Runners faced heat, strong competition at Moses Lake Saturday

Raider cross country traveled to Moses Lake last Saturday, where, besides the tough competition from several large schools, they had to contend with the 90-plus-degree heat.

The Raider boys finished 10th with 288 points. Raiders girls were again represented by only one member.

Leading the Raider boys was Robert George, who finished 54th with a time of 20 minutes 53 seconds.

“Robert George showed the most improvement from last season for the boys’ team, improving by over two-and-a-half minutes,” Head Coach Gary Darnold said.

Dominick Cotton finished second for the Raiders, taking 59th in 21:31. Third across the line for the Raiders was freshman Jerry Palmer, who took 60th at 22:19.

Coltin Williams, in his first cross country race, finished fourth among the Raiders at 22:52 for 62nd. Right behind Williams was Ray Yazzie, who came across the line two seconds after Williams for 63rd at 22:54.

Coach Darnold liked the time split for the first five.

“Our team time split from one to five was very good at two minutes,” Darnold said. “We just need to continue to work on moving our group up in the race.”

Daniel Campobasso came in 69th in 23:48. Zach Erickson was 72nd, crossing the finish line at 26:56.

Clare Castrodale again was the only representative for the Raider girls’ squad. Castrodale finished 43rd, crossing the line at 29:25. “Clare Castrodale improved by one and a half minutes from her last year’s time,” Darnold noted.

Darnold said the Raider runners will continue to build and improve this week. “We will be putting in the most demanding practice week so far with most of the team having at least one race under their belt,” he said.

The Raiders will travel to Erik Anderson/Runner's Soul Cross Country Invitational at Plante’s Ferry in the Spokane Valley this Saturday, with races starting at 10 a.m. There will be more than 40 high school teams in attendance from all across Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, from all classification levels.