NC’s Anderson wins Nike Cross

North Central senior Tanner Anderson, a month removed from his second-straight State 3A cross country title, took first place Saturday at the Nike Cross Nationals at Portland Meadows Race Track in Portland.

Anderson pulled away late and finished in 15 minutes, 11 seconds in windy conditions.

It marked the first time runners from the same school won titles in consecutive years. Kai Wilmot, now a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, won last year’s race. Anderson was third last year.

Olin Hacker of Madison, Wisconsin, kept pace with Anderson for a majority of the race. He finished second in 15:13.

Anderson, along with NC teammates Justin Janke (22nd; 16:07) and Andrew Vandine (26th; 16:13), helped the North Spokane team finish third overall.

The Coeur d’Alene girls took 20th place. Sophomore Josie Brown took 38th in 19:00 and senior Kara Story was 41st in 19:03.

Story was second at the 5A State Championships this past fall and Brown was third. They led the Vikings to their third straight state title.

• For the third year in a row, Mt. Spokane senior John Dressel will be racing against some of the elite prep runners from across the country.

Dressel took fourth place at the Foot Locker Championships West Regionals at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California, and earned a return invitation to the national race.

Dressel covered the 5,000-meter course in 15:37.8. The top 10 boys and girls automatically qualified for the national finals, which will be held Saturday at Balboa Park in San Diego.

His time was more than 3 seconds faster than his regional marks the past two years. He finished second at the West Regionals last year and sixth in 2012.

At the national finals last year, Dressel finished in second place, 3 seconds behind Grant Fisher (Michigan). Fisher, a senior, will be in the field again this year after taking first place in the Midwest Region with a time of 15 minutes.

Dressel has three top-three finishes at the State 3A meet. He finished second at the race this November and second in 2012. He finished third last year.

East Valley senior Chad Stevens, fresh off his State 2A title, took 32nd at this year’s West Regionals. He finished in 16:25.4.

In the girls race, East Valley junior Brittany Aquino missed an opportunity to qualify for nationals. She finished 13th with a 5,000-meter time of 18:57.9. Ferris senior Anisa Allaet was 19th in 19:11.1.

College

The Western Washington women took 12th and the men took 13th at the NCAA Division II Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

Junior Isaac Griffith (Lewis and Clark High School) took 46th overall in the men’s race with a 9.65-kilometer time of 31.45.50. Sophomore Sofia Marikis (Lakeside High School) was 196th in the women’s race.

She covered the 5.78-kilometer course in 24:38.70.