Falcons hold their own at Hole in the Wall / Cross country

By Jim Waller • October 14, 2019 1:30 am
South Whidbey’s Michael Harwell, left, nears the finish line in the Hole in the Wall Invitational. Harwell finished 22nd out of 433 in his division. (Photo by Karen Swegler)
South Whidbey’s Michael Harwell, left, nears the finish line in the Hole in the Wall Invitational. Harwell finished 22nd out of 433 in his division. (Photo by Karen Swegler)

Competing in the largest meet in the Pacific Northwest and against some of the best teams in the region, the South Whidbey High School cross country team rose to the occasion at the Hole in the Wall Invitational at Lakewood High School Saturday, Oct. 12.

All of the varsity Falcons posted personal- or season-best times in the meet which featured 146 schools, 13 divisions and more than 4,500 runners from five states and British Columbia.

The South Whidbey boys finished sixth in the division for teams with an average time of over 18 minutes. Five of the six top-ranked 1A teams in the state took part Saturday, and although they didn’t all run in the same division, South Whidbey placed second among 1A schools behind No. 1 Medical Lake when merging the results.

The Falcons jumped from fifth to third in the latest state 1A pool.

6A Jesuit of Portland, ranked 15th in the country, won the division with 68 points; South Whidbey, which was missing No. 4 runner Reilly McVay because of an injury, tallied 305.

The Jesuit team is so deep, it also won the division for teams with an average time of under 18 minutes.

The individual champion in the Falcons’ division was Isaiah Ellis of Lynden, covering the 5,000-meter course in 15:53.7.

Michael Harwell paced South Whidbey, placing 22nd out of 433 in 16:42.2.

Thomas Simms was 48th (17:10.9), Cooper Ullmann 54th (16:14), Aidan Donnelly 60th (17:16.5), Aidan O’Brien 129th (17:57.1), Trent Hogarth 218th (18:33.1) and Preston Leon 251st (18:44.4).

“The junior pack of Simms, Ullmann and Aidan Donnelly worked together well and had nice season PRs, while Michael had a strong run,” coach Doug Fulton said.

Fulton added that Drew Larson set a personal record and posted a top-seven team time (18:21.2) while placing ninth in the junior varsity race.

Kaia Swegler Richmond registered the best individual finish by a Falcon, taking second out of 344 in the varsity girls race for teams with an average over 22:30.

The junior sliced 25 seconds off her career best with an 18:50.5. Central Kitsap’s Maya Nichols won in 18:34.

As a team, the Falcon girls placed 23rd (ninth among 1A schools) despite missing one of its top runners, Flannery Friedman, with 709 points. Jesuit finished first with 84. And, like the Jesuit boys, the Crusaders also won the other varsity race.

Grace Huffman ran 141st (21:51.2) for South Whidbey. Jasmine Graner was 153rd (22:01.1), Natalie Rodriguez 202nd (22:39.3) and Laila Gmerek 285th (23:45.1).

“The girls all ran significant season PRs in the crowded field,” Fulton said. “Kaia had a strong run…(and) Grace and Jasmine also recorded career-best marks, while Natalie took nearly two minutes of her season best 5K.”

South Whidbey finishes the regular season when it joins Coupeville at King’s at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17.

The Falcons return to Lakewood for the North Sound Conference Championships at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.

The Falcons’ Kaia Swegler Richmond heads up a hill on the way to finishing second out of 344 runners in her division. Her time of 18:55.5 is one of the fastest in school history. (Photo by Matt Simms)

The Falcons’ Kaia Swegler Richmond heads up a hill on the way to finishing second out of 344 runners in her division. Her time of 18:55.5 is one of the fastest in school history. (Photo by Matt Simms)