BOYS
Aaron Roe and Jadon Olson, Jackson
The pair had a strong showing at state last year to help the Timberwolves take home a seventh-place finish and are looking to better those results this year. Roe, who finished sixth at state, was second at districts and is the defending Wesco champion, while Olson took 21st at state and 13th at districts.
Jerry Behrens, Kamiak
Gone is the strong senior core that helped the Knights win a district title last season. But Knights senior leads a strong group that has high hopes this year, including Ben Halladay, Bo Gould and Cullen McEachern. Behrens is hoping to improve upon a 17th- and 46th-place finishes at district and state races, respectively, from a year ago.
Jack Pearce, Mountlake Terrace
With Shorecrest’s Carter Osborne gone, the Hawks senior has a clear path to a Wesco and district titles. Pearce finished second and third at Wesco and district races last season, respectively, finishing behind Osborne both times. Pearce finished 38th at state last season and is shooting for a top-five finish this year.
Keagan Smith, Glacier Peak
Often overshadowed by the girls, the Grizzlies boys team has high hopes this season led by the senior harrier. Smith, who took ninth at districts and finished 51st at state last year, is off to a good start this fall with a 27th-place finish at the prestigious UW Sundodger Invite, breaking the 16-minute mark for the first-time ever.
Douglas Davis, Lakewood
The Cougars junior leads a talented team that has hopes of improving on a sixth-place finish at districts last year. Davis took 13th at districts and 29th at state a year ago.
GIRLS
Brooke Kingma, Jackson
The Timberwolves junior had a disappointing finish to an injury riddled sophomore campaign when she missed the state meet due to injuries. Kingma is back, though, and possibly better than ever. She leads a strong Jackson squad, which includes Jessica Rawlins and Mary Charleson. Fully healthy again, she is trying to improve upon a sixth-place finish at districts and is off to good start, taking 10th at the UW Sundodger Invite.
Mikayla Pivec, Lynnwood
The Royals sophomore burst onto the scene last year when she won the varsity division of the South Whidbey Invitational. She won’t take anyone by surprise this year. Pivec is the defending Wesco champion and took fourth at districts and she is looking to improve upon her 19th-place finish at state. On a side note, Mikayla will be pushed by her sister, freshman Malia, who will make a solid Royals team that much stronger.
Megan Davis, Glacier Peak
Gone are the likes of legendary runners Amy-Eloise Neale and Katie Bianchini. But that doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare at Glacier Peak. In fact, the senior runner along with Heidi Smith, Samantha Northrop and Natalie Church have the Grizzlies ranked No. 1 in Class 3A in the state in the latest coaches poll. Davis is looking to improve upon a fifth-place finish at districts and 38th-place finish at state last year.
Emma Janousek, Arlington
Behind Snohomish and Jackson, the Eagles were the only other Wesco team to finish in the top 10 at the district meet a year ago. Janousek, who finished 10th at districts, was a big part of that. The Eagles sophomore will be joined by junior Cassidy Rude and Grace Castandeda to make Arlington one of the stronger Wesco girls teams once again.
Lindsey Dorney, Archbishop Murphy
The Wildcats junior runner hopes to finished just outside the top 10 at the district meet and took 31st at the state meet.
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