Local teams compete in Cross Country Battle for 509

COLFAX - The 6th Annual Cross Country Battle for the 509 meet took place Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Spokane Polo Grounds.

The meet saw 61 high school teams send athletes to compete on race day.

The local Whitman County teams that attended the event were the Colfax Bulldogs and the Garfield-Palouse (GAR-PAL) Vikings.

The first high school event that took place was the combined freshman 5,000 m race.

In the race, the overall winner on the boys side was Lucas Clements of Lewiston. He ran his race in 16:41. The overall girls winner was Avery Parker of Mead, who ran 19:34.5.

There were no GAR-PAL or Colfax girl freshman runners who competed.

On the boys side, the highest finishing Whitman County athlete was Ethan Lawson. He finished 23rd after his race of 19:42.8. Other freshman runners for the Vikings were Spaulding Vulliet and Gage Adams, who finished 88th and 90th, respectfully.

Bulldog freshman Cage Cox finished 97th in the race, his time was 27:56.

Cox was the only Colfax participant in any event on the day.

The next race was the varsity girls red race, which was for an average race time below 21:30.

There were no Whitman County runners.

In the boys red race, Isaiah Hightree finished 84th for the Vikings. He ran his race in 18:37.1. Also for the Vikings was Ayden Bassler, who took 100th after running 18:52.9. Liam Cook also ran for the Vikings, taking 184th.

The next event was the girls 5,000 m black top division race. This race was for athletes with an average below 21:30 as well.

The overall winner was Logan Hofstee of East Valley, her time was 17:03.5.

For Whitman County, Ashleigh Hightree led the way, finishing 45th for the Vikings. Her race time was 20:07.

Courage Hightree finished 64th, she ran 20:45.5.

In the boys black division race, the overall winner was Lachlan May of Coeur D'Alene. His race time was 15:00.4. Coeur D'Alene finished first, second, third, and fourth in the meet.

The highest finishing Viking was Brendan Snekvik. He finished 36th, his time was 16:27.5.

Kieran Snekvik finished 55th, his race was 16:44.6.