Marsh leads Chiefs' runners

EAST WENATCHEE - Moses Lake High School's cross country teams began their fall season Saturday with a pair of defeats at the Eastmont Invite.

The Chiefs' boys team compiled 44 points to finish behind second-place Eastmont (39) and first-place Wenatchee (38) on the 3-mile Eastmont High School course. Moses Lake's girls didn't field a complete team, with Wenatchee scoring 15 points to easily defeat Eastmont (50).

Jeff Marsh turned in the top time for Moses Lake's boys, finishing fourth overall in 17 minutes, 14 seconds. That mark was way ahead of the pace Marsh set last season, when his best time was 17:45.

Eastmont's Micah Spaun (17:04) and Ross Lindell (17:07) swept the top two spots, with Wenatchee's Skyler Tidd third at 17:09.

Ari Santiago also had a solid performance for the Chiefs, taking sixth in 17:26, 40 seconds better than his fastest time of 2006.

Other finishers for Moses Lake included senior co-captain Daniel Jenkins (eighth in 17:50), Skyler Hoffer (12th in 18:10), senior co-captain Nick McAlavy (14th in 18:22), junior Erik Chambers (20th in 19:19) and freshman Tanner Hunt (21st in 19:55). Jenkins, Hoffer and Chambers all bettered their top times of 2006 at Eastmont.

"Many of the returning runners have worked hard over the summer to improve," Chiefs coach Jennifer Carpenter said via e-mail.

On the girls' side, Kayla Chamberlain was Moses Lake's top finisher in 21:33, good for sixth overall. Chamberlain's pace was 28 seconds faster than her best from last year. Likewise, junior captain Kristin Budeslich turned in a personal-record time of 21:44, taking seventh.

Amy Cromer, 15th in 24:11, and Dani Holle, 21st in 25:49, rounded out the results for Moses Lake's girls.

Wenatchee's Skye Pauly won the race in 19:22, with teammates Emily Hazen, Erin Kuest, Chelan Pally and Leanne Thorson sweeping the top five spots.

The Chiefs run again tomorrow when they face Wenatchee in a 4 p.m. start time at Walla Walla Point Park.