The Oak Harbor girls’ cross country team, behind a third-place finish of Adrianna Royal, finished second in the Wesco North championship while Tyler King grabbed second in the boys’ race Saturday at Lakewood High School.
The Stanwood girls’ won with 46 points, well ahead of second-place Oak Harbor with 90 in the eight-team meet.
Although King finished second and Matt Reith 10th, the Wildcat boys ended up eighth among nine teams with 155 points. Everett won with 58.
Royal ran a 6:12 over the 5K course. Allison Duvenez (seventh, 6:19), Jessica Denmon (20th, 6:41), Christina Wickers (23rd, 6:42), and Ariel McCarter (40th, 7:04) picked up points for the Wildcats.
In the boys’ race, King ran a 5:15, two seconds behind winner Dylan Hopper of Cascade, even though he has been sick the past few weeks with the flu. Reith ran a 5:30.
Other Wildcats who scored in the boys’ race were Matt Bolte (46th, 5:54), Jon Kaltenbach (50th, 5:57), and Chris Horn (53rd, 5:59). Mitchell Jackson (58th, 6:00), Wyatt Homola (69th, 6:15), and Lucas Salmons (72nd, 6:16) also ran in the 80-boy race.
The Oak Harbor girls won the 10-team JV race. Abby Leete was first in 6:53. She was followed by Taylor Von Grey (third, 7:05), Hannah Kagey (sixth, 7:12), Emily Bain (seventh, 7:14), and Heather Dale (19th, 7:33).
The Wildcats finished 19th in the JV boys’ race, paced by Chris Hailler in 181st (7:13).
Coach Eric Peterson said, “Overall it was a great day of racing for the Wildcats.”
This Saturday Oak Harbor travels to South Whidbey High School for the district championships. The girls’ race starts at 12:50 and the boys’ at 2:30. The top three teams and top 15 individuals advance to the state meet in Pasco Nov. 4. The boys’ race will feature Henry M. Jackson High School of Mill Creek. The Timberwolves are the No. 1 ranked team in the United States. At last Saturday’s Wesco South championships, Jackson runners took the top five spots to score a perfect 15 points. In a show a great team depth, Jackson also grabbed the top six spots in the JV race.
