Cross Country: Lake Washington girls come through on opening day

Juanita senior Adrian Goodwin is already among the fastest boys in the Class 3A KingCo division, having sent in the second-fastest time among 3A athletes at the KingCo Two-Mile Class Races on Thursday at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah.

Juanita senior Adrian Goodwin is already among the fastest boys in the Class 3A KingCo division, having sent in the second-fastest time among 3A athletes at the KingCo Two-Mile Class Races on Thursday at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah.

The races group KingCo’s Class 3A and Class 4A divisions together, instead breaking up runners by year.

Goodwin was third overall in the senior race, behind Jake Knoblich of Liberty and Ian Van De Kamp of Bellevue, finishing in 10 minutes, 4.9 seconds.

Teammate Michael Gengo wasn’t far behind, finishing ninth among seniors.

Lake Washington sophomore John Hentges had a good opening race as well, finishing fourth among Class 3A sophomores and with the 25th-best time among KingCo boys.

Lake Washington’s Nathan Hackley was 33rd overall and second among all KingCo freshmen.

The Lake Washington girls had a very good showing overall, led by junior Claire Cocales.

Expected to be one of the top runners in KingCo 3A, Cocales finished second among Class 3A runners and third overall. Freshman Belle Brandenfels also fared well in her first high school race, finishing second overall among freshmen and setting the 12th-best mark across all races.

Seniors Betheny Clowers and Kristen Buckingham, and sophomore Malia Lakman set top-20 times. Sophomore Makena Billington made the top-25.

The Juanita girls were paced by the efforts of senior Payton Palsson, who was 28th among seniors.

Next, the Rebels are scheduled to compete in the Tahoma Coed Relays on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Both Juanita and Lake Washington are slated to participate in a meet with Interlake on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at Marymoor Park in Redmond.