Shorewood claimed the boys team championship and Edmonds-Woodway earned the girls title at the District 1 3A cross country meet Saturday, Oct. 31, at Lakewood High School in Arlington. Both teams secured places at the state championships in Pasco the following week.
Senior Elijah Graves led throughout the boys race and established a meet record of 15:03.8. Shorewood teammate Kellan Roberts finished second in 15:29.3, giving the Stormrays the first two finishers on their way to a winning score of 55 points. Edmonds-Woodway took second with 80, followed by Mountlake Terrace with 93 and Shorecrest with 104. All four teams advanced to state, with the top 28 runners also qualifying individually.
Roberts, a sophomore, felt exhausted two miles into the race but found an opportunity to challenge Stanwood sophomore Casey Westerfield as they approached the wooded section. His move carried him into second, and he held that position through the finish. Westerfield placed third in 15:33.7, while Mountlake Terrace senior Reilly Brookhart was fourth in 15:37.4.
Three seniors completed Shorewood's scoring group: Noah Raupp finished 12th in 16:14.3, Brayden Yee placed 16th in 16:17.2 and Jack DeLaChapelle took 24th in 16:34.4. Despite losing two graduates from the squad that finished second at state last year, Shorewood has paired its leading runners with a closely grouped supporting lineup. Its third through sixth finishers were separated by less than 22 seconds.
Coach Joel Reese attributed the team's progress to senior leadership and younger athletes following the work habits established by previous runners. Shorewood hopes to improve on last year's state finish and plans to reduce training mileage before the championship. Its preparations will also include studying opponents, planning for the course and building on the confidence gained at districts.
In the girls competition, Edmonds-Woodway's first four finishers arrived within 7.6 seconds of one another, all placing among the top 11. That group helped the Warriors finish with 58 points, narrowly ahead of Oak Harbor's 61. Shorecrest scored 85 and Shorewood had 92 to claim the other two team berths at state.
Senior Hazel Zackey paced Edmonds-Woodway with a seventh-place finish in 19:08.3. Junior Ravenna Tysland was ninth in 19:13.9, freshman Emma Anderson took 10th in 19:15.3 and sophomore Taylor Gaschk finished 11th in 19:15.9. Freshman Leila Labuguen completed the Warriors' scoring five in 21st at 20:02.3, finishing 4.6 seconds ahead of Oak Harbor's fifth runner to help secure the title.
Mount Vernon junior Mia Checketts won the girls individual championship in 18:25.3. Shorewood sophomore Olivia Decker was the leading area finisher, taking second in 18:39.7. In the two-mile Unified races, Shorewood sophomore Daphne LaClergue won the girls event in 13:26.7, and Arlington's Derek Salmon won the boys race in 11:48.8. Shorewood junior John Tan placed third in the boys event in 14:30.0.
