Century’s Ammon Bitton and Ethan Hansen eyeing state hardware. First, they’ll get a good test at districts

EASTERN IDAHO – Century seniors Ethan Hansen and Ammon Bitton have bigger goals coming up with the district championship meet set for Thursday and the upcoming state meet scheduled for Oct. 31.

The friends have been competing against each other in some of the biggest races over the years, so why not have some fun and finish the last regular-season race of their high school careers side-by-side?

Hansen technically won last week’s Pocatello City Meet with a time of 15:55.1, while Bitton clocked 15:55.2. The Century boys held off Highland 35-37 to win the team title.

Now the real competition begins, starting with the district meet Thursday at the Portneuf Wellness Center in Pocatello.

Individually, Hansen and Bitton will be chased by Skyline’s William McCombs and Davis Roberts, as well as Owen Gregory of Blackfoot, and Luke Frandsen of Hillcrest, all of whom have top-10 times in the state in 5A.

With Century joining the 5A District 5-6 conference this year, look for an even more competitive district meet against traditional powers Skyline and Idaho Falls.

But it’s at the state meet where the highest of expectations take over.

Hansen is the returning 5A state champion and Bitton finished fifth the past two seasons. Together they’ve helped lead the Diamondbacks to a third-place team finish the past two years.

Bitton’s time of 15:11.7 currently leads all 5A runners and Hansen is third at 15:23.6. Hansen’s PR of 14:51.1 was set while winning last year’s state title.