The first invitationals of the Washington season occurred last weekend. Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma hosted the 23rd annual event. Being an early season meet, some of the favorites did not race, but the 2-mile races were still compelling and competitive.
The girl's varsity race started with three runners vying for the lead including junior athletes Anna Callahan and Rebecca O'Keefe of Skyline and Alison Whalen of Bellarmine Prep. In the second half of the race, Anna Callahan pulled away for a big 16 second win in a time of 11:24.2. Her teammate Rebecca O'Keefe finished second in 11:40.4. Skyline's projected number one runner, Sydney Collier, did not race and having her in the race would have been a tough 1-2-3 punch. Bishop Blanchet won the team competition with 103 points which is impressive since Bishop Blanchet's number one runner Lily LaPorte did not race. Holy Names Academy took the second spot with a score of
In the boy's varsity race, Ballard's Jack Rousseau led a group of athletes through the one mile mark. The front pack included Valley Catholic's Morgan Amano, Mercer Island's Owen Powell and Matthew Lawrence and Gonzaga Prep's Graham Cleveland. With about 600 meters to go Morgan Amano of Valley Catholic took the lead and then when the athletes got on the athletic field, Owen Powell of Mercer Island and Graham Cleveland of Gonzaga Prep raced for the finish. Owen Powell won the race in 10:21.5 and Graham Cleveland finished second in 10:22.9. Thanks to Owen's finish, Mercer Island won the team title with 65 points and Bishop Blanchet took second with 79 points. Bishop Blanchet boys showed their depth as their top two runners, William Schneider and Vincent Recupero, did not race.
Photo gallery for the varsity races are found HERE
Photo gallery for some of the JV races are found HERE