Though they were hardly able to sweep over the course as a wave of blue this time around, a small squad of Langley Middle School cross country runners still proved they knew what running was all about Thursday.
Running against 17 teams in the Cougar Invitational at Waterman Field, 45 South Whidbey seventh and eighth graders took three top team finishes against largely 3A and 4A competition, in spite of the fact only eight Cougars have past cross country experience.
“The kids did a great job when you consider the fact that only eight of the 45 team members had ever run in a meet,” said Jack Terhar, the team’s coach.
Most dominating were the eighth-grade boys. Picking up where last year’s undefeated eighth-grade squad left off, the 2002 Cougars almost monopolized the top 10. Jason Fitz won the race, and was followed closely by Jason Tenuta in third and Kurt Warwick. Also scoring for the team were Trevor Morgan and Ben Potter.
The eighth-grade girls races was shades of last year’s conference title fight. Attempting to knock off 2001 champion Valley View, the Falcons managed some top placings thanks to runners Anna Schmitt, Katy Gordon, Emily Grove, Amy Pfeiffer and Casey Brasko, but still wound up as runner ups, 17 points out of the team championship. The top three Cougars in the race, Schmitt, Gordon and Grove, all placed in the top 15 of the 66-runner race.
Also contracting a case of the runner-up blues were the seventh-grade boys. Jensen Conner and Nathan Camp placed third and fourth overall in the 100-athlete race, but that was not enough to take the win away from Arlington’s Post Middle School. Also scoring for the team were Jeff Potter and Marshall Banks.
The loneliest Cougar of the day was seventh grader Erica Johnson, who ran alone for the Cougars to place 15th of 71 runners. Terhar said the remainder of the team did not run due to a “rash” of inexplicable aches and pains.
Despite the poor turnout for that race, Terhar said the meet gave the season a good start.
“To pick up a first and two second place team finishes says a lot about these kids,” he said.
