Hornets on both side of the river going to cross country Westside Classic

The athletes and teams that do well at this district tourney will move on to state.

All four Plateau cross country programs – that’s the boys’ and girls’ teams from both Enumclaw and White River high schools – are headed to Saturday’s Westside Classic.

The Classic serves as a district meet for schools from the 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A ranks and determines which individuals and teams will advance to the Nov. 4 state championships. The Oct. 28 Westside Classic will be staged at the Chambers Creek site in University Place and the state meet is set for Nov. 4 at its traditional home, Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

The Plateau teams advanced by virtue of strong showings during the Oct. 21 league meet at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood. Enumclaw’s boys topped the Class 2A field while the girls’ team took second-place honors. White River’s girls dominated the field to win the league meet and the WRHS boys placed fourth.

Here’s a quick look at how the local programs stacked up.

ENUMCLAW BOYS

Hornet senior McCoy Brooks won the league meet with a time of 15 minutes, 28 seconds, while fellow senior Evan Cheney was fourth at 16:36. Rounding out the district-bound squad were Elliott Cheney, 14^th place; Ellis Behrens, 15^th; Michael Poleski, 16^th; Tegan Smith-Jones, 28^th; and Jack Blair, 46^th.

WHITE RIVER BOYS

Junior Michael Marlow was the first WRHS runner across the finish line, placing third in the field of 58 runners with a time of 16:27. Also competing at the league meet and helping the team advance were Cannon Ross, 19^th place; Eli Long, 22^nd; Porter Simmons, 24^th; Oliver Schramm, 25^th; Josiah Dehnert, 31^st; and Anthony Riggs, 39^th.

WHITE RIVER GIRLS

The Hornets captured the league meet championship by placing four girls in the top 10. Setting the pace was senior Emma Tomlinson who was the all-league individual champion with a time of 19:28. Vivian Kingston placed third, Paeton Poelman was fourth and Nativity Leddy was seventh. Also running and advancing as part of the team were Evelyn Holmes, 13^th place; Lily Rodarte, 16^th; and Paityn Kaydus, 21^st.

ENUMCLAW GIRLS

The top finisher for the EHS squad was sophomore Lillian Haas, who clocked a time of 20:15 to place fifth in the field of 56. Also competing were Ava Sawyer, 11^th place; Avery Marecle, 12^th; Stella Grant, 15^th; Brynne Stafford, 23^rd; Kami Bullock, 28^th; and Sydney Poe, 43^rd.