Liberty Bell’s Holden Brewer is the favorite in the boys’ varsity race Saturday.
Liberty Bell High School hosts the 2026 Central Washington B League championships at Bear Creek Golf Course near Winthrop this Saturday.
Teams and runners from Oroville, Tonasket, Okanogan, Bridgeport, Brewster, Pateros, Entiat, Garden City Academy and Manson will join Liberty Bell.
The first race set to run at 12:30 p.m. will be the girls’ 1B/2B varsity race. Manson sophomore Grace Walsh is the returning league, district and defending state B champion. Walsh has been leading the pack all season, but this year could be challenged by Liberty Bell freshman Karen Brewer. Brewer has been gradually closing the gap on Walsh in comparative times and head-to-head.
The defending league, district and state champion Mountain Lions are on track to repeat their league title on Saturday. Led by Brewer, the local girls are the No. 1 team on the computerized hypothetical meet list indexed by best times at the 5-kilometer distance. With Walsh ranked No. 1, seven of the following eight spots are occupied by Liberty Bell runners Lena DeCuir, Ingrid Venable, Alice Esmiol, Nina Halpin, Sisu Clark and Maren Sands.
The Trojans and Okanogan girls are expected to battle for second place, with only the top two teams and top 14 individual placers moving on to the District 5 and 6 state qualifier meet at Reardan on Oct. 31. The top six teams and 42 runners from the combined race will move along to state in Pasco on Nov. 7.
The boys’ varsity race is scheduled for 1 p.m. They will run a hybrid race where the 1B and 2B runners will be on the course at the same time.
Liberty Bell is the frontrunner to defend last year’s league championship with junior Holden Brewer leading the way. Soren DeCuir and River Ferguson look to crack the top five, with Orlo Parkinson and Crispin Anderson in the top 15 to round out the scoring team. Tonasket and Brewster will be battling for second.
All boys’ teams will advance to Reardan next Saturday, where the teams from District 5’s CW2B and the 2B EWAC will compete separate from District 6. Each district will send the top six teams and 42 individual places on to state.
The boys’ and girls’ junior varsities will run together at 1:30 p.m., with awards ceremonies at the conclusion of the JV race.
