Running better than their ratings, the Coupeville High School girls and boys cross country teams put in a solid effort at the Cascade Conference championship meet Saturday, Oct. 26, at Lakewood.

The Wolves placed third in the girls race and fourth in the boys in the six-team league.

King’s won the girls title with 31 points; Coupeville recorded 74.

South Whidbey captured its second consecutive boys crown with 26 points. The Wolves had 118, the same as Granite Falls, but Coupeville held the tie-breaker over the Tigers.

“It was a great meet for us,” coach Luke Samford said. “Boys and girls both placed higher than ranked, and we had some great individual PRs. The boys beating Granite Falls is something we have talked about.

“Ties in cross country are crazy. It goes to a head to head match on your finish order. Their first runner was ahead of our first, but our second was ahead of theirs, and third, fourth and fifth. Our sixth and seventh runners played huge roles stepping up and displacing key points from them.”

On the girls side, Samford was “impressed” because the Wolves “ran with individuals ranked higher than them.”

The top individual effort came from Catherine Lhamon, who took 11th out of 32 in the 5,000-meter girls race in 22:17.1. King’s Naomi Smith, the defending state champion, who in 17:29.7.

Mitchell Hall was 13th out of 82 and second among freshmen in the boys race in 18:29.5. Granite Falls’ Isaac Cortez won in 16:10.6.

Next up is the b-district meet Saturday, Nov. 2, at South Whidbey High School.

The 1A girls start at 1:20 p.m. and the 1A boys at 2:35 p.m.

The top five girls teams and 35 individuals qualify for the state meet. The first four boys teams and 28 individuals earn state berths.

Other Coupeville results at the league meet

Girls: 13, Claire Mayne, 23:04.3; 14, Alana Mihill, 23:05.3; 22, Helen Strelow, 24:58.2; 24, Cristina McGrath, 25:46.2.

Boys: 31, Aidan Wilson, 19:33.1; 33, Sam Wynn, 19:38.7; 38, Cameron Epp, 19:55.5; 43, Aiden Anderson, 20:31.3; 48, Reiley Aracely, 20:50; 53, Alexander Wasik, 21:20; 63, Tate Wyman, 21:57; 67, Eli Kastner, 22:36.2; 68, Chris Ruck, 22:37.9.