Meridian boys take seventh at 1A state cross country meet

The Meridian boys’ cross country team placed seventh at the Class 1A State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Pasco.

The Trojans scored 204 points, to finish behind state champion Deer Park’s 62 and just four points shy of sixth-place Charles Wright.

“We were solid from top to bottom,” Trojans coach Mike Holz said in a phone interview. “I think we could have four points in a number of different places to match the girls (in sixth).”

Holz was quite pleased with the runs by Kenny Barnes, who placed 25th in 17 minutes, 9.8 seconds and Nathan Schneider, who finished 62nd in 17:52.6.

“I’ve got to hand it to those guys,” Holz said. “They had great days to be our top two. ... We’re a really young team, and we bring back our top six next year. It looks very promising in terms of the team with our youthfulness.”

Derek Holz was 76th (18:05.7), while McKay Ross was 79th (18:07.6).

Lynden Christian’s Eric Steiger was the top placing Whatcom County finisher in 14th with a time of 16:41.5.

“He was three seconds out of 10th and four seconds away from finishing 18th and not even making the podium,” Lyncs coach Darren Postma said in a phone interview. “He was in a battle. He was in the top 15 for most of the race. ... He’s just a sophomore, and he ran a really smart race. He was engaged and trying to run tactically.”

Teammates Josh Lingbloom (38th in 17:27.5) and Brooks DeWaard (65th in 17:55.7) also had good days running as individuals.

Nooksack Valley’s Conner Jones finished 29th in 17:19.3, while Mount Baker’s Zak Kelly took 60th in 17:52.4.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 8:12 PM with the headline "Meridian boys take seventh at 1A state cross country meet."