With a spot at state on the line, several Lewis and Thurston County runners made their mark Thursday at the District 4 1A/2A Cross Country Championships.
In class 1A, the Tenino boys ran, with the top-21 runners advancing to the state championships Nov. 6. The qualifying runners for the Beavers were sophomore Carson Hart, who finished eighth with a time of 18:01, and freshman Tristan Von Bargen, who ran an 18:42, good for the 21st and last state bid.
On the boys side in 2A, Tumwater’s John Hoffer finished third to earn a state bid, running 5,000 meters in 16:13, with Rochester senior Levi Jennings not far behind in sixth in 16:51.
Other state qualifiers for the 2A boys are: Tumwater sophomore Brenden Hamilton (12th in 17:16), Tumwater sophomore Nathan Klingelhoffer (15th in 17:26), Centralia junior Devin Harrison (17th in 17:28), W.F. West senior Henry Jordan (19th in 17:31) and Rochester senior Gabe Stuard (20th in 17:32). Jordan has now qualified for state all four years.
On the girls side for 2A, W.F. West freshman Mercedes Ricks was the top area finisher, going seventh in 20:38. The top-28 runners advance to state, and the other area qualifiers were all from Tumwater: senior Lucia Amantea (12th in 20:54), freshman Rachel Zahn (16th in 21:08), and senior Olivia Marty (23rd in 21:27).
The 2A State Championships will also be Nov. 6 in the Tri-Cities.
