Four local schools made the way up to Pierce County on Saturday, with Mossyrock, Adna, Tenino, and W.F. West all joining a crowded field at the 26th John Payne Invitational, hosted by Curtis High School.
With 77 schools all taking part, the varsity portion of the meet was split an extra time, with two separate boys and girls races being run.
Adna junior Jordan Stout, the only local competitor classified into a “Division I” race, took 86th with a time of 18:21.8.
Mossyrock senior Christian Paz Tapia had the best overall time of the local boys, finishing 27th in the “Division II” race in 18:07.3. Miguel Gomez was 67th for the Vikings in 18:49.8, and Hugo Wedam was 74th in 18:53.3.
Jaysen Miles (18:27.4) led W.F. West with a 49th-place finish, while Ezra Birchard (18:39.9) came in 12 seconds behind him to take 58th.
Mercedes Ricks led the Bearcats’ girls with a 71st-place time of 23:49.6 in the Division II race. Mossyrock freshman Joan Wedam was 87th, running the course in 24:25.2
Rochester, Toledo, Oakville run in Longview
Squads from both Washington and Oregon came to Longview on Saturday to race at the Harvest Classic, including a trio of local teams in Rochester, Toledo, and Oakville.
Toledo sophomore Treyton Marty led all local competitors, covering the 5,000-meter course in 16:29.30 to finish fourth overall in the boys race. Rochester’s Taydee Evenstar finished eighth with a time of 18:22.10, while Toledo’s Conner Olmstead ran the course in 19:10.40 to finish 17th.
Rochester sophomore Elisha Salman finished 27th in 20:10.50, the only other local runner in the top 30 out of a field of 75 runners.
Oakville junior Mercedes Dupont, the only Acorn runner in Longview, led all local runners in the girls race, taking 11th overall with a time of 24:03.70. Toledo’s Jasmine Kemmerer was 16th with a time of 25:50.80, with Jasmine Clark two spots behind her at 26:36.20.
MWP Races at Apple Ridge
A pack of Timberwolves went across the mountains over the weekend, as the Morton-White Pass cross country team participated in the Apple Ridge Run Invitational on Saturday.
Sophomore Hunter Bracket led MWP in the boys 3-mile district course race, finishing fifth with a time of 18:08. Senior Eric Brown was 11th at 18:33, while junior Anthony Snyder (20:47) was 39th, Keaton Thompson (21:52) was 54th, and Aiden Kampa (22:22) was 60th.
Ayricka Hughes (23:43) took 13th in the girls race for the T-Wolves.
