Royal places best ever at Cross County state
ROYAL CITY - Doing their best ever, Royal's boys took seventh place, and the girls placed ninth Saturday at the cross country meet in Pasco.
Coming off an impressive performance at their district meet, both teams were looking to finish their seasons in style. Facing off against the best competition in the state of Washington, the Royal Knights proved they were ready for the task.
A combination of great conditions and gritty effort led to fast times and great team finishes by both squads.
On the boys side, leading the way once again were Seniors Riley Lefler and J.J. Jimenez. They ran the 3.1-mile course in 17:05 and 17:25 respectively.
"All season long, these seniors have proven to be strong leaders," coach Ben Orth said. "They set an example for others to follow every day in practice, and to see them run one of their best races of the year is extremely rewarding."
Following the seniors were a string of under classmen, led by sophomore Victor Garcia (17:46) and juniors Salvador Horta (17:56) and Cristian Garcia (18:12).
Not far behind were a pair of promising freshmen running the state course for the first time, Silver Beltran (18:43) and Eduardo Rodriguez (18:51).
"It was a great experience for all our runners, and I was proud of their overall effort," Orth said.
On the girls side, leading the way once again was freshmen Kay Lester, who cruised through the state course in 20:22, good enough for a 23rd place finish overall.
"Kay ran tough and gained experience that will help her in years to come." Orth said.
Not far behind Lester was a 3-pack of Knights including Gracelynn Miller (21:12), Meghan Mianecki (21:18), and Caitlin Diaz (21:28).
"All three runners peaked at the right time, running personal bests for a 3.1 mile course." coach Amanda Eilers said.
Rounding out the field for Royal were Isabel Quiroz, (24:05), Anahi Gomez (24:40), and Sam Eilers (25:50).
"It has been great to watch the girls program transform over the years," Orth said. "From struggling to field a complete team to placing in the top 10 in state, this group of girls has brought legitimacy to our program."
Just as exciting is the potential these girls have moving forward. They will lose just one senior (Sam Eilers) to graduation.
Coach Lyndsy Roberts summarized the season by saying: "It has been a great group of kids to work with. Cross country is not an easy sport. It takes a great deal of mental toughness and physical hard work to find success. Thankfully we have that type of kids in Royal City."