Basin teams compete in Hole in the Wall Invitationals

MOSES LAKE – Cross Country teams from around the Columbia Basin had a busy weekend with Lind-Ritzville, Othello and Wahluke going to the Max Jensen Invitational and Quincy going to the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational. The Moses Lake Mavericks split their team between the two meets.  

“It was a really good weekend for us,” said Mavs head coach Larry Dagnon. “Our non-varsity kids went to the Max Jensen Invitational and so they got a chance to race.”  

The Mavs JV players got to participate in the Small School Varsity event, where the boys team earned fifth place. Parks Whitaker and Harrison Holt both earned sub-18-minute run times, with Whitaker running 17:41.28 and Holt running 17:44.01.  

The Othello Huskies participated in the Max Jensen Invitational after having just run in the Central Washington Athletic Conference meet on Thursday, where just about every runner earned a new personal best, said Huskies head coach Aurelio Guevara.  

“That was a great confidence boost going into Saturday and the rest of the season,” said Guevara. 

The Huskies boys team earned tenth in Small School Varsity with Alejandro Mendoza taking eighth place with a time of 17:09.48. He was followed by Daniel Gonzalez with a time of 18:11.5 and Carlos De la Cruz with a time of 18:18.81. 

The Huskies' top runner for the girls was Lizeth Guerrero, who ran in the 2850 Meters Novice event, where she ran for a time of 15:01.64. 

The top runners for the Lind-Ritzville Broncos were Wyatt Walker with 22:01.21 for the boys and Reagan Korthuis with 24:26.04 for the girls. 

The Wahluke Warriors' best times on the boys' side were from Rylan Zirker with a time of 19:21.52, Karol Castro Cortez with 20:14.83 and Christian Nunez with 20:16.5. On the girls' side, the top three runners were Marisol Cruz with 30:43.54, Lesly Nunez with 32:51.27 and Roselyn Vivar Cardona with 33:17.60. 

That same day, the Mavs took their varsity runners to participate in the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational, where the team ran in the Gold division. Both the boys and girls teams earned ninth place and set ten new all-time marks for the Moses Lake program. 

“These are all the top teams in the state that entered that,” said Dagnon. “You had to get time qualifiers to be accepted in this race, your athletes had to run under 21 minutes 30 seconds for the girls race and for the boys race, all of them had to be under 18 minutes.” 

Leading the charge for the Mavs boys team was Liam O’Shea, who ran 16:19.3, Colton Lucero with 16:28.1, Lane Christensen with 16:38.3, and Liam Roseburg with 17:16.3. O’Shea’s time earned him third all-time, Lucero now holds sixth all-time, Christensen holds fourteenth all-time, and Roseburg holds 31st all-time in school history. 

The girls also had a historic performance with Rachel Nofzinger running for 19:17.6 to be number one all-time in school history, Aspen Hoenes ran 19:33.6 for fourth all-time, Natalie Vehrs with 19:39.2 for seventh all-time, Kaytlyn Russell with 19:56 for tenth all-time, Sarah Humpherys with 20:58.5 for 20th all-time and Amelia Olascon with 21:05.7 for 26th all-time. 

“This was a complete team performance top to bottom,” said Dagnon. “The girls raced with confidence and composure against some of the best runners in the Northwest. It’s rare to see this many all-time marks fall on the same day.” 

The Quincy Jacks’ top runner for the boys in the Gold division was Alejandro Birrueta, who ran for a time of 16:36.6. He was followed by Jonaz Rodriguez with a time of 17:19.9, Juan Ferreyra with 17:38.5, and Sergio Esparza with 18:03.8. 

As the Mavs head into the last few weeks of the regular season, they've begun to set their sights on being prepared for districts and the state tournament. Dagnon said he is very confident in the abilities of both the boys and girls based on what he’s seen so far this season. 

“Statistically, they’re the two fastest teams in Moses Lake history,” said Dagnon. “When you look at it that way, we’ve got a really good shot.” 

The Othello Huskies will be hosting the next CWAC meet today. Guevara said the results of the last two meets have him confident in the abilities of the runners as they get ready for the postseason in November. 

“The kids have been working hard and we’re excited to see if we can pull it together and stay healthy going into the postseason,” he said. “My favorite thing is you don’t win the race on paper, you win it on the course.” 

Dates and times for the upcoming cross country meets can be found both on the Columbia Basin Herald website and the school’s athletic sites. 

    Huskies runner Alejandro Mendoza runs through the open field during the Max Jensen Invitational. Mendoza finished the course with a time of 17:09.48.
  

    Lane Christensen from the Mavs rushes past a runner from a competing school at the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational. Christensen finished the race with a time of 16:38.3.
  

    Iris Gomez from the Huskies runs along the path during the Max Jensen Invitational on Saturday.