Eva Weymuller, No. 230, and Ava Mott, No. 227, finished seventh and 14th respectively at the District 5/6 meet in Moses Lake last weekend. The Liberty Bell girls’ squad took the team title for the fourth consecutive year.
Girls take district title, boys third
The Liberty Bell JV girls also took the team trophy, albeit by default as they were the only runners in the field. The boys’ JV team had competition, but also took the first-place trophy as the only scoring team.
In the 5-kilometer varsity girls’ race, Liberty Bell junior Novie McCabe won her third consecutive District 5/6 championship, followed in second place by senior and team captain Icel Sukovaty. Freshman Jori Grialou gave the Lady Lions a boost with her fourth-place finish, followed by sophomore Eva Weymuller in seventh, senior Ella Kuzyk in 10, freshman Mahali Kuzyk in 11th and senior Ava Mott in 14th.
The Lady Lions took the title with 20 points, followed by Trout Lake with 52 and White Swan with 110. In cross-country, the lowest point total wins, based on the placement of each team’s top five runners.
In the boys’ varsity competition, also a 5K race, Manson took the district title with 74 points, followed by Tonasket with 81 and Liberty Bell with 90.
Leading the way for the Mountain Lions was senior Emerson Worrell in third place, followed by sophomore Travis Grialou in sixth, senior Lazo Gitchos in 25th, freshman Bellamy Kar in 29th, senior Simon Studen 30th, sophomore Bodhi Kuzyk 42nd and senior Owen Hevly 46th in the 84-runner field.
Sophomore Keeley Brooks won the girls’ JV race, while freshman Cooper Legler was second for the Mountain Lions in the JV competition.
Familiar at state
Liberty Bell team captains Icel Sukovaty, left, and Emerson Worrell will each compete in their fourth consecutive state cross-country meet this weekend at Pasco. Both are seniors.
The varsity boys’ team, which finished second each of the past two years at the state meet, is making its ninth straight trip to the state finals.
The varsity girls’ team has won the state 1B/2B title the past two years. The Lady Lions and McCabe, who has the won the past two meets as a freshman and sophomore, are looking for three-peats at Pasco.
Four of the Lady Lions who raced at state last year — McCabe, Ella Kuzyk (fourth), Sukovaty (eighth) and Weymuller (12th) — are going back for the 2018 meet. Sukovaty will be competing in her fourth state meet.
Missing this year will be junior Gretta Scholz, who finished third at state last year but missed the entire 2018 cross-country season with an injury she suffered in the Nordic skiing season. Sophomore Liv Aspholm, seventh at state last year, is also injured. Senior Athena Milani, sixth at state in 2017, did not compete in cross-country this year. Also missing will be sophomore Greta Laesch, who competed well for the Lady Lions this year but as a transfer is not yet eligible for championship meets.
That said, Jori Grialou had a strong season for the Lady Lions, as did Mahali Kuzuk. Mott is a veteran runner who was studying overseas last year and returned for her senior season.
Worrell, Travis Grialou and Studen are all returning to the state meet for the boys’ team — Worrell for the fourth time.
At the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, 16 boys’ teams and 12 girls’ teams will be competing in the 1B/2B championship race.
District 5/6 1B/2B meet, Oct. 24, Moses Lake
Girls’ varsity, 5K
Team scores: Liberty Bell 20, Trout Lake 52, White Swan 100, Tonasket 111, Tri-Cities Prep 113, Bridgeport 122.
1. Novie McCabe
2. Icel Sukovaty
4. Jori Grialou
7. Eva Weymuller
10. Ella Kuzyk
11. Mahali Kuzyk
14. Ava Mott
Boys’ varsity, 5K
Team scores: Manson 74, Tonasket 81, Liberty Bell 90, Brewster 110, Trout Lake 119, Bickleton 145, Tri-Cities Prep 164, Lake Roosevelt 189, White Swan 252, Bridgeport 271, Riverside Christian 280, Yakama Nation Tribal 299
3. Emerson Worrell
6. Travis Grialou
25. Lazo Gitchos
29. Bellamy Kar
30. Simon Studen
42. Bodhi Kuzyk
46. Owen Hevly
Girls’ JV, 5K
1. Keeley Brooks
2. Lilia Kuzyk
3. Lena Nelson
4. Lindsay Worrell
5. Annika Tate Libby
6. Ayeanna Ruprecht
7. Payten Kaufman
8. Willa Hilton
Boys’ JV, 5K
2. Cooper Legler
4. Andrew Kominak
6. David Kominak
8. Eli Neitlich
11. Kieren Quigley
XC boys repeat as academic state champs, girls second
For the second consecutive year, the Liberty Bell High School boys’ cross-country team has won the Academic State Championship for 2B schools in the fall sports season, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced last week. The Mountain Lion boys finished with a cumulative 3.913 grade point average.
The Scholastic Awards program recognizes the team with the highest grade point average among all Washington high schools in their enrollment classification. The winning teams will be presented with a plaque at the state championship meet in Pasco.
The Liberty Bell girls’ team came within a few ticks of also winning the 2B academic championship, finishing with a 3.972 GPA compared to the winning 3.975 GPA of Kettle Falls.
