Cougar XC competes with states best

Though the boys and girls cross country teams at Lakewood are among the states best in their division, they werent the only stars at the South Whidbey Invitational Sept. 15.

Though the boys and girls cross country teams at Lakewood are among the states best in their division, they werent the only stars at the South Whidbey Invitational Sept. 15.
The Cougars competed up in the division one race, which, particularly on the girls side, meant some fierce competition. The girls race included the top-ranked teams from the 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A divisions.
The boys side was no more of a cakewalk.
It was probably the most competitive race until state, said Lakewood coach Jeff Sowards.
Individually, junior Nick Devier might have had the best day as a Cougar. With a 16:07 finish, Devier took eighth place overall and broke the school record in the 5k, held for two years by Lakewood alum Tyler Rapp. Devier was also just four seconds behind 2A-rival Sehomes leader, Mason McHenry.
Less than a minute separated the next five Lakewood runners. Sophomore Taylor Guske finished 35th overall, in 16:58, followed by senior captain Terrence Ordonez in 17:18, sophomore Chad Skiles in 17:38 and seniors Austin Young and Miles Rossow in 17:52 and 17:53.
That teamwork helped the Cougar boys to an eighth-place team finish, just two points ahead of 2A competition West Valley Spokane.
The 4A-reigning Gig Harbor bested the girls competition, while the Cougars finished 12th overall. Senior Sarah Dunn led her teammates with a faster time at South Whidbey than she had at districts last year, Sowards said.
He added that the girls just down the varsity roster showed a lot of improvement. Freshman Chelsea Stokes and sophomore Amber Burnell finished together, and fourth and fifth for the team with a time just under 23 minutes. Freshman Tasha Bartol finished 78th overall in a time of 23:07.
A couple of young girls have made some vast improvements and are running very well, Sowards said of the trio. It helps a lot more than just the top three girls being really solid.
Though Lakewood ran a 5k at Sultan in their Sept. 13 season opener, the level of competition at South Whidbey was a barometer of where the team stands early in the season.
Sowards said he was happy with the teams progress.
The boys average at the meet was five seconds faster per athlete than our last year district times, so were well ahead of last year. Were obviously pleased with how they ran, he said. Sowards added of the girls, We were real pleased, real proud of their performances.