Seton Catholic’s Leone, Soto chase down 1A district cross country titles

WOODLAND — For Alexis Leone, racing this season as the reigning Class 1A state cross country champion hasn’t changed her approach.

“I’m just out here to run and see how I can do,” the Seton Catholic junior said. “I mean, I put in the work.”

Judging by her runaway victory Thursday at the Class 1A/2A District 4 championships, Leone is primed to chase a second state title Nov. 5 in Pasco.

Leone covered 5,000 meters at Lewis River Golf Course in 17 minutes, 52 seconds. That’s the second time Leone has gone under 18 minutes in her high school career.

Leone’s only faster result was 17:46 at the Meriwether Cross County Classic on Sept. 16.

“It has been pretty good,” Leone said of her junior season. “It was a little bumpy in the beginning, but I’m just waiting for state to see how I can rip a time out.”

Leone ran alone for almost the entire race. The next fastest runner was teammate Avery Garrison, 1:36 behind.

Kingsley Williams placed 10th to help Seton Catholic finish second in the team competition behind Columbia-White Salmon.

Seton’s Soto wins boys title

Sam Soto won the Class 1A boys title to make it a Seton sweep.

The sophomore pulled away mid-race and held on to win in 16:49, 11 seconds ahead of La Center’s Carter Sherry.

“We started out a little fast, which wasn’t the plan,” Soto said. “Afterwards, we just held the pace. It was a lot of work from there.”

Soto’s victory led a solid team performance by the Cougars. Oliver Dortmund finished fourth, Brett Lamey 10th, Ben Ross 14th and Elijah Wall 15th as Seton won with 40 points.

La Center, which had Logan Hubler place ninth and Sharp Young 13th, was second with 62 points.

Little separates Washougal, River girls

While cross country scores are tallied by a team’s top five runners, the sixth can make a difference.

That was the case in the Class 2A girls race, where Washougal and Columbia River tied with 74 points.

Washougal, however, won the district title as its sixth runner, Audrey Grice, finished four spots ahead of River’s sixth runner to break the tie.

Led by individual champion Sydnee Boothby and runner-up Elle Thomas, the Panthers are headed to state with a goal of a top-four finish.

“We try in our season and our training to be as unified as possible, whether it’s team bonding or a team dinner,” Thomas said. “We’re all super excited for (state). I think our drive we’ve had this entire season has helped with our mindset going into these bigger races.”

Boothby gradually built her lead over the rolling course, finishing in 18:24.

“I felt pretty good,” Boothby said. “It’s our first big, hilly course of the season. I think we did really well as a team, though.”

Thomas finished in 19:06 and freshman Gracie Perry placed sixth in 19:49 for the Panthers.

Columbia River finished just two points behind Washougal at the Class 2A Greater St. Helens League championships Oct. 20. Thursday, Hanna Bailey passed Ridgefield’s Charlize Kellmer in the final stretch to place third. Hanna Tran placed 10th and Mae Otoupal 12th for the Rapids.

Hockinson (85 points) got a fifth-place finish from freshman Lyla Taylor to place third.

Ridgefield (102 points) finished five points ahead of Fort Vancouver to earn the last of four team berths to state.

Tumwater takes 2A boys title

Tumwater’s John Hoffer outkicked Washougal’s Samuel Grice to win the Class 2A boys title and lead the Thunderbirds to a team victory.

Hoffer and Grice broke away from a seven-runner lead pack of the final mile. The Tumwater senior finished in 15:50, one second faster than the Washougal junior.

Columbia River, the 2A GSHL champion, had two runners in the lead pack. Neftali Menendez finished fourth in 16:13 and Jacob McManus placed seventh in 16:20. That helped the Rapids finish second in the team race with 92 points, 32 behind Tumwater.

Washougal (121 points) edged Shelton by one point for third place. Ridgefield (135 points) earned the last of five 2A boys berths to state.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS

2A DISTRICT 4 CHAMPIONSHIP

At Lewis River Golf Course, 5,000 meters

Team scores (top five to state) — Tumwater 62, Columbia River 94, Washougal 121, Shelton 122, Ridgefield 135, Woodland 214, Black Hills 218, Mark Morris 233, Hudson’s Bay 241, R.A. Long 246, Rochester 261, Aberdeen 310, Hockinson 311, Centralia 338, W.F. West 340, Fort Vancouver, inc.

Top individuals — 1, John Hoffer (T) 15:50; 2, Samuel Grice (Wa) 15:51; 3, Jacob Miller (S) 16:09; 4, Neftali Menendez (CR) 16:13; 5, Adam Williams (HB) 16:14.

Local teams

COLUMBIA RIVER — 4, Neftali Menendez 16:13; 7, Jacob McManus 16:20; 19, Kohl Ripplinger 17:08; 26, Eli Wenger 17:27; 38, Preston Graham 17:51; 42, Liam Morrisey 18:05; 52, Alex Hernandez 18:35.

FORT VANCOUVER — 44, Dylon Biesemeyer 18:08; 67, Brody Will 19:24; 98, Victor Ramos 21:48; 99, Kevlar Wood 21:49.

HOCKINSON — 46, Braden Roth 18:18; 57, Ian Guasco 18:54; 69, Gabriel Royce 19:29; 72, Thomas McGettigan 19:40; 75, Jaden Atchley 19:47; 76, Owen MacDonald 19:48 19:48; 89, Beckett Anderson 20:57.

HUDSON’S BAY — 5, Adam Williams 16:14; 56, Jordan Walker 18:53; 60, Joseph McRay 18:58; 61, Brendon Adams 18:58; 63, Sylas Allen 19:05, 87, Kayden Taylor 20:42; 92, Zeamarea Nelson 21:16.

RIDGEFIELD — 13, Liam Rapp 17:00; 18, Davis Sullivan 17:07; 27, Jack Radosevich 17:30; 36, Evan Hollis 17:45; 41, Gavin Gannon 18:01; 50, Brandon Nguyen 18:29; 58, Marco Garcia 18:55.

WASHOUGAL — 2, Samuel Grice 15:51; 24, Trey Keyser 17:18; 29, Nolan Johnson 17:35; 32, Carson Holmes 17:38; 34, Brandon Lee 17:40; 43, William Logan 18:06; 47, Liam Churchman 18:21.

WOODLAND — Alejandro Alvarado 16:45; 30, August Heidgerken 17:36; 54, Robert Gabalis 18:47; 59, Billy Veronica 18:57; 64, Estevan Rodriguez 19:05; 80, Yahair Gomez 19:56; 96, Derek Fechtner 21:21.

1A DISTRICT 4 CHAMPIONSHIP

At Lewis River Golf Course, 5,000 meters

Team scores (top three to state) — Seton Catholic 40, La Center 62, Montesano 81, Columbia-White Salmon 110, Eatonville 155, Castle Rock 160, King’s Way Christian 171, Tenino 180, Stevenson 242, Elma 260, Hoquiam, inc.

Top individuals — 1, Sam Soto (SC) 16:49; 2, Carter Sherry (LC) 17:00; 3, Timmy Higgins (H) 17:01; 4, Oliver Dortmund (SC) 17:09; 5, Camden Uffelman 17:24.

Local teams

KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN — 21, Caden Delamarter 18:06; 35, Luke Gomes 19:09; 36, Aiden Suchecki 19:15; 43, Caleb Silva 19:46; 49, Jaeden Freitas 20:22; 53, Hunter Baron 20:40; 55, Noah Sandhu 20:47.

LA CENTER — 2, Carter Sherry 17:00; 9, Logan Hubler 17:34; 13, Sharp Young 17:48; 20, Jacob Wasche 17:58; 22, Brady Sypher 10:06; 23, Lance Cole 18:16; 30, Aidan McDaid 18:42.

SETON CATHOLIC — 1, Sam Soto 16:49; 4, Oliver Dortmund 17:09; 10, Brett Lamey 17:36; 14, Ben Ross 17:49; 15, Elijah Wall 17:50; 25, Azriel Salcedo 18:23; 28, Easton Ross 18:39.

STEVENSON — 40, Brayden Hays 19:26; 44, Raymond Hays 19:47; 52, Leavitt Woodall-Schaeffer 20:39; 59, Mandal Nichols 21:03; 62, Jose Reynoso 21:26; 66, Liam King 21:48; 67, Colton Egnew 21:54.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS

2A DISTRICT 4 CHAMPIONSHIP

At Lewis River Golf Course, 5,000 meters

Team scores (top four to state) — Washougal 74, Columbia River 74, Hockinson 85, Ridgefield 102, Fort Vancouver 107, Hudson’s Bay 161, R.A. Long 162, Tumwater 179, Woodland 245, Black Hills 248, Centralia 255.

Top individuals — 1, Sydnee Boothby (Wa) 18:24; 2, Elle Thomas (Wa) 19:06; 3, Hanna Bailey (CR) 19:18; 4, Charlize Kellmer (R) 19:21; 5, Lyla Taylor (H) 19:44.

Local teams

COLUMBIA RIVER — 3, Hanna Bailey 19:18; 10, Hanna Tran 20:23; 12, Mae Otoupal 20:43; 21, Ainsley Morrisey 20:59; 34, Savannah Reynolds 21:47; 50, Jacquelyn Gallegos 22:59; 52, Gabrielle Briggs 23:18.

FORT VANCOUVER — 8, Sarah Gardner 20:13; 9, Dani Buttrell 20:20; 11, Molly Malone 20:38; 44, Heidi Williams 22:33; 47, Nola Morrisey 22:43.

HOCKINSON — 5, Lyla Taylor 19:44; 15, Lily Ritton 20:55; 18, Scarlett Sanders 20:56; 28, Taylor Souders 21:21; 29, Sofia Solari 21:27; 31, Julia Ritton 21:32; 33, Kaydie Boettcher 21:46.

HUDSON’S BAY — 20, Miranda Gonzales 20:57; 22, Kaylynn Wickwire 21:00; 38, Mollie Miller 22:02; 51, Brandi Damos 23:13; 53, Shianne Kasinger 23:32; 75, Stella Billingsley 27:32.

RIDGEFIELD — 4, Charlize Kellmer 19:21; 13, Cordelia Ashley 20:44; 19, Elizabeth Swift 20:57; 37, Ella Ross 21:58; 42, Nicolette Hulse 22:18; 54, Piper Gannon 23:36; 57, Sarah Proctor 23:44.

WASHOUGAL — 1, Sydnee Boothby 18:24; 2, Elle Thomas 19:06; 5, Lyla Taylor 19:44; 32, Lauren Filipczak 21:43; 43, Emily Swigert 22:19; 46, Audrey Grice 22:40; 55, Danica Stinchfield 23:38.

WOODLAND — 25, Couly McReynolds 21:02; 60, Julia Fioravante 24:37; 61, Haylee Kelley 24:49; 63, BrookLynn Donald; 67, Lucy Sams 25:59; 68, Karina Wiest 26:10; 71, Jaylee Graham 26:35.

1A DISTRICT 4 CHAMPIONSHIP

At Lewis River Golf Course, 5,000 meters

Team scores (top three to state) — Columbia-White Salmon 51, Seton Catholic 62, Eatonville 96, Elma 98, Stevenson 103, Montesano 111, Castle Rock 128, King’s Way Christian, inc., La Center inc., Hoquiam, inc.

Top individuals — 1, Alexis Leone (SC) 17:52; 2, Avery Garrison (SC) 19:28; 3, Jane Roloff (H) 19:34; 4, Grace Coonrod (Ea) 20:11; 5, Ella Zimmerman (CWS) 20:17.

Local teams

KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN — 15, Autumn Gaudet 22:49; 24, Makayla Buck 24:11; 41, Irene Bueno 27:13; 48, Amelia Meyer 28:47.

LA CENTER — 7, Isabella Higgins 20:49; 29, Lily Huston-Allen 24:51; 34, Kylee Adams 26:08; 45, Samantha Moore 28:32.

SETON CATHOLIC — 1, Alexis Leone 17:52; 2, Avery Garrison 19:28; 10, Kingsley Williams 22:16; 26, Remy Jenniges 24:42; 40, Addison Miller 27:04; 54, Chloe Chase 33:56; 55, Chloe Harbolt 36:23.

STEVENSON — 17, Ruby Langer 23:00; 21, Alaska Jones 23:17; 27, Sarah Zeigenfuss 24:46; 31, Abrielle Owens 25:44; 38, Ryan Jackson 26:22; 46, Sofia Mendez-Hernandez 28:35; 56, Jaidy Reynoso Gonzalez 40:36.