The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Our first outing of the season came last Tuesday at the Naselle Jamboree. Unfortunately only two teams were able to make it, Naselle and Wahkiakum. In that regard, it was a very quick meet.

Naselle had no middle school girls ready yet so the Wahkiakum girls placed first and took all six top spots in this finishing order: 1. Shona Heywood 6:51.69, 2. Mya Kirzy 6:59.42, 3. Trynity Mendez 8:21.25, 4. Aly Kirzy 8:32.22, 5. Katy Stacey 9:56.72, and 6. Kyra Scuito 12.17. Shona and Mya are the only returning athletes for middle school, and they will be battling it out all season.

The other six girls, including Ayesha Ahmed and Kaylin Bingham, are all first timers. They are slowly learning that cross country is more than just going out and running. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the season brings with this group of girls.

At the high school level, we are a little shorter on numbers. Our boys team consists of four runners, but only two were eligible for this meet.

Naselle had no boys, so Brady LaBerge got his first win as a Mule XC runner. He finished the two mile course in 12:33. Luke Stacey was right behind him in 14:25.20.

For the Mule girls, Rory Heywood brings two years of middle school experience to the high school level, as well as leadership capabilities. She lead the Wahkiakum charge placing second behind Naselle's Katie Green, with a time of 15:32.43. First year XC runner Shelbie Abbott placed fifth in 16:46.18, and Jenna McEntire was sixth in 16:49.07.

Our plan for the season is to work really hard so that when districts roll around we will be able to be in contention for state placement. But right now we take things one practice at a time, doing the absolute best we can, and then one meet at a time, applying what we have practiced in the days prior. It should be a fun and adventurous season!

Photo--Left to right: Mule runner Rory Heywood and Comet runner Katie Green