EAGLE -- The words halted and tears trickled from Nolan Dickerson's eyes when she thought of her motivation and the meaning of Saturday.
The thought of her 'Why?' and the thought of her team's accomplishments.
Years spent with her mom, Gail Richardson, running in 5Ks and through the neighborhood, are some of Dickerson's most treasured memories and the reason she started the sport.
Richardson died from cancer on Oct. 30, 2023, two days after Twin Falls girls cross country finished runner-up at the 4A state championships.
The Bruins, with Dickerson eighth and individual champion Raelee Richardson (no relation), snatched the 5A state championship -- their first state crown since 2016 -- on Saturday at Eagle Island State Park in Eagle.
Raelee Richardson, like she has all season, led from start to finish, clocked her 5K at 18:15.12 and finished 74 seconds ahead of runner-up Camilla Freeman of Skyview.
Raelee Richardson became Twin Falls' first individual champion since 2019.
Twin Falls head coach Tonia Burk embraced Dickerson in a bear hug when the Bruins learned the results. The girls hugged, smiled and cried as they realized an accomplished goal. Something that meant so much to so many.
"I feel like I was running for her but also for my team," Dickerson told the Times-News. "I feel like it was something that is very important to me because it is something she introduced me, too."
Dickerson, the team's only senior, started cross country in sixth grade because of her relationship with her mom, a former collegiate runner. She dedicated her senior project, a 5K, to her mom.
Twin Falls High School senior to host 5K in honor of late mother
Nolan Dickerson will organize the Gail Richardson Memorial 5K Fundraiser, which begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Sunway Soccer Complex.
"To see her (Dickerson) run today is just kinda validation for what our team wanted to do," Burk told the Times-News. "We were running for Gail."
Sure, Dickerson learned everything she could about running from her mom. But on a team, that goes beyond clocking fast times.
"Nolan has been a huge influence and she has just been a really big spirit,": Twin Falls' Lauran Garling, who finished 13th, told the Times-News. "It is really inspiring to be able to look up to someone who is as funny and as kind."
The Bruins embraced each other and set a goal, from the 2023 championships, to bring a blue trophy back to Twin Falls.
"They are like a little sisterhood," Burk said. "They have just continued to grow and grow. This year is a very, very strong cohesive group. They truly care more about each other and their performance as a team then they do individually."
It also showed in 2023 when Raelee Richardson finished second in the 2023 state championships. Despite that individual accomplishment, Burk said she remembered when Raelee Richardson cried on the bus ride home because the team finished second.
It all changed Saturday.
"In all honesty, they (teammates) mean the world to me," Raelee Richardson told the Times-News. "I love them so much. They are so funny, so loving and so supportive in everything I do. Everything I say. I never feel judged by them and I love them so, so much."
Raelee Richardson's title marked a second in the household. She won it 25 years after her mother, Janae Richardson (then known as Janae Johnson) won a 5A title in 1999 with Hillcrest High School.
"Probably means more than mine, honestly," Janae Richardson told the Times-News. "Just so proud of them. At this point, just living vicariously through her. She is just one in a million. She loves what she does and she is super passionate about it. She just tries to give her best every single time she gets out there."
Janae Richardson also serves as College of Southern Idaho's head cross country/distance track coach. Her daughter's prospects at collegiate running grow rapidly and will continue in a few weeks at the Nike Northwest Regionals at Eagle Island State Park in Eagle.
"I don't think she realizes how much potential she has," Burk said. "... She is going to try to qualify for nationals. You are going to see Raelee. She may seem small compared to most runners but she has got a heart on her. She definitely has a lot of goals and a lot of things she wants to do."
5A girls medalists (top 20) (Magic Valley only)
No. 1: Raelee Richardson (Twin Falls), 18:15.12
No. 8: Nolan Dickerson (Twin Falls), 19:40.81
No. 13: Lauran Garling (Twin Falls), 19:53.35
No. 20: Lydia Lee (Twin Falls), 20:09.50
TEAM SCORES (Magic Valley teams only)
No. 1: Twin Falls, 63
No. 7: Jerome, 177
No. 10: Wood River, 282
Wilde leads Magic Valley in 5A boys
Wood River's Matt Wilde, the 2024 Great Basin Conference champion, led the Magic Valley in the 5A boys race in ninth in 16:09.73. Twin Falls' Adam Wright became the area's other medalist (top 20) in that race in 16:42.21.
Bishop Kelly's Jack Tobin won in 15:48.18. Skyline won the team title with 66 points, just a point ahead of defending state champions Idaho Falls.
Twin Falls led the area in sixth with 193 points. Burley took ninth with 209 points and Jerome finished 13th with 296 points.
6A: 3 Canyon Ridge runners compete
Though Canyon Ridge did not qualify as a team, three Riverhawks made history as the school's first 6A state championship participants in their first year in the state's highest classification.
Bailee Dean finished 41st in the 6A girls race in 19:52.82 and Halle Boggess finished 55th in 20:15.09.
Meridian's Paisley Taylor won the race in 17:42.29.
Canyon Ridge's Daxin Holtzen finished 63rd in the boys race in 17:03.54.
Meridian's Nate Stadtlander, an Oklahoma State commit, won in 14:55.53.
Rocky Mountain girls and Coeur d'Alene boys won the team titles.
Kimberly's Poff leads Magic Valley's 4A contingent
Kimberly's Ethan Poff finished fifth in the 4A boys 5K in 16:19.44 and became the area's highest 4A finisher (boys or girls).
Poff also won the 2024 Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference title.
Kimberly's Colton May finished 12th with 17:01.11 and Gooding's Max Kelsey finished 18th in 17:16.43.
Kimberly boys finished fourth with 70 points.
No Magic Valley 4A girls earned a medal (top 20). Gooding's Sierra Shaw, the 2024 Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference champion, led the area in 30th in 21:28.81.
Gooding finished eighth with 210 points and Kimberly secured 11th with 262 points.
Sugar-Salem swept the team titles.
Coeur d'Alene Charter's Anabelle Carr won the girls race in 18:50.72. Teton's Zane Lindquist claimed the boys title in 15:57.21.
SVCS individuals lead area in 3A
Only four Magic Valley athletes qualified for the 3A state championships. Those four Sjun Valley Community School runners made the most of it.
John Harris led the boys in eighth in 17:11.10, Lincoln Gage finished 17th in 17:35.70 and Stratton Cunningham finished 40th in 18:29.62.
Mikayla Wesley led the girls in ninth in 19:57.49.
Ririe swept the team titles.
North Fremont's Corbin Johnston earned his third state title as he clocked in at 15:47.46.
Parma's Megan Atkinson won the girls race in 19:00.17.
Raft River girls 3rd, Valley girls 4th
Victory Charter spoiled Raft River's chances at a threepeat in the 2A girls race.
Victory Charter earned 29 points while Raft River took third with 87 points. Grace earned runner-up status with 29 points.
Valley girls finished fourth with 133 points.
The girls raced through a light hail and thunderstorm which caused about an hour delay between the end of their race and the 4A boys.
Raft River's Ashlee Christensen led the Magic Valley in 15th in 20:48.57. Valley's Anahi Ruiz finished 17th in 20:54.56. Raft River's Alyza Heaton, the 2024 District IV champion, finished 18th in 20:56.46 and Raft River's Lydia Heaton followed in 21:11.10.
Grace's Cally Coleman won the race in 18:47.15.
Valley's Eoin Schulze, the 2024 District IV boys champion, led the Magic Valley in 10th in 17:25.22.
Castleford's Carson Jacobson earned 15th in 17:50.08.
Rockland's Hayden Smith won the race in 16:24.70 as the Bulldogs won the team title with 68 points. Valley finished seventh with 191 points and Raft River finished eighth with 201 points.