-Salem tops the 4A girls rankings, with Marsh Valley coming in at No. 2.

Marsh Valley tied Sugar-Salem 1-1 back on Sept. 4.

More volleyball stats

Among teams reporting, several area girls are on the state leaders list.

Layla Mortensen of Madison is third in the state in hitting percentage at .360 and Leah Thomas of Idaho Falls is second in kills with 291, followed by Lily Stewart of Rigby (242) and Giada Bertagnolli of Rigby (233).

Rigby’s Brinley Larsen is second in the state with 662 assists. Brittni Livingston of Idaho Falls (587), Makiyah Carlson of Bonneville (580), and Brynlee Cook of Hillcrest (515) round out the top five.

Kara Olson of Watersprings is second with 63 aces.

Hillcrest’s Tycee Gines leads the state with 76 total blocks, with Shelley’s Avery Lunt fourth with 60.

Breleigh Youngstrom of Rigby (323) and Tora Grover of Madison (305) are second and third, respectively, in digs.

Swimming news

Ben Wolfley of Rigby recently broke the boys school record in the 500 free.

Wolfley finished in 5:08.23, breaking the previous mark of 5:13.48.