WP’s Deal Takes First In Pomeroy Meet

WP's cross country runner Isabel Benito and the entire Cardinals var­sity men's team, includ­ing District 9 champ Seth Deal, will compete at the state meet in Pasco on Saturday. Girls will race at 10 a.m. and boys at 11:30.

Deal, a Waitsburg sophomore, took first place in the men's varsity race last Thursday during the District 9 Cross Coun­try Meet at Pomeroy. His time in the 5,000 meter race was 16:58, a 22-sec­ond lead over Tri-Cities Prep second-place runner Nick Lumetta. In the women's varsity race, WP's Isabela Benito placed fourth, just behind three TCP runners. Her time of 22:25 was less than 30 seconds behind that of the lead runner.

Runners in the district championships came from TCP, WP, Asotin, St John-Endicott, Dayton, Liberty Christian and Pomeroy.

The WP men's team performed well as a whole Thursday, placing second below TCP. Dayton's var­sity boys placed fifth. Nei­ther school had enough women runners to make a team. Other results from the Pomeroy meet were as follows:

HS Women's Varsity (28 runners) 4. Isabela Benito 22:25, senior WP 20. Claire Lyman 25:47, senior Dayton 21. Anita Jackson 26:43, junior Dayton

HS Men's Varsity (44 runners)

1. Seth Deal 16:58, sopho­more WP 8. Nick Carpenter 18:28, senior WP 13. Jason Norris 19:36, senior Dayton 14. Matthew Montgomery 19:38, senior WP 15. Erik Sandoval 19:45, freshman WP 19. Jaron Button 20:15, senior Dayton 20. Marshall Nechodom 20:16, sophomore Dayton 21. Nathanial Steen 20:17, junior Dayton