The Tahoma High School boys cross country team brought home the first-place trophy from the 4A Washington State Championship at Pasco recently.
“When we found out that we won, we started cheering and screaming with excitement,” senior Chandler Nill said. “(We) cried tears of joy and triumph as we achieved our goal that we made all the way back in July. We sat there for a while, just soaking in the moment together. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish my senior year.”
Ethan Martin led the Bears with a 10th place overall finish, coach Jeff Brady said. Brian Martinez finished 14th. Chandler Nill, Matthew Bruneel, Alex Kiefer, Cameron Stuard and Blake Yount completed the top 7, Brady added. Alternates for the Bears were Dominic Manzo, Talon Aguilar and Kaden Gustin.
“This year’s course was a new loop course with a few more hills that made it even more challenging than in past years,” Brady said. “Coming into the race, we were ranked fifth, but we were confident we would be competitive with the top teams. Every one of Tahoma’s athletes ran their best race of the year from start to finish. It was a truly great team performance! They ran not only for themselves but for their team for the entire 3.1 miles.
Although the Tahoma girls cross country did not compete at state as a team, three THS athletes did race as individuals. “Moira Woods, Natalie Jensen and Faith Martinez also had great performances with Faith finishing in 8th place overall,” he said.
