Reporter staff
Despite a blustery day at the American Lake Golf Course south of Tacoma, Kentridge High School runners pushed through at the district meet to net state qualifying finishes for its boys team and one of its girls.
This marks just the second time in 25 years that the boys team has qualified for the state meet. The Chargers will compete at state on Saturday at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
The windy day last Saturday, combined with the general anxiety that comes from a high profile meet, didn’t faze the team, according to coach Ryan West.
“We’re lucky we’ve got kind of a senior-heavy group and that helped,” West said. “They were just really focused and calm. That really helped to have a bunch of those guys setting the tone for everybody else.”
Kentridge placed seventh in the boys division, qualifying them for a state championship slot. While the girls 10th-place finish didn’t net a state slot, West was still proud of the team to move up two slots from 12th place when they entered.
“The wind added an extra element to it. I don’t think either team ran their best race of the season,” West said.
Kentridge captain Isaac Derline’s time of 16:43:20 finished 15th overall, followed by sophomore Jacob Zielke in 16th with 16:43:43.
The Charger’s girls team had a rougher finish, with Kyra Kaiser’s 19:49.66 time netting her 21st place, distantly followed by sophomore Natasha Knipp, who came in 45th with a time of 20:49:31. Kaiser will compete solo in state.
Olivia Baerny, a Kent-Meridian freshman, was the top placer of the Kent schools runners with a 15th-place finish coming in at 19:37. Kent-Meridian finished ninth overall.
The Kentwood boys placed 10th, led by Jared McMeen who finished 18th.
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