WP Runners Deal, Adams On Top

PENDLETON - Two WP cross country athletes came out on top last Saturday and placed first in a large meet in Pendleton, Ore.

Both Seth Deal, a senior on the varsity men's team, and Emily Adams, an eighth grader on the middle school team, placed first in their respective races last Saturday at the Kyle Burnside Wild­horse Meet.

"I was very proud of all my athletes, said WP coach

Lanning. "You could see the determination and effort on all their faces as they came into the finish line chute."

The meet included about 40 teams from Washington and Oregon. Hood River had the highest team scores for both men's and women's middle school races. The WP middle school men's team placed sixth overall.

Tri Cities Prep and Hermiston were the top scorers overall for the high school men's and women's races, respectively, with the WP men's team placing eighth.

Out of the 108 men in the varsity race, Deal crossed the finish line in front of the rest with a time of 16:25.19.

"Seth ran an excellent race under less-than-ideal conditions," Lanning said. "By the time the varsity boys competed, it was windy and raining hard. Seth took it all in stride, never missing a beat in his quest to be the best."

Deal was followed by WP's Tewedros McDowell in ninth place with a time of 18:06.67, E.J. Meserve in 52nd place with a time of 18:42.62, Jacob Dingfield in 78th place with a time of 19:27.68 and Kevin Kamel in 131st place with a time of 21:10.30.

Dingfield and Kamel both set personal records on Sat­urday.

Lanning said her men's varsity team performed well out of 13 teams, especially because it is still missing Co­rey Braxton and Trent Hafen.

For the middle school race, Emily Adams came out on top with a time of 11:42.64.

"Emily was 27 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, besting the entry of 87 girls entered in the com­petition," Lanning said. "She ran hard and confident, com­pleting her regular middle school season by not losing a race. She plans on partici­pating in a post-season race at the Nike Cross Nationals NW next month."

Adams was followed in the race by Maribel Mendoza in 83rd place with a time of 18:31.53.

Lanning said every single one of her middle school ath­letes posted a personal record on Saturday.

The WP middle school men's team was led by Kyle Gradwohl in 22nd place with a time of 11:44.08, followed by Dylan Knowles in 36th place with a time of 12:26.52, Jared Farley in 37th place with a time of 12:29.34, An­dre Potts in 39th place with a time of 12:34.58 and Korben Duffy in 48th place with a time of 12:47.32.

The next race is districts on Saturday. Lanning said she hopes Braxton and Hafen are going to run to help add times, and possibly points, for her team.