Hoquiam event not a record-setter for cross country team

At the Hoquiam Invitational last Saturday, the Falcons did not run fast enough to be contenders for a team title; in fact both the boys and girls teams just made it into the top three of the 2A/A/B team competition at the huge all-comers meet.

October 12, 2002 11:00 am
South Whidbey High School junior James Sundquist finishes strong in the recent South Whidbey Invitational. He continued to lead the Falcon boys last weekend at the Hoquiam Invitational
South Whidbey High School junior James Sundquist finishes strong in the recent South Whidbey Invitational. He continued to lead the Falcon boys last weekend at the Hoquiam Invitational

After using each race so far this season to run faster than the one before it, South Whidbey’s cross country runners had to slow down something.

At the Hoquiam Invitational last Saturday, the Falcons did not run fast enough to be contenders for a team title; in fact both the boys and girls teams just made it into the top three of the 2A/A/B team competition at the huge all-comers meet.

Racing on what team coach Doug Fulton called an “off day,” the boys and girls nonetheless ran close to some of their better performances this season. Racing in separate heats depending on their ranks on the team, the Falcon runners held their own for the most part. On the boys side, junior James Sundquist was the top finisher for South Whidbey, taking 34th in the day’s fastest heat with a time of 17:07. Coming up with the the only big improvement for the boys was JD Peters, who ran a 17:32 to place 11th in his heat and to lodge the second-best South Whidbey run on the day.

On the girls side, junior Callie Supsinskas was the leader, running a 20:37 to 23rd place in the second-fastest heat of the day. Kellie Degraaf was the team’s big improver, running a personal-best 21:18 in the meet’s junior varsity race.

The Falcons compete next at the North County Invitational in Marysville Thursday.