Local distance runners head east of the Cascade Mountains this Saturday for the state cross country championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
Here’s a look at local athletes and teams to watch at the event:
When: Saturday
Where: Sun Willows Golf Course (Pasco)
Race schedule: Wheelchair, 9:30 a.m.; 1B/2B girls, 10:00 a.m.; 1A girls, 10:30 a.m.; 2A girls, 11:00 a.m.; 1B/2B boys, 11:30 a.m.; 1A boys, noon; 2A boys, 12:30 p.m.; 3A girls, 1:00 p.m.; 4A girls, 1:30 p.m.; Ambulatory, 2:00 p.m.; 3A boys, 2:30 p.m.; 4A boys, 3:00 p.m.
Qualifying: Individual qualification for state was determined by placing in last week’s district meets. Team qualification was determined by placing in the district meet team standings. Qualifying teams send seven runners to the state meet, with their top five state finishers counting toward their team score.
Note: All rankings and recorded times are according to Athletic.net.
TOP LOCAL BOYS TO WATCH
Otto Erhart, jr., Shorewood
Erhart took first place at the Class 3A District 1 championship meet last weekend at Lakewood High School, posting a time of 15 minutes, 38 seconds, which was a school record. His personal-best pace ranks 34th in the state for all classifications, and 11th for 3A.
Lucas Spurling, jr., Arlington
Spurling placed third at the Class 3A District 1 championships at Lakewood High School last week with a time of 15:45.0, which was seven seconds behind Erhart’s first-place time. Spurling ranks 15th in the state for 3A.
Max Billett, soph., Shorewood
Billett placed 49th at the 3A state championships last fall, and took third at the 3A district meet last week at Lakewood High School with a time of 15:46.0, which was a personal-best.
Noah Bumgardner, jr., Arlington
Bumgardner placed sixth at the Class 3A District 1 meet last week, with a personal-best time of 15:56.3. He took 61st at the state meet in 2022 and is the 26th-ranked 3A runner in the state.
Will Lesyna, sr., Kamiak
Lesyna placed fifth at the Class 4A Bi-District 1/2 meet last week, posting a time of 15:48.2, which was 9.1 seconds behind second-place finisher and teammate Colin Wear. The senior took 24th at the 4A state meet last fall and is the 18th-ranked runner for 4A schools.
Colin Wear, soph., Kamiak
Wear claimed a second-place finish at the Class 4A District 1/2 championships last week, posting a time of 15:39.0. The sophomore is the 13th-ranked runner in the state for 4A.
Ryan Khoury, soph., Stanwood
Khoury placed second at the Class 3A District 1 championship meet last weekend, finishing in 15:41.7, a personal-best. Khoury ranks as the 13th-fastest runner for 3A.
Ethan Holmes, jr., Jackson
Holmes placed seventh at the Class 4A District 1/2 meet last weekend, racing the course in 15 minutes, 52.2 seconds. Holmes’ personal-best time of 15:45.7 set at the Mook XC Invite ranks 16th in the state for 4A.
TOP LOCAL GIRLS TO WATCH
Stanwood’s Mary Andelin enters the final stretch while she cruises to a first-place finish in the women’s varsity gold race during the Hole in the Wall Invitational on Oct. 7 at Lakewood High School in Arlington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mary Andelin, soph., Stanwood
Andelin ran a first-place time of 18:28.2 in the Class 3A District 1 championships at Lakewood High School. The sophomore also took first at the Hole in the Wall Invite in the women’s gold race on the same course on Oct. 7. She’s the 38th-ranked runner in the state for all classifications and ranked 18th for 3A.
Paige Gerrard, sr., Snohomish
The Snohomish senior made trips to state in each of her past two seasons, placing fourth at the state meet in 2022 with a time of 18:48.1. Gerrard took second in the Class 3A District 1 championship meet last week with a time of 18:38.3, which was 10.1 seconds behind Andelin.
Payton Conover, sr., Meadowdale
Conover placed fifth at the Class 3A District 1 championship meet last week with a time of 19:15.1. She placed 23rd at the 3A state championships last fall. She finished with a personal-best 18:52.7 at the Hole in the Wall Invite on Oct. 7, which ranks 32nd in 3A.
Selena Bangerter, jr., Jackson
Bangerter is the 19th-ranked runner in 4A with a personal-best 18:31.4 mark coming on Sept. 23 at the Mook XC Invite. She placed 27th at the 4A District 1/2 meet, finishing in 19:31.9.
Lydia Swenson, Cedarcrest
Swenseon took 13th place at last year’s 2A state meet and first in the Wesco 3A/2A South championships. At the 2A district meet, she placed seventh with a personal-best time of 18:53.3, which ranks 12th in the state for 2A.
Brooke Henkin, jr., Arlington
Henkin finished fourth at the 3A District 1 championship meet last Saturday, racing the Lakewood High School course in a personal-best 18:49.3. Henkin ranks as the 29th-fastest runner for 3A.
Anabelle Klein, fr., Arlington
Klein finished fourth at the 3A District 1 championship meet with a personal-best time of 19:04.3. Klein ranks as the fourth-fastest freshman in the state in 3A, as well as 38th overall.
Sophia Inglin, jr., King’s
Inglin won the 1A District 2 championship meet last week at South Whidbey High School with a time of 19:47.61. Her personal-best of 19:17.1 ranks 11th in the state for 1A.
TOP LOCAL TEAMS TO WATCH
Arlington boys
The Eagles placed second at the Class 3A District 1 championships last week, finishing behind Shorewood. The Eagles had three runners place in the top-10, with Spurling and Bumgardner running sub 16-minute races and Andrew Schmitz finishing ninth (16:26.0). Arlington grabbed a 14th place finish at last year’s state meet.
Shorewood boys
The Stormrays captured their second consecutive 3A District 1 team title last weekend at Lakewood High School. Shorewood had the area’s top placement at the state meet in Pasco last fall, finishing ninth. Returning state competitors Billett and Keiyu Mamiya, along with Erhart, all posted sub 16-minute times at districts. With the girls team also qualifying, it’s the first time both groups have qualified for a state meet in the same season since 1984.
Arlington girls
The Eagles had four of the top-10 placers at the Class 3A District 1 championship meet last week. In addition to Henkin (third) and Klein (fourth), Reda Long and Raelyn Oetzel took eighth and ninth, respectively, for Arlington. The Eagles placed 16th at state last fall. They earned a first-place team finish in the gold division at the Hole in the Wall Invite on Oct. 7.
King’s girls
King’s placed second at the Class 1A District 2 championships last week at South Whidbey High School, finishing four points shy of first-place Seattle Academy. Inglin finished the meet nearly nine seconds faster than the rest of the field. Freshman Lauren Belden placed fourth (20:26.41) and freshman Alma Decker finished 11th (20:58.54).
LOCAL QUALIFYING TEAMS
4A boys: Kamiak, Jackson
3A boys: Shorecrest, Shorewood, Arlington, Meadowdale
3A girls: Stanwood, Shorewood, Shorecrest, Snohomish, Arlington
1A girls: King’s
Note
The Everett cross country team is sending runners from its boys and girls teams to state in the same season for the first time in nearly a decade. Senior Lucie Buchanan, who placed seventh at the 3A District 1 championship meet, qualified for the girls team. Sophomore Nolan-Sexton-Smith, who placed 33rd at districts, is representing the boys team. Everett last qualified runners from both teams in 2014.
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