MARYSVILLE — Snohomish County high school cross country teams descended upon Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville for the annual Tomahawk Twilight Invitational, a contest of endurance amid dark clouds and a three-mile rolling green-and-fairway course, on Oct. 1.
Arlington High School’s boys and girls varsity teams participated but did not come away with first-place finishes in their respective races.
The varsity boys placed 15th of 21 teams of which Garfield High School emerged victorious. Jared Alskog finished 49th in the run, Andrew Bosket 66th, Jameson Wren 69th, Austin Henderson 89th, Coleman Cummings 98th, Ben Comerford 120th and Mitch McGhee 128th.
The varsity girls finished 17th of 20 with 388 points behind race winner Eastlake High School. Kyle Kilmer finished 43rd individually, Shanelle Shirey 100th, Karissa Swain 111th, Katelyn James 114th, followed by Ginny James in 115th and Haley Duran who placed 141st.
Mike Shierk, Arlington’s cross country head coach of 10 years, doesn’t read too much into his teams’ Invitational results.
“We started out a little bit too quick. The kids are getting the idea, but we’re going to have to finish a little bit stronger if we’re going to compete the rest of the season. We’ll let the kids go a little quicker,” Shierk said. “We’d say, ‘Don’t you dare come across that first mile faster than 5 (minutes) 30 (seconds)’, but we’re just bluffing. I think they’ve got what it takes to make it to the state tournament. Our best race is at the end of the season — it’s yet to come.”
Also competing in their respective events were the 9-10 and 11-12 Boys and Girls.
Finishing eighth of 22 teams with 241 total points behind winner Skyline High School were the 9-10 Boys. Bryan Stehl finished 28th individually, followed by Danny Gonzales 36th, Nick Taylor 40th, Michael Forster 47th, Cody Duran 121st, Albert Abes 120th and Caleb Smith 125th.
In 11th place of 13 behind victor Skyline were the 9-10 girls, who finished with 277 points. Anna Deeter placed 49th overall, Elizabeth Kern 79th, Delaney Scott 84th, Taya Fure 96th and Erin Delaney 106th.
The 11-12 boys came in 19th of 28 with 568 total points as Bothell High claimed the race. Wyatt Shirey came through 89th, Austin McFadden 100th, Charles Gaudin 122nd, Angelo Mirante 125th, Ethan Rowe 199th and Matt Liberta 217th.
In 12th place in a group of 16 behind Sehome were Arlington’s 11-12 girls, totaling 328 points behind champion Sehome. Rosalie Boyle led her team, finishing 27th individually, Madison Hoskinson 81st, Justine Bailey 84th, Jollee Pullig 108th, Sonya Suderman 130th and Avery Scott 136th.
Arlington cross country competes next against Edmonds-Woodway High, Monroe High and host Mountlake Terrace High at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6.
