Liberty Bell’s Novie McCabe, No. 63 far left, jumped to an early lead in the girls’ varsity championship race. McCabe toured the 3-mile course in under 18 minutes for the win.
The Liberty Bell High School girls’ cross-country team won its fourth consecutive CW B League championship on Saturday (Oct. 20) with another perfect score, but the boys’ team saw its streak of eighth straight league titles broken by Manson.
The meet took place on a new 3-mile course at Liberty Bell, in perfect running conditions — sunny with moderate temperatures — compared to last year’s race, which featured snow, drizzle and chilly temperatures.
For the third straight year, the girls’ team — the reigning two-time state 2B champions — took first place with a perfect score of 15 in the league meet. In cross-country, the lowest point total wins, based on the placement of each team’s top five runners. Tonasket, the only other girls’ team with enough runners to score, finished second with 50 points.
In the boys’ varsity race, Manson scored 30 points to second-place Liberty Bell’s 43. The Liberty Bell boys’ and girls’ middle school teams also took first place before the varsity teams hit the trails.
Liberty Bell’s Novie McCabe, who took first in the girls’ varsity race as a freshman and sophomore, claimed the title again with a time of 17:57.59 on the newly inaugurated course. She was followed by senior Icel Sukovaty in second. Liberty Bell runner Greta Laesch finished third, but ran unattached because as a transfer she is not yet eligible for championship competition. Fourth place went to Liberty Bell freshman Jori Grialou; senior Ava Mott was sixth; freshman Mahali Kuzyk eighth; sophomore Eve Weymuller ninth; sophomore Lena Nelson 10th; and freshman Ayeanna Ruprecht 11th.
The varsity boys had two finishers in the top four — senior Emerson Worrell in second and sophomore Travis Grialou in fourth — but Manson’s Connor Torgesen finished first and the Trojans had enough depth to edge the Mountain Lions. For Liberty Bell, senior Simon Studen was 12th, freshman Bellamy Kar 14th, senior Lazo Gitchos 17th, sophomore Andrew Kominak 18th, sophomore Bodhi Kuzyk 19th and freshman Cooper Legler 20th.
Eighth-grader Isaiah Stoothoff took first place in the boys’ middle school 1.5-mile race. Seventh-grader Will Halpin was seventh and eight-grader Graham Sheley eighth.
The girls’ middle school 1.5-mile competition was also won by a Liberty Bell runner, seventh-grader Ayla Belsby, followed in second by seventh-grader Leki Albright. Seventh-grader Dashe McCabe was fifth.
Next up is the district 5/6 championship meet on Wednesday (Oct. 24) in Moses Lake, a qualifier for the state meet. The boys’ and girls’ teams will both be defending their 2017 titles at the district meet — the girls going for a fourth straight win, and McCabe her third consecutive first-place finish. The boys have claimed six straight district titles.
The state championship meet is on Nov. 3 in Pasco, where the Liberty Bell girls will be looking for a three-peat. The Mountain Lion boys have taken second place in state the past two years.
CW B League Championships, Liberty Bell High School, Oct. 20
Middle school boys, 1.5 miles
Team scores: Liberty Bell 31, Brewster 35, Omak 59
1. Isaiah Stoothoff
7. Will Halpin
8. Graham Sheley
11. Carter Sheley
12. Aksel Thomson
15. Tristan Schmekel
19. Jackson Schmekel
21. Mica Gleason
22. Kyler Mitchell
23. Landry Chrastina
Varsity/JV boys, 3 miles
Team scores: Manson 30, Liberty Bell 43, Brewster 58, Tonasket 123, Riverside Christian 145
2. Emerson Worrell
4. Travis Grialou
12. Simon Studen
14. Bellamy Kar
17. Lazo Gitchos
18. Andrew Kominak
19. Bodhi Kuzyk
20. Cooper Legler
34. Oven Hevly
37. David Kominak
40. Eli Neitlich
47. Kieren Quigley
Middle school girls, 1.5 miles
Team scores: Liberty Bell 15
1. Ayla Belsby
2. Leki Albright
5. Dashe McCabe
11. Linnaea Crandall
12. Ila Cianciabelli-Newton
Varsity/JV girls, 3 miles
Team scores: Liberty Bell 15, Tonasket 50
1. Novie McCabe
2. Icel Sukovaty
3. Greta Laesch
4. Jori Grialou
6. Ava Mott
8. Mahali Kuzyk
9. Eva Weymuller
10. Lena Nelson
11. Ayeanna Ruprecht
13. Keeley Brooks
14. Annika Tate Libby
15. Lindsay Worrell
22. Willa Hilton
23. Payten Kaufman
