Eastlake girls cross country takes district gold

Defending 4A state champion Eastlake earned another district title over the weekend in Kelso, earning earning 42 team points.

Katelyn Steen finished with the Wolves' fastest time of the day, taking fourth overall in 17 minutes, 50 seconds. Morgan O'Connor (18:10) and Chelsea Orr (18:11) finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Megan Batty took 10th in 18:17, while Erin Blodnick (18:45) and Alie Dorsey (18:47) took 20th and 21st, respectively.

Skyline finished sixth overall as a team with 173 points. Haley Hunter just missed the state cut, taking 16th overall in 18:35. She was four seconds away from a trip to Pasco.

Issaquah didn't earn any team points, but Nicole Migotsky was 18th overall in 18:37.

Issaquah boys cross country wins first district crown

The Issaquah boys cross country team continued to break school records Saturday in Kelso, winning the program's first ever district championship.

The Eagles earned 53 points, finishing ahead of Redmond (86) and Garfield (110).

Chris Brasino finished strong in the final 400 meters to take third overall and qualify for state for the fourth consecutive year. He is just second male athlete in school history to accomplish the feat — Kris Roof (1991-1994) was the first. Brasino's time of 14 minutes, 59 was 43-second improvement from the Kelso Invite earlier this season. Dennis Leigh (15:19), Jon Wallis (15:27), Kevin Lemond (15:29) and Turner Wiley (15:31) finished 13th through 16th, respectively. Isaac Robinson was 24th in 15:43, making this the first Eagle team with six finishers in the top 25.

Skyline's Kyle Branch was fourth overall in 15:04. The Spartans finished fourth as a team with 112 points, just two points behind Garfield's 110. Only the top three district teams advance to this week's state meet in Pasco. Branch advanced as an individual.

Eastlake finished fifth as a team with 125 points. Beau Wales finished a team-best 21st for the Wolves in a time of 15:38.

Contact Sammamish Reporter Sports Editor Kevin Endejan at kendejan@issaquah-reporter.com or 425-391-0363, ext. 5054.

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