Mead boys, Central Valley girls take title

On a day when domineering Greater Spokane League cross country teams earned eight of 10 state team berths during Eastern Regional competition in Yakima, the boys race was decided by the barest of margins.

Mead turned the tables on top-ranked Ferris 41-42 to defend its 4A regional championship and Central Valley, as expected, grabbed the third team spot as GSL individuals took 12 of 15 available state berths.

CV’s girls led a one-two team finish, beating Mead 82-112. The GSL had eight top-15 qualifiers.

North Central had the first four finishers, beating Mt. Spokane 23-71 as the schools had both boys 3A team qualifiers.

Mt. Spokane’s girls finished second 45-58 to West Valley-Yakima for a return trip to state.

4A boys: Dylan Hatcher’s 1-second victory over David Hickerson for the individual title was the ultimate difference in what has been a stirring series between Washington cross country powers.

But there were several races within the race only lending to the intrigue of next Saturday’s state championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Hatcher, Mead’s season-long leader, timed 15 minutes, 16 seconds to edge out Saxon David Hickerson’s 15:17 at Franklin Park for the one-point difference.

But also, Panther Kelvin Daratha led a pair of Saxons for fourth-through-sixth places and Ryan Bishop edged Nick LaPlante 16:00 to 16:02 for 12th and 13th.

Central Valley scored 87 points for third, Tylor Thatcher third overall in 15:23 as the GSL easily distanced itself from Columbia Basin League challengers.

4A girls: Shadle Park freshman Andrea Nelson ran away from the girls’ field, timing 17:54 to win by 40 seconds.

Any of five or six teams could have claimed the three team berths, but the CV Bears, part of a three-way GSL title tie had the best depth with five scorers finishing between ninth and 27th places.

Mead, fourth in league, got a fourth-place from Nikki Codd (behind Gonzaga Prep’s Theresa Hailey) and a strong effort from finally-healthy Sara Stenersen to peak in second at regional.

3A boys: North Central was favored, but won with an effort stunning in its scope.

Junior Adam Tyler, sophomores Andy Kimpel, Leon Dean and junior Steve Hicks came home first through fourth, just 9 seconds apart between 15:56 and 16:05.

Race over.

Mt. Spokane’s Trevin Goodrick and freshman Allan Schroeder finished next to lead the Wildcats on a state-qualifying run in their first year as a 3A school.

3A girls: Mt. Spokane, second in State 4A last year, had no answer for defending 3A champion WV-Yakima’s duo of Lisa Olander and Stephanie Schuel.

They timed 18:38 and 18:41 ahead of NC’s Mary Graesser (18:51). Wildcats Courtney Zalud and Jessica Klier were next, but 21 and 22 seconds back. The Spokane team couldn’t make up the difference in the middle.

Regional 1A: Lakeside qualified two teams to state and Northeast A League had the top three boys team qualifiers during their regional meet that was Thursday at Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee.

Like NC, the Eagles from Nine Mile Falls had the first three finishers in the boys race to overwhelm the field with 27 points. Newport finished second with 118 and Chewelah third with 129.

Max Reeder won in 15:57, Kyle Johnson was next in 16:04 and Tim Welch third in 16:13. They were among 13 NEA boys state qualifiers to next Saturday’s meet.

Lakeside’s girls finished second to Chelan 51-68. Newport’s Terece Hahn finished second to Chelan freshman Gabby Guillen. Lakeside had four runners in the top 14, led by Kayloni Jones, fifth in 20:02.

All told, the NEA had nine individual qualifiers.