Plateau runners squared off against some of the region’s best Nov. 2, competing in the Westside Classic cross country championships.
The meet, staged at American Lake in Lakewood, whittled the field in advance of this weekend’s state meet in the Tri-Cities. State competition takes place Saturday at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, the traditional home of the cross country finale for all classifications.
The Classic included teams of all sizes from the South Sound, Olympic Peninsula and southwest Washington.
Enumclaw girls
Tops among local teams were the girls of Enumclaw High, who placed third in a field of 12 teams and earned a team berth at the state meet. Prairie High from the Vancouver area topped the list with SPSL 3A foe Peninsula coming in second.
Aleea Gwerder headed the EHS crew by placing fourth overall with a time of 20 minutes, 13 seconds. Coming in sixth was Samantha Engebretsen, crossing the line at 20:20. Rounding out the team were Abby Callison, 13th, 21:08; Danielle Flintoff, 32nd, 21:55; Amanda Stenslie, 39th, 22:19; Riley Desmul, 52nd, 22:55; and Kristen Pedersen, 62nd, 23:36.
Enumclaw High boys
The Hornet boys placed seventh among 12 teams. The team was paced by sophomore Eric Hamel, who placed 19th overall with a time of 17:46. Also running for EHS were Josh Sanders, 26th place, 17:51; Hayden Schmitt, 28th, 17:52; Chase Olson, 49th, 18:13; Tyler Bogh, 54th, 18:24; Dylan Hamel, 61st, 18:34; and Alex Blanchard, 71st, 18:54.
While the team failed to qualify for state, three Hornets – Eric Hamel, Sanders and Schmitt – earned individual berths.
White River girls
Competing against 10 other Class 2A teams, the Hornet girls totaled 134 points to place sixth.
Leading the way for White River was Madison Moser, who was 10th overall with a time of 20:58. Also representing the WRHS girls were Brenna Liebel, 24th, 21:48; Kacy Coyle, 32nd, 22:11; Courtney Gelmini, 37th, 22:25; Jenna Guenthner, 52nd, 23:18; Eryn Maris, 61st, 23:51; and Erin Redford, 70th, 24:31.
The White River girls did not qualify for state as a team, but Moser and Liebel claimed individual berths.
