X-Country girls save best race for last.

Despite the rain and cold weather the Oak Harbor cross-country girls squad put on their best race of the year to take 11th place in the 4A Northwest District championships held on Oct. 27 in Mount Vernon. The Wildcats were paced by Brianne King and Leonila Celestino who finished 50th and 59th respectively. “With four of our top five girls back next year we’ll turn our focus to moving the team up through the standings,” said head coach Seth Hodges.

The Wildcat boys placed 13th in the event with junior Tim Riney and freshman Chris Wichers the first two Cats across the line at 48th and 49th.

Hodges was pleased with the effort.

“We got much closer to Mt Vernon and Cascade (the 11th and12th place teams) despite some tough luck. Senior captain Matt Bezold nearly collapsed after crossing the finish line as a result of an injury. You could tell by Matt’s face that he was hurting during the race but its a testament to his toughness that he wouldn’t give up in his final high school race.”

Next year should see improvement from the boys side as well with a return all five of their scoring runners.

District 1 4A Championships:

Girls Team Results: 1. Snohomish, 55; 2. Marysville-Pilchuck, 98; 3.Kamiak, 111; 4. Stanwood, 131; 5. Jackson, 136; 6. Edmonds-Woodway, 151; 7. Mountlake Terrace, 169; 8. Shorewood, 170; 9. Shorecrest, 265; 10. Arlington, 265; 11. Oak Harbor, 303; 12. Monroe, 355; 13. Lake Stevens, 357; 14. Everett, 369; 15. Mariner, 393; 16. Cascade, 433; 17. Mt. Vernon, 451.

Girls Individual Results: 50. Brianne King, 21:43; 59. Leonila Celestino, 22:26; 62. Sarah Brundidge, 22:33; 64. Kellie Gamble, 22:35; 68. Danielle Berg, 22:38; 96. Lora Eelkema, 23:45; 100. Cameron Watkins, 24:00. (116 runners).

Boys Team Results: 1. Snohomish, 58; 2. Shorecrest, 84; 3. Jackson, 89;4. Stanwood, 96; 5. Kamiak, 111; 6. Marysville-Pilchuck, 146; 7. Edmonds-Woodway, 170; 8. Mountlake Terrace, 231; 9. Shorewood, 263; 10. Everett, 279; 11. Mt. Vernon, 320; 12. Cascade, 328; 13. Oak Harbor, 332; 14. Arlington, 339; 15. Mariner, 472; 16. Lake Stevens, 483; 17. Monroe,Incomplete.

Boys Individual Results: 48. Tim Riney, 17:38; 49. Chris Wichers, 17:38; 64. Richard Carter, 17:55; 79. Derek Wirth, 18:34; 92. Greg Dillard, 18:51; 99. Matt Bezold, 19:04; 100. Jon Garcia, 19:07. (116 runners).

Swimmers ready for district meet

The Wildcat girl’s swimmers will compete in the Wesco North Division championship meet at Marysville-Pilchuck Thursday at 5 p.m. Coach Carla Edge’s team for the District meet, with their best time of the year listed in parentheses, is:

Medley Relay (2:00.81)- Kyla Meuer, Missy McIntyre, Kate Waller, Brandy Rupert and Ashley Werring,

200 Freestyle- Brandy Rupert (2:10.44), Brooke Chesnut (2:17.79), Madison Nikkola (2:25.88) and Natalie Nolan (2:41.90).

200 Individual Medley- Missy McIntyre (2:12.45), Kate Waller (2:36.9), Lora Burge (2:28.57) and Megan Hill (2:43.80).

50 Freestyle- Kyla Meuer (:25.41), Hana Chew (:28.69), Ashley Werring (:30.15) and Cassie Klieman (:29.10).

100 Butterfly- Sarah Krieg (1:19.00), Amy Rose (1:19.74), Danielle Dillard (1:24.17) and Tiffany Gordon (1:19.65).

100 Freestyle- Kyla Meuer (:55.88), Hana Chew (1:044.46), Ashley Werring (1:08.00) and Cassie Klieman (1:04.74).

500 Freestyle- Brandy Rupert (5:34.40), Kate Waller (6:07.71), Brooke Chesnut (6:05.52) and Danielle Dillard (6:54.03).

200 Freestyle Relay- (1:51.62) Kyla Meuer, Lora Burge, Brandy Rupert, Missy McIntyre and Hana Chew.

100 Backstroke- Tiffany Gordon (1:11.24), Amy Rose (1:20.57), Madison Nikkola (1:23.49) and Natalie Nolan (1:24.80).

100 Breaststroke- Missy McIntyre (1:11.20), Lora Burge (1:16.58) and Megan Hill (1:22.39).

400 Free Relay (4:30.14)- Cassie Klieman, Kate Waller, Hana Chew and Lora Burge.

Local youngsters rack up Taekwondo awards

Three local youths successfuly competed in the 2001 Governor’s Cup Competition held at St. Martins College in Lacey, Washington on Oct. 27, 2001.

Jessica H. Lord, Shea Pohtilla, and Heather Rodney were each declared a 2001 Washington State Governor’s Cup Champion by the Washington State Taekwondo Foundation after their success at the event last Saturday.

Lord placed first in the blue belt competition for ages 12-13. Potilla picked up two honors, a second place in the recommended black belt division for ages 15-16, and a second in Olympic sparring in the recommended black belt and black belt division for ages 15-16. Rodney earned a third place honor in the red belt competition for ages 12-13 and a first place in Olympic sparring in the red belt division for ages 12-13.

All three award winners are members of Woodward’s Taekwondo Acadamy in Oak Harbor.