Kamiakin boys returning to Nike nationals for a 3rd straight year. Hanford swimmer is state champ
The Kamiakin boys cross country repeated as regional champions Saturday at the Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional Championships in Boise.
The Braves, running under the team name of Braves Soul, scored 109 points to take the team title in the 5,000 meters championship.
The meet involved the top high school runners from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming.
With the victory, Kamiakin — ranked eighth in the nation by Dyestat.com — gets a shot at the national meet on Dec. 7 in Portland.
The top individuals and teams from eight regions around the country will compete in Portland.
Isaac Teeples, the sophomore who won the Class 3A individual title at the WIAA state cross country championships in Pasco on Nov. 9, placed fifth overall among the 212 runners who competed in Boise.
He had a time of 15 minutes, 17.10 seconds.
“Isaac ran in the front group the entire race and finished fifth, only 3 seconds from second place,” said Kamiakin coach Matt Rexus. “He ran with two All-Americans.”
His remaining scoring teammates were: Stanford Smith, 20th overall at 15:54.40; Andrew Larson, 54th at 16:12.70; Grayson Wilcott, 56th at 16:13.50; and Andrew Holladay, 63rd at 16:16.80.
“We had a horrible start — the worst by far in the past three-year run,” said Rexus. “We were 11th (as a team) at the first check-in, and eighth at the mile. We moved up to third by the 2-mile mark. The boys finished with a great third-mile group effort to pull out the win on a picture-perfect day.”
Rexus was excited.
“It was a hard-fought victory in a very competitive race, as any of at least 10 teams had a chance at being in the top two,” said Rexus. This is our third straight trip to Nike Cross Nationals, and fourth overall, counting the 2012 team. The boys have worked really hard all year and have been consistent at nearly every meet.”
In the women’s 5,000 meters championship race, Richland sophomore Natalie Ruzauskas placed 41st overall among 196 competitors. She ran an 18:36.10 time in the race.
Chiawana’s Austin Bachman placed 31st out of 1,233 runners in the Men’s Open 5,000 meters Invitational race, clocking in at 16:29.60.
In the Women’s 5,000 meters Open, Hermiston’s Cydney Sanchez finished 19th out of 747 competitors with a time of 19:33.80, while teammate Amanda Nygard was 55th in 20:02.50.
State swimming
Hanford junior Regan Geldmacher became a state champion on Saturday when she finished first in the Class 4A 500 freestyle finals at the WIAA girls swimming state championships in Federal Way.
Geldmacher won the event with a time of 4 minutes and 58.10 seconds. That was an improvement over her prelim time of 5:00.12.
Geldmacher’s first-place finish was tops among all Mid-Columbia swimmers at the meet, regardless of classification.
She also had the next best placing from our region, which included a third-place finish in the 4A girls 200 freestyle final with a time of 1:51.50.
Back to the 500 freestyle final, Richland’s Bryn McGinnis placed fifth in that final with a time of 5:10.84, while Bombers teammate Karma Johnson finished 11th overall in the B final, finishing the race in 5:17.78.
Hanford’s 200 freestyle relay team of Kodi Younkin, Madison Vincent, Carrie Moore and Geldmacher won the B final on Saturday, placing ninth overall at the meet in a time of 1:41.56.
In the 4A 400 freestyle relay event, Hanford’s team of Younkin, Vincent, Macy Bagwell and Geldmacher placed 12th overall with a time of 3:44.71.
In the 200 medley relay event, Richland’s team of Chloe Smart, Johnson, McGinnis and Sydney Willford finished 12th overall in a time of 1:54.79.
Walla Walla’s Laurel Skorina placed 12th overall in the 100 backstroke event with a time of 1:00.13.
As a team, Hanford placed 11th in the standings with 64 points. Newport of Bellevue dominated in the team standings with 325.5 points.
• In the 3A girls state meet, Southridge freshman Emily Espinoza had the best area finish, placing 16th overall in the 500 freestyle, with a time in the B final of 5:26.23.
In the 1-meter diving event, Southridge senior Rylee Garvey finished 17th overall with 195.40 points. Kamiakin junior Alissa Carreno was 21st with 112.70 points.
In the 200 IM, Kennewick freshman Laney Harmsen placed 21st with a time of 2:23.73.
And in the 100 butterfly event, Southridge freshman Liesel Telquist was 21st with a time of 1:02.53.
Bellevue ran away with the team title with 303 points.
• Prosser’s Madisen Mendez was 17th overall in the 100 butterfly event at the 1A/2A state championships, with a time of 1:07.32.
Liberty of Renton took the team title with 268 points.
NWAC soccer
Both the Columbia Basin College men and Walla Walla Community College women lost their NWAC semifinal matches this past weekend at the Starfire Complex.
CBC fell 3-0 to Tacoma in its semifinal Saturday, and the Hawks finished the season with an outstanding 12-4-3 record.
Peninsula would go on to win the men’s NWAC title on Sunday, beating Tacoma 2-1 in a shootout.
WWCC fell 2-1 to Highline in the Warriors’ semifinal match on Friday.
Brielle Schneider (Kamiakin) scored a goal for WWCC in the 66th minute before Highline came back to tie it up. The game went scoreless in two overtimes before Highline won 5-4 in a shootout.
Warriors keeper Josie Gunter had 11 saves.
Highline went on to take the women’s NWAC title on Sunday, beating Peninsula 1-0.
NWAC volleyball
The NWAC volleyball championships run Thursday through Sunday at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center.
North Idaho (25-3 record), Pierce (30-2) and Spokane (29-2) are the prohibitive favorites.
There are eight Mid-Columbian athletes who will parcticipate in this tournament, and all eight are integral parts of their teams.
Yaneli Garcia (Chiawana) and Bobbi Newton (Southridge) play for Bellevue, while Gabby Edwards (Kiona-Benton) and Mihaela Edwards (Kiona-Benton) are with Spokane.
Tacoma features Maloree Calzadillas (Kiona-Benton), while Walla Walla features Makenzie Frost (Walla Walla High School), Kayla Lind (Prosser) and Alaina Scott (Chiawana).