Hawkins Heads Area Contingent

Isaac Hawkins, national poster boy, will defend his Foot Locker West Regional cross country title Saturday at Fresno, Calif.

Hawkins, of Ferris High, is prominently displayed on the poster Foot Locker distributes to advertise its national competition.

Hawkins defended his State AAA title last month. Should he again finish among the top eight at regional, he’ll advance to the national race Dec. 14 at San Diego.

More than 60 runners from the Spokane area are expected to compete in the regional, which is an open meet. The Lilac Bloomsday Association will pay the airfare of 34 top boys and girls.

One runner who won’t make the trip is two-time girls Region IV-AAA champion Jennifer Smith of Ferris, who has a stress fracture near one hip, according to coach Wayne Gilman.

Shadle Park’s Casey Perry also won’t compete because of an injury. East Valley’s Cara Smith and Cheney’s Jeannette Zimmer have other commitments.

Girls runners sponsored by Bloomsday are Jill Johnson and Emily Hawkins, Ferris; Jamie Borgan, Emily Fuller, Mindy Noble and Jamie Rosenquist, Lewis and Clark; Katie Pollock, Kelly Mattingly, Heidi Bartholomew and Annie McCabe, Mead; Taraka Campbell, University; Crystal Evans, Colville; Jessica Riehle and Jessica Ferguson, West Valley; Ann Marie Adams, EV; Hayden Kristianson, Chewelah; and Jill Larson, G-Prep.

Besides Hawkins, sponsored boys are Jason Fayant, Ryan and Chad Wiser, and Morgan Thompson, Mead; Jon Caballero and Justin Hill, North Central; Cameron Hatch and Joey Thornton, Rogers; Seth Mott, James Berry and Jeff Rees, University; Andy Brown, Ferris; Jon Ashcraft, Riverside; Clayton Holmes and Sean McLachlan, West Valley; and Robbie Warnock, Central Valley.

Each runner will pay $140 for accommodations, uniforms and transportation. The outlay may pay off because a strong showing could attract bigger college scholarship money down the road.