Saturday's XC: Appersons Second, Third at District Championships

ONALASKA — Adna twins Austen and Lauryn Apperson finished second and third in their respective races here Saturday, heading up the local contingent qualifying for state at the District 4 2B Cross Country Championships.

Austen Apperson was the runner-up in the boys race, wrapping up the 5K course around Carlisle Lake in 15 minutes, 55 seconds — behind only Luke Schilter of Northwest Christian (Lacey), who won in 15:05. Onalaska’s Zach Wright was the only other Lewis County runner in the top 10, finishing seventh in 16:28.

Lauryn Apperson’s third-place finish in the girls race came in 19:55, behind a pair of NWC runners: Megan McSheffrey, who won in 18:54, and Ellie Summers was second in 19:03. Morton-White Pass’ Kaylen Collette was 10th in 20:44.

The top 35 individuals on the boys side and the top 28 on the girls side moved on to Saturday’s State Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, along with the top five boys teams and the top four girls teams.

Northwest Christian won both the boys and girls team titles, with seven of the top 13 boys runners and three of the top five girls.

Also qualifying on the boys side were Mossyrock’s Sean Johnson (20th, 17:49) and James Cushman (30th, 18:09), MWP’s Manual Martinez (25th, 18:03), and Adna’s Hayden VonBargen (26th, 18:05) and Lucas Wellander (30th, 18:08). The Pirates finished fifth as a team, meaning the entire varsity lineup — including Tyler Layden, Kaige Miller, Adam Mower and Aaron Slape — will also run in Pasco.

Mossyrock’s Sarah Lovan finished 24th (21:54) to qualify for the girls race, and MWP finished fourth to send its full lineup: Larkin Farrish, Jaylea Rahenkamp, Ellie Spencer, Alissa Hughes, Elexcious Hampton and Jenicia Goodnight.

The 1B/2B girls race starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the boys race starting at 11:30 a.m.

Four Locals Qualify for State

WOODLAND — Centralia’s Magdalena Wood-Richardson, Makayla Erickson and Daniel Morales and W.F. West’s Emma Moon all qualified for state with their performances here Saturday at the District 4 2A Cross Country Championships.

The top 21 individuals and three teams in both the boys and girls races qualified for Saturday’s state championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Morales, a junior, was the lone local qualifier in the boys race, taking 11th in 17 minutes, 4 seconds.

Wood-Richardson took 10th in 20:50 with teammate Erickson crossing the line two seconds later. Moon finished 21st in 21:38 to take the last spot to state.

The Bearcat junior had gone into the district meet with the fourth-best qualifying time, according to W.F. West coach Amber Cruzan, and was in fourth or fifth after the first mile and a half — before Moon was hit with an illness that slowed her over the last mile and caused her to collapse after the finish line.

“Talking to her about an hour after the ordeal, she doesn’t remember much of the last mile of the race,” Cruzan said. “Somehow, though, she was able to cross the line just in time.”

Ridgefield’s Lexie Rutheford won the girls race in 20:13, and Tumwater’s Evan Groat won the district boys title in 16:19.

Ridgefield, Tumwater and Washougal finished first, second and third to take the three team qualifying spots, in the same order, in both the boys and girls races.

The 2A girls race starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Pasco, with the 2A boys race starting at 1:30 p.m.