MERIDIAN

TROJANS

Coach: Mike Holz

Last year: Finished ninth in the NWC regular season standings (4-6) and placed ninth at the NWC Championships. Placed fifth at the Class 1A Tri-District Championships to advance to state. Finished 12th at the 1A State Championships, while Sam Ryan finished 22nd, Kelby Todd was 76th, Isai Gomez was 84th, Justin Burgess was 109th, Jay Crandall was 113th, J.J. Hansen was 115th and Hector Mendoza was 124th.

Runners to watch: Justin Burgess (sr.), J.J. Hansen (sr.), Kelby Todd (jr.), Jay Crandall (jr.), Zach Donahue (jr.), Hayden Pitsch (jr.)

Outlook: Even though a group of runners did not turn out this fall, the young Trojans should be a contender to get back to state. They return four runners off the team that went to Pasco last year, and a couple of newcomers are expected to step up. Meridian will need them to get through a tough tri-district. "To finish in the top five in our tri-district is pretty tough," Holz said in a phone interview. "Of the top 10 teams, four of them are in our tri-district, so it's going to be tough. I think there are some spots available for fourth and fifth, and it's going to come down to who has the right race at the right time."