We are getting into championship season. California high school athletes are preparing for the league meets. Next Saturday, November 5, are the Oregon and Washington State Meets.
Northwest District 1 - October 29
Lakewood, WA - Lakewood High School
Varsity teams from schools north of Seattle compete for spots at the Washington State Meet on Saturday. In the 4A girls race, top teams Issaquah, Eastlake, Mt. Si, Skyline, Lake Stevens and others compete for the four spots to state. Anna Callahan and Rebecca O'Keefe of Skyline, Katherine Yahn and Mary Jane Harig of Issaquah and Jane Roos of Eastlake are the top runners. In the boy's 4Am, the top teams include Eastlake, Issaquah, Kamiak and Lake Stevens. Ethan Pedersen and Noah Zahn lead Eastlake, Brennan Rickey and Conor Ham of Issaquah are the front runners for Issaquah and Will Leysna of Kamiak is another threat to win the 4A race.
In the 3A races, individuals in the girl's race who can capture the 3A title and advance to the State Meet include Paige Gerrard of Snohomish, Madison Griffin of Arlington, Adrienne Root of Oak Harbor, Payton Conover of Meadowdale and Hazel Beatty-Witt of Shorecrest. The boy's to watch in the 3A race are Jacob Pearson of Oak Harbor, Kellen Lansford of Arlington, Luke Schmidt and George Fernandez of Shorecrest and Keiyu Mamiya of Shoreline.
The 2A girls race have several top teams like Anacortes, Sehome, Bellingham and Cedarcrest and top the top athletes hoping to win districts are Jessica Frylendund, Carolyn Chambers and Casey Lemrick of Anacortes, Lydia Swenson of Cedarcrest and Kaia Szymczak of Sehome. Some of the top 2A boy's teams will be racing at Lakewood High School with Sehome, Squalicum, Bellingham and Cedarcrest are trying to get to Pasco. Zack Munson of Sehome, William Giesen of Bellingham, Evan Rush and Chase Bartlett of Squalicum and London Haley of Cedarcrest will be the top boys in the 2A race.
Look for a photo gallery to the Northwest District meet!
Westside Classic District 3 - October 29
Chambers Bay Central Meadow - University Place, WA
Washington schools from 1A to 4A compete near Tacoma for the chance to race the following Saturday at the Washington State Meet in Pasco, WA. Tahoma, Camas and Bellarmine Prep are the top girl's teams with Allison Whalen of Bellarmine Prep, Charlotte Wilson of Union, Eliza White of Curtis, Daphne Evenson of Skyview and Eleanor Jepson of Rogers racing as top individuals. Tahoma boys will be challenged by Camas and Curtis in the 4A races and individuals to watch include Isaac Briggs of Rogers, Connor Wirth of Emerald Ridge, Ryan Lewis and Cooper Boyle of Tahoma and Hayden Reich of Camas.
The 3A girl's race is loaded with talented teams like Central Kitsap, Gig Harbor, Stadium, Peninsula and Bainbridge. Katelyn Galloway of Stadium, Elektra Higgins and Reese Morkert of Gig Harbor and Clare Herring and Audra Palmer of Central Kitsap are some of the top girl athletes. Lakes, Central Kitsap and Gig Harbor enter the 3A race ranked in the top ten in the recent coaches poll. Cruize Corvin and Zander Trevino from nearby Lakes are some of individual favorites as well as Blake Reynolds of Central Kitsap and the Gig Harbor duo of Micah Galeana and Jonathan Miles.
Alice Moe of Kingston, Kaitlyn Bloomenrader of Sequim, Vivian Kingston and Emma Tomlinson of White River and Katie Mingus of Henry Foss are some of the individual favorites in the 2A race. Kingston boys come into the 2A meet ranked sixth and Lucan Lenz of Kingston is their top runner. Challengers include McCoy Brooks of Enumclaw, Quinny Stuart of North Kitsap and Colby Ellefson of Sequim.
Port Townsend (East Jefferson) boast three strong runners in the 1A race - Aliyah Yearian, Cameron Hines and Fiona Fraser. Madeline Yarkin of Vashon Island hopes to break up the Port Townsend pack. The top boys in the 1A race include Will Carroll of Annie Wright, Noah Milton of Cascade Christian, Dylan Manning of Charles Wright Academy and Soare Johnston and Sebastian Manza of Port Townsend (East Jefferson).
Look for a photo gallery to the Westside Classic District 3 meet!
Several division 1 conference races are contested on the west coast on Friday.
Big West Championship - October 29
UC Riverside Ag/Ops Course - Riverside, CA
Western Region USTFCCCA ranked women's teams UC Davis, Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly are the favorites and Western Region USTFCCCA ranked men's teams Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton and UCSB will be vying for the men's championship.
Big Sky Championship - October 28
The Fairways Golf Course - Cheney, WA
NAU women's team are ranked #4 nationally is the clear favorites. Other schools of interest in the women's race include Mountain Region ranked Montana State and Weber State and West Region ranked Portland State. In the men's race, five time national champion NAU is the favorite and other ranked squads include West Region ranked Portland State and Weber State and Montana State from the Mountain Region.
WCC Championship - October 28
Fernhill Park - Portland, OR
BYU women's team is the defending WCC Champion and currently ranked #5 in the nation. Western Regional ranked women's teams include San Francisco, Portland and Santa Clara. The BYU men's squad is also attempting to defend their WCC title and are currently ranked #2 in the nation with Western Regional ranked teams in the mix like WCC power Portland and rising programs Gonzaga and Santa Clara.
Look for a photo gallery to the WCC Championship!
Pac 12 Championship - October 28
UC Riverside Ag/Ops Course - Riverside, CA
The Pac 12 Championship runs on the same course as the Big West Championship, but a day earlier on Friday. The women's race has a deep field of nationally ranked schools with Stanford entering with the #9 ranking, followed by #10 Utah, #11 Colorado, #12 Oregon, #19 Washington and #30 Oregon State. On the men's side the #1 Stanford team is the favorite to win the title. Other ranked teams include #10 Colorado, #15 Oregon and #20 Washington.