Cross country district preview: Mead boys, girls GSL champions favored at district meets; St. George's girls win seventh consecutive league title
The Mead boys and girls cross country teams each finished undefeated in Greater Spokane League duels. They’re favored to win the District 6 meet, which includes Mid-Columbia Conference teams, Saturday.
The District 6 4A, 3A and 2A meets are at Wandermere Golf Course.
The following is a breakdown of all area state-qualifying meets. All the state meets are Nov. 8 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
District 6 4A: The top three boys and girls teams and top 21 boys and girls finishers advance to state.
In the boys, Mead, Gonzaga Prep and Kamiakin are heavily favored to earn state berths. In the girls, Mead, Gonzaga Prep, Kamiakin and Richland battle for state berths.
The girls race is at 2:30 p.m. with the boys at 3:30.
District 6 3A: The top three boys and girls teams and top 21 boys and girls finishers head to state.
Mt. Spokane, Hermiston and Cheney will tangle for the boys title while University, Mt. Spokane and Hermiston will knock heads in the girls.
The girls race is at 2 and the boys go at 3.
District 6 2A: The top two boys and girls teams and top 14 boys and girls finishers earn state berths.
West Valley’s boys and Pullman’s girls are favored. The girls race is at 1 followed 30 minutes later by the boys.
District 5/6 1A: Three leagues including Northeast A converge to decide state berths at Apple Ridge Cross Country Trail in Cowiche, just outside of Yakima, on Saturday.
District 5 boys and girls teams are guaranteed two team berths to state and and top 14 individuals move on.
NEA boys teams Colville and Lakeside and girls teams Lakeside and Medical Lake are eligible for two other state berths and 14 other individual berths.
The girls race is at 3 followed 45 minutes later by the boys.
2B/1B Regional: The top five girls teams and top four boys teams along with the top 35 girls and top 28 boys move on to state.
The meet, which combines District 5 and 6 teams, is Friday at Colfax. The girls meet is at 1 and the boys race at 2:30.
The St. George’s girls have won seven consecutive league titles and should cruise to the regional title. In the boys, Freeman and Chewelah are expected to have a tight chase for the title.
District 6 1B boys: The top two teams and top 14 individuals advance to state. The meet is Friday at Colfax.
The 1B boys are separate from 2B and have their own state meet. The 1B girls don’t have enough teams to mandate a state meet.
The 1B boys face off at Colfax where the 2B/1B girls and 2B boys race. The 1B boys hit the starting line at 1:45.
Noteworthy
Area league championships were decided in the last week.
In GSL 4A/3A, the Mead boys finished 9-0 ahead of 8-1 Mt. Spokane. Mead secured the title with a 17-38 win over Mt. Spokane. In the girls, Mead ended 9-0 and just ahead of University (8-1). Mead secured the title with a three-point win over the Titans.
In GSL 2A, West Valley’s boys and Pullman’s girls claimed championships.
At the NEA showdown at Medical Lake last week, Colville’s boys won with 35 points and Lakeside was second with 47. Colville’s Malik Ortiz won the individual title, finishing in a time of 16 minutes, 10.09 seconds. In the girls, Lakeside won with 28 points and Medical Lake was second with 41. Kaylee Dennler of Medical Lake won in 20:13.20. Lakeside placed five in the top eight.
In the Northeast 2B title meet, Freeman’s boys won with 34 points and Chewelah was second (42). Chewelah’s Emmitt Warren won in 16:18.99.
In the girls, St. George’s surged to a seventh consecutive title with 39 points. Chewelah was second with 64. Saint George’s senior Regan Thomas, the defending state champ, won in 19:49.72.
Rankings
Mead’s boys continued their season-long perch at the top of the 4A state rankings voted on by the coaches and released Sunday. Gonzaga Prep is fifth.
- 3A: Mt. Spokane is third and Cheney ninth.
- 1A: Colville is fifth, Lakeside eighth and Medical Lake ninth.
- 2B: Chewelah is fourth, Freeman is fifth and Northwest Christian is eighth.
- 1B: Valley Christian is second and Garfield-Palouse is fifth.
In the girls, Mead is eighth in 4A and Gonzaga Prep is 10th.
- 3A: Mt. Spokane is third, University is fifth and Ridgeline is sixth.
- 1A: Medical Lake is second and Lakeside is fifth.
- 2B/1B: St. George’s is first, Chewelah fifth, Freeman sixth and Garfield-Palouse 10th.
Idaho
The Coeur d’Alene boys are heavily favored to capture a third consecutive 6A state title on Saturday when the state meets are held in Lewiston at the Lewis-Clark State College course at Lewiston Orchards.
Coeur d’Alene took the top five spots at the District I meet last week, finishing with a perfect score of 15 points.
The Vikings placed their seven runners in the top 10. Mitchell Rietze won in 15:42 and Wyatt Morgenstern, Gabe Heule, Wyatt Carr and Rowan Henry finished side by side in 15:43.