WRHS CROSS COUNTRY: Hornet duo earn Top 15

Marcus Dickson placed 13th and Lauryn Wate was 14th to lead a quartet of White River High runners who competed Saturday at the state Class 2A cross country championships.

Marcus Dickson placed 13th and Lauryn Wate was 14th to lead a quartet of White River High runners who competed Saturday at the state Class 2A cross country championships.

The meet, staged again at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, brought together runners from school of all classifications, from all corners of the state of Washington.

White River had failed to qualify either its entire boys or girls teams for the state meet, but had four individuals qualify, as Kody Gould and Kelly Coyle also earned a trip to the Tri-Cities.

The four had earned their state berths the previous weekend at the West Central District meet at American Lake Golf Course in Lakewood.

Dickson, who was sidelined most of the season with an injury, bounced back in time for postseason competition. He covered the Sun Willows course in a time of 16 minutes, 15 seconds to place 13th in a field of 141 runners.

Gould, who served as White River’s No. 1 runner in Dickson’s absence, finished the state race in 16:34 and placed 27th.

On the girls side, Wate earned her 14th-place finish by crossing the finish line in 19:23 while Coyle clocked a time of 20:57 and finished 82nd. There were 145 runners in the girls race.

Both Dickson and Wate made their way to the medal stand, as individual honors were handed out to the top 16 finishers.

All four state-qualifying Hornets are juniors. For Dickson and Wate, Saturday’s run was their third trip to the state meet; Gould and Coyle were making their second appearance.