Seven members of the Evergreen Storm Track Club will compete at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics Cross Country National Championships on Dec. 12 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Tyler Dinh, Alden Fay, Daniela De La Paz, Shun Yamaguchi, Grace Maruca, Arianna Cline and Savanah Kehler qualified for the nationals by finishing in the top 30 for their age groups during the Region 13 championships on Nov. 21 in Pasco.
Kehler, a senior at Heritage High School, placed fourth in the girls 17-18 race at regionals. It was the highest finish for an Evergreen Storm runner. Cline placed eighth in the girls ages 15-16 race at regionals.
De La Paz placed sixth in the girls 11-12 age group at regionals. Storm coach Scott Timmons praised De La Paz for bouncing back from a difficult race at the Association championships earlier in the month.
Dinh placed 20th and Fay 21st in the boys 11-12 age group at the regionals as the Storm placed sixth as a team, one spot out of qualifying for nationals as a team.
“A great effort and experience for a very young group,” Timmons said, noting that half of the team were first-year cross country runners.
At the Pacific Northwest Association championships on Nov. 14 in Seattle, Dinh won his second consecutive individual title. He won the boys 11-12 race a year after taking first place in the 9-10 age group.
Yamaguchi, a freshman at Mountain View High School, placed eighth at regionals in the race for boys ages 13-14. He finished a close second in the Association race at Seattle.
Maruca finished 27th in the girls 13-14 age division, leading a Storm team that placed sixth and narrowly missed advancing to nationals as a team.
“They supported one another all season and have made tremendous strides in their training,” Timmons said of a team that includes students from Shahala, Liberty and Gaiser middle schools. “I have no doubt that this group of young ladies will be heard from for years to come.”
Anyone wishing to support the Storm’s trip to Albuquerque for nationals can send an email to evergreenstormtrackclub@gmail.com.
Storm results from the regional and association races are in the Community Sports Scoreboard.
