Prep cross country preview: Runners and teams to watch

The high school boys and girls cross country seasons are off and running.

Below is a look at some of the area’s top returning teams and distance runners this fall. All times and rankings are for 5,000-meter races and are according to Athletic.net.

BOYS RUNNERS TO WATCH

Max Billett, soph., Shorewood

Billett placed 49th at the 3A state meet and fourth at the 3A District 1 championships last fall. His personal-best time of 16 minutes, 27.6 seconds came at the district meet, which ranked 48th in 3A.

Noah Bumgardner, jr., Arlington

Bumgardner placed 61st at the 3A state meet last season. He posted a personal-best time of 16:31.8 at the Hole in the Wall Invitational.

Will Lesyna, sr., Kamiak

Lesyna placed 24th at the 4A state meet, sixth at the 4A District 1/2 championships, and second at the Wesco 4A championships last fall. He broke the 16-minute barrier with a personal-best time of 15:46.7 at the Twilight Invitational, which ranked 10th in 4A. Lesyna shaved over a minute off his sophomore season-best time.

Anthony Long, sr., Lake Stevens

Long placed 27th at the 4A state meet and fifth at the Wesco 4A championships last year. He posted a personal-best 16:20.5 at the 4A District 1/2 championships, which ranked 36th in 4A.

Keiyu Mamiya, sr., Shorewood

Mamiya placed 48th at the 3A state meet and third at the 3A District 1 championships last season. He posted two sub-16:30 times with a personal-best 16:25.9 at the district meet, which ranked 46th in 3A.

Colin Wear, soph., Kamiak

Wear shaved over 1:20 off his season-best time from last year to finish first at 16:30.9 in the large-school portion of the 44th annual Carl Westling Invite this past weekend.

BOYS TEAMS TO WATCH

Arlington

The Eagles are a perennial contender in Wesco 3A North and claimed the league’s team title last fall. Arlington placed fourth at the Class 3A District 1 championships and 14th at the 3A state meet, which ended a run of seven consecutive top-10 team finishes at state. The Eagles graduated just three of their seven state runners and return a strong core of juniors who ran at state. Last weekend, the team claimed first in the large-school division of the 44th annual Carl Westling Invite.

Kamiak

The Knights graduated just two of their six state runners and brought back three of their four top finishers from a squad that placed 13th at the 4A state meet. Kamiak placed third at the loaded District 1/2 championships and finished just three points off the pace of first-place Lake Stevens at the Wesco 4A championships. Kamiak’s returning group includes senior Will Lesyna, the only returning runner in the area to break the 16-minute barrier last season.

Lake Stevens

The Vikings carried the banner locally at the 4A state meet with a sixth-place finish last fall. Lake Stevens won the Wesco 4A team title and placed fourth at the loaded 4A District 1/2 championships. Lake Stevens graduated just two of its seven state runners and is led by senior Anthony Long.

Shorewood

The Stormrays earned the area’s top local finish by placing ninth at the 3A state meet. The team graduated just two of its seven runners from the state meet and returned its top two finishers, senior Keiyu Mamiya and sophomore Max Billett. Shorewood claimed the 3A District 1 and Wesco 3A/2A South team titles last fall.

GIRLS RUNNERS TO WATCH

Selena Bangerter, jr., Jackson

Bangerter placed 24th at the 4A state meet and first at the Wesco 4A championships last season. She broke the 19-minute barrier twice and ran a personal-best 18:29.8 at the Portland Invite, which ranked 13th in 4A. Bangerter shaved over 3 minutes off her freshman season-best time.

Hallie Carroll, jr., Lake Stevens

Carroll placed 40th at the 4A state meet, 10th at the 4A District 1/2 championships, and fourth at the Wesco 4A championships. She broke the 19-minute barrier with a personal-best 18:58.8 at the district meet, which ranked 27th in 4A.

Payton Conover, sr., Meadowdale

Conover placed 23rd at the 3A state meet, third at the 3A District 1 championships, and second at the Wesco 3A/2A South championships. She ran two sub-19:15 times and had a personal-best 19:06.7 at the district meet, ranked 31st in 3A. Conover finished first in the large-school division of the 44th annual Carl Westling Invite this past weekend.

Paige Gerrard, sr., Snohomish

Gerrard placed fourth at the 3A state meet, won the 3A District 1 title, and took second at the Wesco 3A North championships. She posted three times under 18:35 and with a season-best 18:25.3. Gerrard also ran an 18:18.2 at the 2022 Pacific Northwest Regional Showcase, which ranked seventh in 3A. As a sophomore, she placed sixth at state and won the Wesco 3A North and 3A District 1 titles.

Emma Hamm, sr., Jackson

Hamm placed 12th at the 4A state meet and second at the Wesco 4A championships last season. She recorded three sub-19:10 runs and ran a personal-best 19:05.2 at the 4A District 1/2 championships, which ranked 31st in 4A.

Isabel Hatzenbeler, sr., Edmonds-Woodway

Hatzenbeler placed 58th at the 3A state meet, fifth at the 3A District 1 championships, and fourth at the Wesco 3A/2A South championships. Her personal-best time of 19:29.7 ranked 47th in 3A.

Lydia Swenson, soph., Cedarcrest

Swenson placed 13th at the 2A state meet, seventh at the 2A District 1 championships, and first at the Wesco 3A/2A South championships. She ran three sub-19:40 times and produced a personal-best 19:23.4 at the Twilight Invitational, which ranked 17th in 2A.

GIRLS TEAMS TO WATCH

Arlington

The Eagles were one of three local teams to qualify for state in 3A last season and placed 16th. Arlington won the Wesco 3A North title and placed third at districts. The Eagles graduated four of their seven state runners and are led by returning junior Brooke Henkin. Last weekend, the team claimed first in the large-school division of the 44th annual Carl Westling Invite.

Jackson

The Timberwolves didn’t qualify as a team for state, but they still delivered three of the 4A meet’s top 62 individual finishers and two in the top 24. All three runners are back for Jackson this season. The Timberwolves were the runner-up at the Wesco 4A championships.

Lake Stevens

The Vikings were the lone local team qualifier for the 4A state meet and placed eighth last fall. It was the third straight top-10 team finish for the Vikings. Junior Halle Carroll and senior Dalia Hansen are the only returners among Lake Stevens’ seven state runners. The Vikings won the Wesco 4A team title and placed third at the talent-stocked 4A District 1/2 championships.

Shorecrest

The Scots placed 17th at state last season and graduated just two of their seven state runners last season. Shorecrest won the Wesco 3A/2A South team title and placed second at the 3A District 1 championships.

Snohomish

The Panthers were the area’s top finisher at the 3A state meet with a 14th-place finish last fall. Snohomish won the 3A District 1 team title and graduated just two of its seven state runners. The returning group includes one of the state’s top runners in senior Paige Gerrard, who placed in the top six of the past two state meets.