Mt. Spokane’s boys edge field

A four-way cross country meet can scarcely finish closer. But in the end, the minuscule point differentials went Mt. Spokane’s way.

The Wildcats boys (3-0) won two 26-29 victories, over North Central (2-1) and host Central Valley (0-3), during a 3-0 Greater Spokane League start. Also, NC slipped past Central Valley 27-28 in a race that had all three coaches raving.

Surprising Mt. Spokane’s girls, though replacing most of last year’s league championship team, went 3-0 as well, including a 26-30 win over CV. NC nipped the Bears 27-29.

EV (0-3 both boys and girls) got an emphatic victory by Nick Atwood, 15 minutes, 54 seconds to 16:13, over CV’s Sean Coyle.

“This is what GSL cross country is all about right here,” said NC coach Jon Knight. “There were four teams gunning for it and you couldn’t tell the winner until it was over.”

One needed look no further than the finish between Mt. Spokane’s Mike Hartanov and Jake Sanders to understand.

Hartanov was running third late in the race. Sanders, however, had other ideas and bore down on him, slipping past briefly in the race for the chute. Somehow Hartanov got his shoulders across the line ahead.

“I didn’t see him coming,” said Hartanov. “Luckily, I beat him at the end.”

There were similar dramas elsewhere throughout the race.

“I knew it was going to be tight,” said Wildcats coach Craig Deitz. “These guys put on their game face and did what they needed to do.”

Elsewhere, Mead’s (3-0) seven runners swept the race over University (2-1), Shadle Park (1-2) and host Cheney (0-3). … Ferris (3-0) had the first five finishers to beat West Valley (2-1), Gonzaga Prep (1-2) and Clarkston (0-3) at Plantes Ferry Park. … Ryan Zentz won by nearly a minute as Lewis and Clark beat Rogers 18-45 at Manito Park.

Girls

A pair of state-placing runners, whose seasons last year ended prematurely because of injury, was back in form at CV.

Megan O’Reilly, recovered from a stress fracture, toyed with the field before turning on the jets and winning by a half-minute over CV’s Anna Layman, 18:43 to 19:14.

Layman had her junior season cut short with plantar faciitis.

“I was just kind of cheering on my team back there,” said O’Reilly who spent half the race in third. “I’m feeling better. No aches and pains.”

Layman was ecstatic about her return. “It’s nice to be back in the groove again,” she said.

The Wildcats, aided by veterans Jessica Klier and a strong fifth-place effort by freshman Courtney Zalud, prevailed over NC (2-1), CV (1-2) and EV (0-3).

At Salnave Park in Cheney, Mead (3-0) laid claim as a title contender and Ryan Torpie won easily in a sweep of University (2-1), Shadle Park (0-2) and the hosts. The Blackhawks (0-3) lost by a point to Shadle and in a tiebreaker with U-Hi. … Ferris (3-0) was led by Becky Mackelprang in beating Gonzaga Prep (2-1), WV (1-2) and Clarkston (0-3). … LC had the first four finishers and Leigh Fredrickson won her first varsity race in beating Rogers.