Kamiakin set to give chase at Saturday’s state cross country meet
For the most part, there will be a new group of individual state cross country champions coming out of Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco on Saturday.
Only one of the 10 races has a defending state champion — Alexis Redfield of Zillah in the girls Class 1A race.
But there is still a ton of talent, including a large group of runners who placed in the top 10 last year in their events.
The weather should be good — overcast and a high of 61.
The first race of the day, the wheelchair division, takes place at 9:30 a.m., and the boys 4A event — the final race of the day — starts at 2:30 p.m.
Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and students.
Here’s a quick look at the top three storylines for Saturday:
▪ 1. Best race may be the 3A boys (starts at 2 p.m.). For the last nine years — more than half of the lifetime of many of these runners today — North Central has won the team title.
The Indians are nationally ranked and the top 3A team in the latest state coaches poll.
Kamiakin has tried to close the gap against the Indians the last few years, falling just six points shy of North Central last year.
Expect some of the same today.
Justin Janke leads the way for North Central, while Phillip Fishburn is Kamiakin’s top runner.
▪ 2. In the 3A girls race (starts at 12:30 p.m.), seven of last year’s top 10 placers return, including second-place finisher Sophie Contine of Lakeside-Seattle and third-placer Jordan Oakes of Holy Names.
Locally, though, it’ll be a chance to see the Kamiakin and Hanford girls compete for the team title. Both schools got through the tough regional meet last weekend.
Lindsey Lowe leads the way for the Braves; Hailey Cleavenger is the Falcons’ star.
▪ 3. The 1A girls race (starts at 10:30 a.m.) has Redfield returning to defend her title in top form. She won her district meet by a full minute over the runner-up.
But eight of last year’s top 10 are back, and two of them — Erin Mullens of Cascade (Leavenworth) and Deer Park’s Moriah Duenich — each won their district meets by a minute or better.
Here’s a quick look at each race, and the Mid-Columbia competitors:
Class 4A boys (2:30 p.m. start): Skyview’s Chanse Gilbert is the top returning placer at seventh. ... Tahoma is the favorite for team title. ... Tahoma’s Graeme Schroeder and Eisenhower’s Spencer Stewart are also favorites.
Local runners: Riley Moore, Richland; Alex Iben, Walla Walla.
Class 4A girls (1 p.m. start): Camas is the team favorite, and sophomore Emma Jenkins was fourth last year and won her district title. ... Also keep an eye on Skyline’s Maizy Brewer, Abby Smith of Lewis & Clark, and freshman sensation Taylor Roe of Kamiak.
Local runners: Erika Leinweber, Walla Walla; Katie Andrus, Richland.
Class 3A boys (2 p.m. start): See storylines above.
Local runners: Kamiakin’s team (Phillip Fishburn, Travis Crumpler, Jonah Franco, Ryan Child, Traven Bills, Kyler Lee, Preston Glade, Grant Howard and Levi Orren).
Class 3A girls (12:30 p.m. start): See storylines above.
Local runners: Kamiakin’s team (Lindsey Lowe, McKinzi Teeples, Mirannda Shulman, Brooke Moon, Julia Almaguer, Kaylee Sanchez, Brooklyn Lowe, Faith Fishburn, Chloe Scott); Hanford’s team (Hailey Cleavenger, Grace Arnold, Amber Skouson, Megan Wright, Kathryn Bushman, Rachel Schmidt, Kristin Pilgrim, Sydney Porter, Kara Shibley).
Class 2A boys (1:30 p.m. start): Sehome is the team favorite. ... Dylan Holland of Anacortes placed seventh last year, and won his district race last week. ... Marques Chacon of Evergreen-Seattle (ninth last year) and Ridgefield’s Silas Griffith are ones to watch.
Local runners: none.
Class 2A girls (11 a.m. start): Liberty of Issaquah is the top-ranked team coming in. ... Brittany Aquino of Spokane’s East Valley is the top returner after finishing third last year. She’s had a strong season and won her district meet. ... Keep an eye out for Lindbergh’s Feven Fessehatzion, Tumwater’s Lauren Ericks, and Bellingham freshman standout Annika Reiss.
Local runners: Hana VerMulm, Prosser.
Class 1A boys (noon start): The Proctor brothers, Tibebu and Tamire, from the Northwest school, should be heavy favorites. Tamire was fifth at state last year, while Tibebu was sixth. However, Tibebu, a junior finished 40 seconds ahead of his brother at the district meet last week. ... Ben Shaw of Riverside near Spokane is another to keep an eye on.
Local runners: Connell’s team (Carter Syrie, Gerardo Morales, Elijah Miller, Vincent Meraz, Josiah Kroontje, Alex Tapia, Edwin Quezada, Devon Olsen, Jarrod Tuttle); Royal’s team (Victor Garcia, Rodolfo Flores, Victor Santillan, Cristian Garcia, Eduardo Rodriguez, Silver Beltran, Arturo Villa, Cole Christensen, Martin Horta), Eduardo Valdenea, Wahluke.
Class 1A girls (10:30 a.m. start): See storyline above.
Local runners: Analicia Alvarado, Kiona-Benton; Jessica Arellano, Wahluke; Kennon Casper, Connell; Royal’s team (Kay Lester, Elizabeth Guardarrama, Gracelynn Miller, Meghan Mianecki, Abigail Delay, Caitlin Diaz, Anahi Gomez, Leslie Moreno, Isabel Quiroz).
Class 1B/2B boys (11:30 a.m. start): The Northwest Christian schools, one from Lacey and the other from Colbert, actually tied for the team title last year. The Lacey version enters today’s race as the team favorite. ... Luke Schilter from the Lacey school is the top returner after finishing second last year. He also won his district meet last week. ... College Place’s Kenneth Rooks won the district 7-9 meet last week, beating Jack Ammon of Northwest Christian-Colbert. Ammon placed third at state last year.
Local runners: Kenneth Rooks, College Place; Daniel Ness, DeSales; Landon Callas, Waitsburg-Prescott; Maxwell Vandersloot, DeSales; Tri-Cities Prep team (Phillip Geist, Cesar Robles, Justin Moon, Scott Jacobs, Stefan Geist, Thomas Mercer, Colby Richards, Evan Sweeney, Sam Vanhoudt).
Class 1B/2B girls (10 a.m. start): The St. George’s 1-2 combo of Madison Ward (second last year) and Marika Morelan (third) should be today’s favorites. ... Keep an eye out for freshman Athena Milani.
Local runners: Anna Ruthven, DeSales; Emily Adams, Waitsburg-Prescott; Lauren Ruthven, DeSales; Tri-Cities Prep team (Adriana Bernal, Celeste Davis, Laurel Hermann, Lauren Fong, Emma Slahtasky, Allison Jacobs, Grace Noble, Emma Carlson, Isabella Ghirardo).
Jeff Morrow: 509-582-1508; jmorrow@tricityherald.com; Twitter: @morrow_jeff
This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 8:48 PM with the headline "Kamiakin set to give chase at Saturday’s state cross country meet."