Washington cross country
4A boys and girls
There’s only one thing remaining for Andrew Gardner. After second-place finishes the past two years, the Mead senior has his eyes set on a state title in his fourth trip to Pasco. … Central Valley and Lewis and Clark swept both boys state berths at regional, as expected, and LC’s Sumner Goodwin placed second. This year’s team race in Pasco appears wide-open … The only other time Gonzaga Prep’s girls participated at state was a fourth-place finish in 1999. They were part of a bunched GSL regular season, but negotiated the maze to edge LC by a point for the second and final berth, with regular-season champion Central Valley finishing third. … “The top five girls run consistently in a pack,” G-Prep coach Stephen Manfred said. “I told them get to 2-mile mark in position we want to be in. Probably the last 600 meters was big for us. Top five to a girl made a move and got past runners.” G-Prep sophomores Cyra Carlson and Ann Moloney finished seventh and eighth, respectively. … LC’s Gracie Ledwith finished second.
3A
Saturday is the final cross-country showdown for two of the most electrifying girls distance runners in Washington history. Last weekend Amy-Eloise Neale timed 17:13.5 to beat her nearest competitor, teammate Katie Bianchini by some 50 seconds, for favored Glacier Peak. But after winning two straight state titles, Neale was toppled last year by North Central’s Katie Knight by 18 seconds. Knight returns to defend her title … Mt. Spokane and University advanced their teams. Mt. Spokane freshman Makenna Endebrock was third at regional, while U-Hi’s Ashlie Standow and Kelsey Jerome were eighth and ninth, respectively. … Mt. Spokane boys also qualified, with sophomore John Dressel second.
2A
Outnumbered 10 teams to two in the District 5-6 cross country meet? No sweat for Great Northern League boys against the CWAC League schools in their district meet. Cheney stole one of the CWAC’s four-team allotments for Saturday’s State 2A race, finishing second behind champion Deer Park. The GNL originally had one berth. “We went there with the idea we were going to take one of their spots,” Deer Park coach Scott Daratha said. … On top of the GNL’s 1-2 team finish, individuals Scott Kopczynski, East Valley; Kevin Carpenter, Colville; and Skyler Ovnicek, West Valley, qualified. The GNL had the top four finishers and seven of the top eight. … Like the boys, Deer Park and defending 2A champion Cheney girls teams both advanced and the GNL took all 10 individual spots as well, including East Valley’ Brittany Aquino and Alyssa Harmon, West Valley’s McCall Skay and Clarkston’s Kari Scharnhorst. … Individual winner, Cheney’s Sanne Holland, has been third twice and fourth the previous three years.
1A
At the beginning of the season, coach Steve Olson said the Lakeside community felt his program has been overlooked. Their complaint has validity. The boys and girls are defending state champions, and the boys have won three of the last four. … Both were district 6-7 winners last week, the boys 31-51 over Medical Lake. Combined, the two schools claimed the top six individuals, led by Lakeside’s Ryan Coffman. … The girls edged Riverside 38-40. Medical Lake also qualified for state. … Lakeside’s Lindy Jacobson and Sofia Marikis finished 1-2.
1B/2B
Northwest Christian’s Anna Henry won by more than a minute in the District 7-9 race. Both boys and girls teams advance to state … St. John-Endicott was girls champion.