Area cross country runners are headed to American Lake Golf Course Saturday for the Westside Classic, a district meet that whittled the field for this weekend’s state championships.
The state meet for all classifications takes place Saturday at the traditional site, Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
Mother Nature provided no favors for those competing in the West Central District meet, as heavy rain, wind and cool fall temperatures were the order of the day. Adding to the intrigue were the accompanying mud and standing water on the course.
The following is a rundown of local results.
Enumclaw girls
The Hornet girls took on a technically-challenging course and ran to a Class 3A district championship, qualifying for a team berth in the coming state meet. The team was paced by Hunter Storm, who placed eighth overall with a time of 20:35.20; Samantha Engebretsen, 10th, 20:69.40; and Aleea Gwerder, 12th, 21:06.90. Others contributing to the state-qualifying effort were Payton Roberson, 19th, 21:27.10; Emmie Neu, 31st, 21:43.90; Shelby Walker, 35th, 21:59.80; and Bryn Zeman-Witzel, 55th, 22:53.70.
Enumclaw boys
The team placed seventh overall, just missing out on a state berth. Three Hornets boys qualified for state, though: Eric Hamel, who placed 15th in the field; Teagan Eldridge, 19th; and Bryce Johnson, 27th.
Also competing at the district meet were Alec Ritter, 67th, 18:43.60; Alex Blanchard, 92nd, 19:14.90; Cameron Collingwood, 97th, 19:32.20; and Hunter McGowan, 98th, 19:37.80.
White River girls
The White River girls ran to a team berth in the state meet, finishing third among the 16 teams at the Westside Classic.
Courtney Gelmini led the way with a ninth-place finish, completing the course in 21:13.5. The rest of the state-bound squad included Camryn Berryhill, 13th, 21:34; Natalie Franco, 32nd, 22:34.20; Madison Moser, 33rd, 22:40.60; Hannah Swettenam, 35th, 22:50.40; Erin Redford, 58th, 24:14.20; and Claire Lowe, 74th, 25:14.40.
White River boys
The entire Hornet team is headed to Pasco after placing sixth at the district meet.
The team’s top finisher was Liam Johnson, who toured the district course in 18:23.70 to place 34th. Others in the Hornet crew are Konnor Sokalski, 36th, 18:30.80; Jadon Flanders, 46th, 18:55.60; Matthew McKinley, 60th, 19:15.10; William Pitsch, 63rd, 19:17.70; Stephen Woods, 77th, 19:32.70; and AJ Aspelund, 91st, 20:03.50.
Sumner girls
The Spartan squad qualified for state with a fourth-place showing at the Westside Classic.
The team’s top runner, Emma Sjolund, clocked a time of 20:08.40 to finish second overall. Others contributing to the state-qualifying effort were Petria Russell, 16th, 21:13.20; Emma Gronholdt, 18th, 21:17.90; Madison Neubert, 34th, 21:59.50; Morgan Friesel, 45th, 22:37; Bailey Thomsen, 50th, 22:47.20; and Abby Marcotte, 80th, 24:06.60.
Sumner boys
The Spartan boys finished a couple of spots out of the state running, placing eighth at the Westside Classic.
One Spartan earned an individual berth to state: Joel Mott, who placed 11th with a time of 17:29.20.
Others finishing their season with the Westside Classic were Nicolas Bourgeois, who was 31st, 18:05; Adam Sjolund, 58th, 18:35.10; Nate Weber, 59th, 18:36.30; Tyler Davenport, 76th, 18:47.20; Dash Penney, 93rd, 19:25.40; and Ethan Roach, 94th, 19:26.
Bonney Lake girls
The Panther girls had not advanced to districts as a team, but Mallory Sweers had qualified as an individual. She placed 39th with a time of 22:16.60 at the Westside Classic.
Bonney Lake boys
The Panther boys are headed to state after placing third in the district Class 3A field.
Leading the squad was the tandem of Brock Frame and William Glick. Frame was ninth overall with a time of 17:20.50 and Glick was next in line, finishing 10th in 17:23.60. Rounding out the state-bound squad are Bennett Hillier, 30th, 18:02.70; Eric Voellger, 37th, 18:17.80; Allen Fletcher, 49th, 18:29.70; Jesus Ochoa, 57th, 18:33; and Cody Sapp, 62nd, 18:38.
