It was a remarkable sight to roll-up to the Kelly Park Nordic Ski Trails in Soda Springs, Idaho, the venue of the 2025 Cardinal Classic Cross Country meet, as thousands of participants, coaches, staff and fans swarmed the course.  The meet featured nearly 1,800 runners from 46 teams across the six high school and middle school races.  The teams ranged from 1A to 6A schools across Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah.  The high volume of racers and tough course made for a highly competitive meet, a challenge the Malad XC team met head on.

The Soda Springs race staff touted the Cardinal Classic race as a “true cross country” race with a course that features trails, a 3/4 mile incline and a beautiful view as they run through the forested site.  The race began on an open stretch of grass but quickly narrowed into a trail that looped around Kelly Park.  The narrowing trail forced the runners to break out hard to stay at the head of the pack before passing became difficult on the tight trails.  But expending too much energy too soon would make for a difficult climb on the upcoming steep rise, aptly named “Heartbreak Hill.”

Having previously run on the course, the MHS XC was well prepared for the demanding race.  As the results came in, more than half of the team outpaced their previous times on the same course from 2024.  Head Coach Tia Talbot shared, “We are so proud of all these kids accomplished today.  They have worked hard and the results show it.  Over half of the kids ran 30 seconds to almost 2:30 minutes faster than this same week last year.”  

The Lady Dragon XC team placed 12th overall, but came in 2nd against all other 3A teams.  Aezlyn Summers ran across the finish line in 20th place out of 222 racers with a time of 21:09.08.  Coming to finish in similar fashion, Jace Nalder placed 21st out of 257 racers at a time of 17:20.96 to lead the Malad men’s team.  The MHS team took 10th place overall but managed to beat out all other 3A teams in the race.  Somerli Nalder, running her debut race on the women’s varsity team, set the lone PR of the day at 25:29.33.

The team is looking forward to their next competition set for Friday, September 12 in Idaho Falls.  The Tiger/Grizz Invitational meet will be held at Freeman Park, a course mostly of grass but also features some pavement, gravel and sand, with two wooden bridge crossings.  The runners will face some elevation, the most difficult hills in the last 1.2 miles.

2025 Cardinal Classic

Saturday, Sep 6, 2025

Kelly Park Nordic Ski Trails
Soda Springs, Idaho

Womens 5,000 Meters Varsity

Individual Results

Aezlyn Summers 21:09.08

Ellie Angell 23:01.49

Brielle Bastian 23:17.99

Kallee Talbot 23:19.02

Kaycee Venable 24:10.85

Somerli Nalder 25:29.33 PR

Mens 5,000 Meters Varsity

Individual Results

Jace Nalder 17:20.96

Boston Burbidge 17:22.19

Levi Angell 18:09.49

Braun Nalder 18:58.82

Dawson Beutler 19:25.33

Joseph Angell 19:51.75

Trigger Jones 20:21.34