LHS Boys and Girls Cross County Win State!
Both Lakeside High School Boys and Girls Cross Country teams dominated their respective state meet races Saturday, Nov 5th in Pasco, WA to each bring home a 2011 State 1A XC Championship trophy.
The Girls' first place win was the first ever for the Lakeside Girls, who took 4th the last three years, while it was the 6th state championship for the Boys. The Boys came in to the race as the defending 2010 State Champions. Both were 2011 league and regional champions.
The Eagles Girls were led by freshman Lindy Jacobson, who was 6th overall and set a new personal record of 18:53.6, scoring 6 team points (TP). Three other Lakeside girls mounted the podium with Jacobson to receive a top 16 individual medal, including senior Vanessa Ahrendt (12th overall, 19:46, 10 TP), junior Sofie Marikis (15th, 19:49.7, 11 TP) and sophomore Megan Ahrendt (16th, 19:49.9, 12 TP).
Junior Mary Daniel rounded out the team scoring with her 27th individual place, running the course in 20:23.2 for 20 team points. Senior Michelle Sobisky added 23 team points to the moot tie-breaker kitty with her 31st place finish, running the course in 20:34.4. Freshman Stefanie Marikis ran a 22:12.4 to come in a strong 84th out of 143 runners.
The Eagles' team score of 59 points overwhelmed the field, with closest competitor, fellow Northeast A League member and defending 1A State Champion Riverside, coming in with 86 points and the private west side Northwest School, home to individual winner Maddie Meyers (17:54.6) and second place finisher Hazel Carr (18:37), coming in with 92 points. King's took home the fourth place trophy with 118 points.
The boys scored 79 team points to also dominate the competition, with second place NEA member Colville earning 108 points, King's 109, and Charles Wright Academy 167.
The Eagles Boys were paced by sophomore Ryan Coffman (10th individual, 16:36, 7 team points) and senior Michael Anderson (12th, 16:44, 10 TP), who were the Lakeside recipients of a top 16 individual medal. The leaders were closely followed by senior Jake Widman (18th, 16:52, 12 TP), sophomore JT Lauderdale (37th, 17:21, 25 TP), sophomore Donovan Dewey (38th, 17:24, 26 TP), junior Cody Constant (48th, 17:33, 32 tie-breaker team points) and senior Jimmy Spencer (79th out of 144, 17:57).
The depth of the Eagles' teams was impressively strong enough that just the two through six girls runners would have still won by a 10 point margin with a team score of 76 and the two through six boys runners would have still won by a 3 point margin with a team score of 105.