Arlington boys and girls cross country teams earn second place at Districts

Arlington High School cross country runners finished second in both the boys and girls District 1/2 4A championships at Lakewood High School on Saturday. The Eagles earned team berths for the state meet in Pasco, which takes place next week.

The girls' team scored 106 points to finish behind Issaquah, which posted 94. Fifth-place Glacier Peak recorded 132 points and also advanced. Anabelle Klein, a senior, anchored the Arlington group with a ninth-place individual finish in 18:15.8. That time broke the school record that freshman Ellie Oakes had set earlier in the season. Oakes ran 18:17.1 at the Nike Hole in the Wall XC Invitational on October 10 to surpass Klein's previous mark by slightly more than two seconds.

Klein described the competition between the two runners as healthy. "She took it from me this year, so then I was like, 'Oh, I got to get that back,'" Klein said. "So yeah, that was pretty cool." Klein stuck with the front pack for the first part of the race before falling back slightly in the second mile. She regained ground in the final mile to finish two seconds ahead of Redmond junior Lenorah McGarty.

Coach Jon Murray noted that the team aimed for a top-four finish to guarantee a state slot. "And I don't think they ran perfect today. I think they ran well, but getting second, that was a big deal for them," Murray said. The Arlington girls also had strong individual performances from freshman Brooklyn Koenigs, who placed 21st, and junior Iylee Belisle, who placed 20th.

The boys' team placed second with a score of 72 points. Skyline won the team title with 53 points. Jackson sophomore Carter Corrigan took the individual title with a time of 15:27.3. He beat Skyline senior Yashveer Brar in a final kick to the finish line. Arlington's top five runners included junior Jadon Cairus, who placed fourth in 15:46.4, junior Chase Koenigs, who placed eighth in 15:50.8, and senior Joshua Nguyen, who placed 11th in 15:53.0.

Nguyen said the race started faster than he anticipated, with him crossing the first mile in approximately 4:50. He adjusted his pace after seeing competitors lose strength around the two-mile mark. "I had to make up for them, and just had to do it for my brothers to make up the points," Nguyen said. The team had missed the state meet by one point last season, ending an 11-year qualifying streak.

Arlington athletes also competed in the 2-mile Ambulatory and Unified events. Senior Ramon Little won the District Ambulatory title with a time of 11:44.8. Senior Derek Salmon won the Boys Unified race in 11:48.8. Freshman Kaelyn Roehl placed third in the Girls Unified race with a time of 17:02.2.

The state meet will be held in Pasco. The top five teams and the top 35 individual runners from the district championship qualified for that event.