These four Whatcom County runners made it to the podium at the 1A boys state championships

Lynden Christian cross country coach Darren Postma couldn’t be prouder of the two seniors at the top of the Lyncs’ boys lineup – Eric Steiger and Brooks DeWaard.

“They set the standard,” Postma said. “The last two years they’ve been running non-stop. That’s what it takes. They’ve shown the way if anyone else wants to follow.”

If they do follow, Steiger and DeWaard made sure there were some pretty big shoes to fill, as Steiger was the first of four Whatcom County runners to reach the podium in the Class 1A State Championships Saturday and Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

“It was an awesome race,” Steiger said. “Everything laid out perfectly. It was the best way to end my high school career.”

DeWaard wasn’t far behind, placing 14th – seven places lower than he placed as a junior at state, even though he knocked more than eight seconds off his time from last year.

“Obviously, I wanted to run a little better,” DeWaard said, “but I put in the effort. I’ve got to be content with what I can improve unto and not compare myself to everyone else. I ran faster, and I’m happy with that.”

Meridian senior Kenny Barnes shaved 27 seconds off his time from a year earlier and improved three spots to sixth, while teammate Abbas Theophilus came in 10th. The Trojans Nathan Schneider just missed the podium, finishing 17th, but his run and a 28th-place finish by Jaskaran Dhatt helped Meridian place third with 136 points behind champion Medical Lake (78) and Riverside (130).

Lynden Christian finished seventh, as John DenHartog finished 41st to join Steiger and DeWaard in the top 50.

Nate Snow was the first of three Nooksack Valley individuals in 62nd place.

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 4:29 PM with the headline "These four Whatcom County runners made it to the podium at the 1A boys state championships."