Recaps from Hole in the Wall and Bill Kehoe Invites.
When October rolls around, and high school athletes are on the brink of running their fastest times of the year, it can only mean one thing -- Nike Hole in the Wall is here.
The Nike Hole in the Wall Invite made its long-awaited return to Lakewood High School this past weekend after going virtual this last fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic with 100 plus teams and over 3,000 runners competing.
Nationally ranked Jesuit boy's and girl's teams proved to be the best in the Pacific Northwest as they each won their respective team titles in the elite races over Washington's top teams.
Jesuit beat out Tahoma in the girl's race 68-154, led by Chloe Forester's first-place run in a season-best 5k time of 17:01.1. Teammate Emma Bennett ran a personal best 17:42.9 to finish in ninth.
Franklin of Oregon's Kaiya Robertson finished in second running a personal best 17:13.4, and Bellarmine's Ella Borsheim was third in 17:14.5. Skyline's Sydney Collier (6th, 17:31.5) and Ellensburg's Kate Laurent (7th, 17:31.9) rounded out the top 10 finishers for Washington.
Lewis and Clark finished in third with 160 points, led by Audrey Thronson's 14th place personal best run of 17:51.5. Skyline was sixth with 230 points, and Bellarmine scored 250 to place eighth.
The Jesuit boys had a pair of runners finish in the top 10 in the boy's race to lead them past Bishop Blanchet 67-118, led by Jacob Nenow's third-place personal best run of 15:02, and a 10th place run from Gus Clevenger in 15:27.3.
Sherwood's James Crabtree ran a personal best 14:45.5 to win the boy's race and set a new course record. Eisenhower's Jonas Price held the previous record from the 2019 season in 14:49.9. Charlie North from Franklin of Oregon was second in 14:54.9.
Washington's top runner was Blanchet's Will Schneider in a personal best 14:54.9 to place third. Other top finishers included Selah's Cooper Quigley (5th, 15:10.8), Arlington's Aiden Emerson (8th, 15:22.6), and Eastlake's Ethan Pedersen (9th, 15:25.6).
Woodinville bounced back from their performance at Curtis with a fifth-place team finish scoring 228 points. Kya Villanueva was the Falcons' top runner placing 29th in a personal best 15:55.9. Arlington was sixth with 233 points, and Tahoma was seventh with 241.
In other races throughout the day, Anacortes took home the team and individual titles in the girl's varsity gold races. The Seahawks scored 92 points to defeat Camas' 119, while Jessica Frydenlund ran a personal best 17:48.3 to win her sixth race of the year. Camas' Gracie Buzzell was second in a personal best 18:15.5.
Squalicum won the boy's varsity gold race title over Camas 126-180, with four runners finishing within 17 seconds of each other. Ben Latta was 13th overall for the Storm running 16:22.5. Shorecrest's Luke Schmidt won the individual crown in a personal best 15:26.3.
Stanwood's Leia Jones led the Spartans to a first-place finish scoring 165 points in the girl's varsity silver race with a first-place finish in a personal best 18:50.4.
Kentlake's Josh Harrington edged out The Northwest School's Stephen Bleakley-Harris by a second to win the boy's varsity silver race in a personal best 15:55.4. Liberty of Issaquah won the team title scoring 61 points.
Central Kitsap Girls Defeat Top-ranked 1A team with Strong Pack Running
Taylor Nichols and Camryn Bishoff placed top 10 at the Bill Kehoe Invite at St. Martin's University to lead a strong team performance from Central Kitsap passed top-ranked 1A team Seton Catholic in the girl's elite race.
Nichols placed ninth overall as the Cougars' top runner in a time of 19:18, and Bishoff ran a personal best 19:27.10 to place 10th. Alongside these two, four other Central Kitsap girls ran personal best times and finished within 31 seconds of each other to help them score 68 points to Seton Catholic's 83.
Seton Catholic did manage to get two of the top three individual spots led by Alexis Leone's first-place run of 18:10.10. Lara Carrion was third in 18:37.40.
Hannah Lee led Peninsula to a third-place team finish of 94 points as she ran to a second-place in a personal best 18:17.30. Elektra Higgins was also in the top 10 for Peninsula, running a personal best 18:52.10 to finish fifth.
Olympia's Ethan Coleman dropped his second sub-15 minute performance of the year in back-to-back weeks to win the boy's elite race in 14:52.70. Olympia finished second in team scoring with 98 points.
Puyallup won the team title with 92 points, led by Cian Monaghan's second-place finish in 16:03.10. Nate Herrick was another Viking in the top 10, running a personal best 16:23.60 to finish in seventh.
Other top individual runs in the boy's race included Tumwater's John Hoffer (3rd, 16:07.10) and Central Kitsap's Blake Reynolds (4th, 16:17.20).
In the silver varsity races, both Pope John II teams won their respective titles. The boys scored 69 points beating out Peninsula, while the girls scored 55 to defeat White River.
Asher Ingram of Northwest Christian of Lacey won the individual boy's title in a personal best 16:37.6, and Cedar Tree Classical's Suzie Johnson won the girl's race in a personal best 19:13.20.