Royal Cross Country boys, girls finish 9-0

ROYAL CITY - Sports fans around here love their football. After all, they have a dominant high school team.

But there is another Royal High School athletic program that's dominant in its own realm. Royal cross country, which has a long string of state meet appearances, is looking at another successful post-season.

After finishing the SCAC league season 9-0, both teams will be favored this Thursday at the SCAC district meet at Highland.

The girls need only second place to advance to state, the boys third place. Both defeated all of the district qualifiers during league competition.

"We're looking forward to the challenge, and we hope to be peaking at just the right time," coach Ben Orth said.

Royal Cross Country claimed both SCAC league titles last week, wrapping up undefeated league seasons. Running the 3.1 mile Connell course for the second time this year, many runners showed a great deal of improvement over the first time.

The boys defeated Connell, 18-41, and Kiona-Benton, 15-50. The girls won 15-48 and 15-50 over the same teams.

In the boy's race, Riley Lefler took top honors for the second time this year by bringing in a solid time of 17:38.

"He has been a consistent leader for us all year," Orth said. "We can always rely on a solid performance from him every time he toes the starting line."

Salvador Horta put together another strong showing as he clocked in at 17:57, good for second place overall.

After the first Connell runner crossed the line, there was a steady stream of Royal finishers. J.J. Jimenez, Victor Garcia, Cristian Garcia, and Silver Beltran took the next four spots.

"Our runners have been a strong pack all year," Orth said. "By working together, they have provided tremendous results."

The Royal girls were equally impressive, locking up their second consecutive league title. Freshman Kay Lester, a front-runner all season, once again crossed the line first for the overall victory in 20:52.

Showing a great deal of depth, the next five runners to cross the line were all Royal girls. Gracelyn Miller's time of 21:47 was followed closely by Caitlin Diaz (22:01) and Meghan Mianecki (22:05). Anahi Gomez (24:12) and Isabelle Quiroz (24:15) rounded out the top six.

"The girls ran great, and their hard work all season long is being rewarded," coach Amanda Eilers said.

"We're looking forward to Apple Ridge (Cowiche) for the 1A SCAC District meet next Thursday," Orth said. "Both teams will be looking to earn a state berth and advance on to the next weekend in Pasco."

The closest the girls came to defeat was 27-28 against Zillah. Granger was the toughest outing for the boys, but they won comfortably, 22-36.

The Royal boys have won seven of the last 10 league titles district titles and seven of the last nine district titles. The girls have won the last two league and district crowns.