King’s senior Naomi Smith, pictured during last year’s district championships, looks to defend her 1A state title. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

King’s senior Naomi Smith, pictured during last year’s district championships, looks to defend her 1A state title. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Prep cross country preview: 5 storylines to watch

A look at some of the top local teams and runners, including defending state champ Naomi Smith from King’s.

In addition to the Glacier Peak girls team’s quest to defend its state crown, here are five storylines to watch for the 2019 high school cross country season:

Despite losses to graduation, Jackson boys look to continue success

The Timberwolves graduated three of their top five finishers from last year’s team that placed sixth at the Class 4A state meet, including third-place state medalist Joseph Skoog. But with a handful of its top returners making significant strides, defending 4A Northwest District champion Jackson appears well-positioned for more postseason success.

The Timberwolves currently have six of the 50 fastest runners in the 4A classification this season, led by juniors Brenden Charbeneau and Jordan Hansen. Charbeneau’s season-best time of 15 minutes, 28.3 seconds ranks fifth in 4A and is nearly 40 seconds faster than the 32nd-place time he ran at last year’s state meet. Hansen’s season-best time is tied for 11th in 4A and is more than a minute faster than his state-meet time from last season.

Rounding out the six top-50 runners for Jackson are senior Nathaniel Shin, senior Joshua Ramos, sophomore Sean Bubernak and senior Charles Immendorf. Ramos, Bubernak and Immendorf didn’t compete at state last year, but all three have improved their top times from last season by at least 29 seconds.

Jackson girls return talented trio from 5th-place state team

The Timberwolves might be a bit overshadowed by conference rival and defending 4A state champion Glacier Peak, but they’re also a formidable force at the state level.

Jackson brings back three of its top four finishers from last year’s 4A fifth-place state team, and all three of those returners are ranked among the top 20 in their classification this season. Senior Allyson Kim owns the ninth-fastest time in 4A, junior Sarah Sewell ranks 12th and senior Anna Skoog is tied for 20th.

Arlington boys aim to build on 3rd-place state finish

The Eagles return three of their top six runners from last year’s squad, which claimed a third-place trophy at the 3A state meet.

All three of Arlington’s top returners were among the top 45 finishers at state last season. Junior Quincy Fankhauser is coming off a 13th-place state finish, while senior Chance Pearston placed 29th and junior Vincent Loftis finished 44th. Pearston and Loftis both have top-50 times in the 3A classification this year.

The Eagles appear to be the favorite to claim the 3A Northwest District crown after Edmonds-Woodway graduated each of its top four runners from last year’s team, which earned a fourth-place state trophy.

Who will emerge as the top girls team in Wesco 3A?

The battle for the district title and top state finish among Wesco 3A girls teams could be particularly intriguing.

Snohomish returns three of its top four runners from last year’s squad, which claimed a third-place trophy at the 3A state championships. Led by Ellie Baxter, all three of the Panthers’ top returners are coming off top-55 state finishes. Baxter, a junior, owns the 11th-fastest time in the 3A classification this season.

Arlington, meanwhile, brings back each of its top four finishers from last year’s 12th-place state team. All four of those runners placed in the top 100 at the state meet.

Edmonds-Woodway graduated its top three finishers from last year’s eighth-place state team, but the Warriors return a pair of runners with top-40 times in 3A this season.

Also, keep an eye on Marysville Getchell. The Chargers qualified just one runner for state last year, but they have three runners ranked in the top 80 of 3A this season. Jasmine Nguyen, a junior, posted the 15th-fastest time in the classification this year during her performance last Saturday at the Nike Portland XC Invite in Fairview, Oregon.

King’s runner looks to defend her state title, plus other locals to watch

After claiming the 1A girls state title last year and leading her team to a second-place state trophy, King’s senior Naomi Smith is off to a strong start in the quest to defend her crown. Smith’s season-best time of 17:36.9 is this year’s top 1A time by more than 26 seconds and ranks second in the entire state, regardless of classification.

Granite Falls senior Isaac Cortes placed third in last year’s 1A boys state meet. (TJ Mullinax / for The Herald)

Granite Falls senior Isaac Cortes placed third in last year’s 1A boys state meet. (TJ Mullinax / for The Herald)

Another talented local runner to watch is Kamiak sophomore Emma Arceo, who took seventh place in the 4A girls state meet last season as a freshman.

Mountlake Terrace senior Alex Williams, who placed 11th in last year’s 2A boys state championships, owns the fifth-fastest time in his classification this season.

Granite Falls senior Isaac Cortes is coming off a third-place finish in the 1A boys state meet.

NOTES: All state rankings are as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Athletic.net. All times are for 5,000-meter races.

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