Local high school cross country runners competed in two-mile “sprint races” on Friday, September 4, 2026, in Lacey at Wonderwood Park. Timberline, River Ridge, North Thurston, Capital, Rainier, Rochester and Tenino were among the high school teams that competed at the event.
The meet, hosted by Timberline High School, is a shorter starter event to help athletes move into the core season. Standard season races are five kilometers (5,000 meters), which is about 3.1 miles. The Timberline event had several races, including a high school girls run, two boys high school races featuring seniors and juniors, and a freshman and sophomore race. The last race was a middle school run.
Conner Hill, a junior from Toledo High School, finished with the strongest boys time (10:22.3), which was also a personal best for him. Caleb Massey of Enumclaw and Jae Walz from Capital finished second and third. Kate Behrens from Enumclaw won the girls race, with Komaire Robles from Rainier finishing second and Lily Aardahl from North Thurston finishing fifth.
Capital High School coach Mike Lunde was excited about how his team performed for the opening race of the season. “Our athletes performed where I expected them to and set a solid benchmark for the rest of the season,” Lunde stated. “I was pleased to compete so tightly with Enumclaw, as both of us are currently in an upswing towards competing higher at the 3A state level. We are excited to see how these amazing student-athletes grow and perform throughout this season.”
Results are listed at Athletic.net
