The Lady Lions winning varsity team, from left: Taya DeLong, Icel Sukovaty, Novie McCabe, Lucy Cole, Gretta Scholz, Athena Milani and Ava Mott.
Next up: district meet in Wenatchee on Saturday
By Don Nelson
Liberty Bell High School’s cross-country teams went four-for-four at last weekend’s Central Washington B league championships on the Mountain Lions’ home course: the varsity girls and boys took first-place trophies in team competition, as did the junior high girls’ and boys’ teams.
It was the varsity boys’ seventh straight league championship, and the resurgent varsity girls’ program repeated last year’s first-place finish.
They were all cheered on by a large crowd of spectators who lined the course and the finishing chute to support the home team on a beautiful fall day.
Taking first place in the boys’ varsity race was the Liberty Bell team of, from left, Walker Hall, Eli Nielsen, Emerson Worrell, Carter Dornfeld, Peter Aspholm and Cade Quigley. Not pictured: Wes Olive.
Freshman Novie McCabe — running on trails named in memory of her late father, Sean McCabe — again led the way for the varsity girls, beating her second-place teammate and fellow freshman Gretta Scholz by more than a minute over the 5,000-meter course. Sophomore Athena Milani took third for a 1-2-3 sweep, with eight of the top 10 places going to Liberty Bell runners. With 15 points, Liberty Bell was the team winner.
Runners from 10 other high schools competed, but not every school was able to field a complete team of scoring runners in each race (five are needed).
In the varsity men’s 5K race, Liberty Bell junior Eli Nielsen took second place behind Tonasket’s Garrett Wilson. Freshman Walker Hall was next for the Mountain Lions in fourth place, followed by junior Wes Olive (6th), junior Cade Quigley (7th) and sophomore Peter Aspholm (10th) to complete Liberty Bell’s scoring. The home team scored 29 points to take first place.
In the junior high boys’ 1.5-mile run, Liberty Bell took the first four places. Eighth-graders Bodie Paul, Travis Grialou, Ian DeLong and Dusty Patterson finished in that order, leading the team to a score of 17 points for an easy win.
The most exciting race of the day was the girls’ junior high 1.5-mile run. In a gritty push to the finish, Okanogan’s Lexi LaDoux edged Liberty Bell eighth-grader Liv Aspholm by a mere 1 second. Seventh-grader Jori Grialou claimed third place for Liberty Bell, followed by eighth-graders Lindsay Worrell and Keeley Brooks in seventh and eighth respectively. Eighth-grader Eva Weymuller, in 11th place, rounded out the scoring for Liberty Bell, which won with 22 points.
“The crowd was awesome,” Liberty Bell coach Craig Herlihy said. “It was the largest crowd I can recall at a home meet.”
Liberty Bells’ runners “followed their race plans to a T, keying on particular teams,” Herlihy said. “Teammates were running in packs and hitting their splits at the mile marks, then running strong to the finish.”
The Liberty Bell teams now head to the 1B/2B District 5-6 championships at Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee on Saturday (Oct. 29), where they will attempt to repeat last year’s first-place finishes.
The top girls’ team and seven additional individual runners will advance to the state meet in Pasco on Nov. 5. The top four boys’ teams and 28 additional individual runners will advance to Pasco.
Women’s varsity/JV, 5,000 meters
Team scores: Liberty Bell 15*
1. Novie McCabe 18:54
2. Gretta Scholz 20:09
3. Athena Milani 20:38
6. Lucy Cole 21:24
7. Ava Mott 21:39
8. Icel Sukovaty 21:41
9. Taya DeLong 22:25
10. Rivers Leeman 22:26
18. Sage Borgias 27:20
* Liberty Bell was the only team that fielded enough scoring runners.
Men’s varsity/JV, 5,000 meters
Team scores: Liberty Bell 29, Tonasket 51, Brewster 51, Manson 117, Oroville 133
2. Eli Nielsen 17:45
4. Walker Hall 18:05
6. Wes Olive 18:17
7. Cade Quigley 18:23
10. Peter Aspholm 18:31
11. Emerson Worrell 18:40
15. Carter Dornfeld 19:25
25. Lazo Gitchos 20:26
28. Simon Studen 20:47
32. Henry Jones 21:01
47. Logan Hall 23:25
48. Michael Mott 23:28
52. Zach Strong 24:14
Women’s junior high, 1.5 miles
Team scores: Liberty Bell 22, Okanogan 44, Manson 67
2. Liv Aspholm 9:16
3. Jori Grialou 9:45
7. Lindsay Worrell 10:10
8. Keeley Brooks 10:33
11. Eva Weymuller 10:53
14. Mariah Lucy 11:15
15. Anja Sorensen 11:17
17. Payten Kaufman 11:26
18: Lena Nelson 11:28
19. Elke Wathen 11:35
28. Stella Gitchos 12:24
Men’s junior high, 1.5 miles
Team scores: Liberty Bell 17, Manson 43
1. Bodie Paul 8:25
2. Travis Grialou 8:44
3. Ian DeLong 8:50
4. Dusty Patterson 8:53
9. Zane Strome 9:17
10. Andrew Kominak 9:23
15. David Kominak 9:56
16. Aidan Catlin 10:38
27. Eli Neitlich 11:58
G A L L E R Y
(click any of the square, thumbnailed-size images to open a full-size slide show)
Athena Milani drove to the finish to claim third place in the girls’ competition.
Walker Hall, right, and Wes Olive stayed near the head of the pack in the varsity boys’ race.
Liberty Bell’s Novie McCabe was the clear front-runner.
Novie McCabe broke out fast at the start of the girls’ varsity race, leading a pack of Lady Lions onto the 5,000-meter course.
Carter Dornfeld was close behind in 15th place.
Emerson Worrell finished in 11th place for the boys’ team.
