The Blaine boys' cross country team finished first in its season opening meet Wednesday, Sept. 5, at Peace Arch Park as the Borderites hosted Nooksack Valley, Mount Baker and Lynden Christian.

Blaine was led by Tom Bradley, who finished the race with a time of 16 minutes, 49 seconds, seven seconds ahead of second-place finisher Dillon Quintana of Mount Baker.

"Tom and Dillon looked tough," Blaine coach Carey Bacon said in a phone interview. "They finished well ahead of everyone else."

Bradley and Quintana finished almost two minutes ahead of third-place finisher Stephen Dietz from Nooksack Valley.

The Borderites won with 52 points, Nooksack Valley had 54, Mount Baker had 56 and Lynden Christian finished with 58.

"There were a lot of guys ineligible so this meet isn't a good indicator of how the teams will be. I know Lynden Christian was missing a lot of guys," Bacon said. "It's unusual for us to win a meet so it was good for us."

Lynden Christian finished first on the girls' side with 27 points, Mount Baker had 48 and Nooksack Valley had 49. Blaine did not have a team score because it didn't have enough runners eligible.

Rachael Hatcher from Mount Baker finished first with a time of 20:32.

"Rachael won in impressive fashion," Bacon said. "But Lynden Christian dominated."

Marissa Hielkema finished 45 seconds after Hatcher and Kelsie Nern from Mount Baker finished third.

Peace Arch

5,000 meters

Team scores: 1. Blaine 52; 2. Nooksack Valley 54; 3. Mount Baker 56; 4. Lynden Christian 58.

Top individual finishers: 1. Tom Bradley (Blaine) 16:49; 2. Dillon Quintana (Mount Baker) 16:56; 3. Stephen Dietz (Nooksack Valley) 18:43.

Blaine: Tom Bradley 16:49; David Shapiro 19:17; Danny Thorpe 19:39; Christian Sharp 20:27; Nick Butschli 22:25; Alex Dodge 22:26; Spenser Dodge 23:14.

Nooksack Valley: Stephen Dietz 18:43; Brett Johnson 19:41; Landon Olenslager 19:51; Jordan Hem 20:25; Conner Jones 20:30; Taylor Gardner 21:20; Derek Johnson 21:22.

Mount Baker: Dillon Quintana 16:56; Shelby Miles 19:13; Ishmael Villaluz; Kody Kelley 21:35; Josh Meyer 21:59; Jacob Koranda 23:13; Phillip Haggith 25:00.

Lynden Christian: Jon Wiley 19:00; Dylan Blok 19:39; Josh Lingbloom 19:40; Hunter West 21:16; Josh Clarke 21:33; Ryan Pitcher 21:42; Nick Price 23:04.

Peace Arch

5,000 meters

Team scores: 1. Lynden Christian 27; 2. Mount Baker 48; 3. Nooksack Valley 49; 4. Blaine N/A

Top individual finishers: 1. Rachael Hatcher (Mount Baker) 20:32; 2. Marissa Hielkema (Lynden Christian) 21:17; 3. Kelsie Nern (Mount Baker) 22:47

Blaine: Hillary Kiele 23:10; Hannah Kean 25:09.

Nooksack Valley: Alex Parson 24:21; Amy Murphy 24:28; Kelly Jackson 24:46; Kendra Hem 25:08; Natalie Vandeist 25:57; Kaycee DeBruin 32:14.

Mount Baker: Rachael Hatcher 20:32; Kelsie Nern 22:47; Katie Buss 25:15; Rayedeen Engels 29:18; Cameron Noe 36:02.

Lynden Christian: Marissa Hielkema 21:17; Julia Morris 22:55; McKenzie Young 23:04; Sarah Ball 23:06; Ally Visser 25:07; Brianna Rutgers 25:25.