Lakeside edges Colville for district title

History repeated itself on soggy Deer Park Golf Course when Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) defended its District 7 2A boys cross country championship at Great Northern League champion Colville’s expense.

The Eagles packed six runners among the race’s top 13 to offset the 1-3 finish by Colville’s Ryan Cloke and Jake Wilson for a 38-40 triumph.

“Colville was a big goal out there that we tried to get,” Lakeside coach Steve Olson said. “We were going to do like last year and improve all season and get them at district.”

The race was the last of five run on Friday that determined teams and individuals to next week’s state meets in Pasco. It wasn’t the only close outcome.

St. George’s won a pair of tight meets, as the Dragon boys edged defending State B boys champion Reardan 38-41 and the girls topped Freeman 33-40 in the 1A/B race.

In the other qualifying meets, young Riverside dominated the 2A girls meet, 44-65 over runner-up Colville. Caribou Trail champion Tonasket, with three runners among the top five, beat Freeman 39-49 in the boys 1A race. All qualify for state

2A

A year ago Lakeside beat Colville by three points by placing three runners in the race’s top seven. It took a better group effort this year.

Despite a cold rain – the worst coming at the beginning of the day’s final race – times averaged roughly a minute faster per runner.

While Eagles Max Reeder (fourth), Kyle Johnson (sixth) and Jason Reeder (seventh) nearly duplicated last year’s places, it was the work of Eric Alexander, David Scott and Tim Welch behind them – and a 14th-place finish by Colville fifth runner Justin Rose, who ran first or second all year – that decided it.

“Knocking off the No. 1 team is state is a good feeling,” Olson said.

Colville’s Cloke and Brittney Williams were both individual champs.

The teams meet next weekend at state.

Cloke, with an 11-second win over Medical Lake’s David Jacob, earned his first title. Williams defended hers.

1A/B

Newport’s Joey Ward won the 1A boys race in 17:19 to finish ahead of five Caribou Trail runners. Freeman secured its annual state trip by placing five scorers between seventh and 13th places.

The difference in the B boys outcome was minimal. It took a higher-placing fifth runner, Hal Halvorson of St. George’s, to determine the three-point spread.

Reardan’s Brad Serdar, second as a sophomore last year, was race winner in 16:50, ahead of a pair of St. George’s sophomores, Brian Angove and Michael Wilhelm.

In the combined 1A/B girls race, Newport’s Terece Hahn finished second in 19:55, 14 seconds behind Karissa Carlson, a sophomore from Pateros. Liberty’s Andrea Collins was third and Reardan’s Jenny Knezovich was fifth.

St. George’s won the team race over Freeman by placing four runners between sixth and 13th places, led by sophomore Lauren Meyer.

Newport and Lake Roosevelt also qualified for state.