Search
Close this search box.
Happy Birthday to us! Try 6 months of unlimited local news for $2.

Sehome, Squalicum combine for 6 top-10 finishes at Twilight Invitational

Six Whatcom County schools competed at 85-team meet

The Squalicum boys team race as a pack against Sehome and Bellingham during  a cross country race at Lake Padden on Sept. 28.
The Squalicum boys team race as a pack against Sehome and Bellingham during a cross country race at Lake Padden on Sept. 28. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
By Connor J. Benintendi Sports Editor

The annual Twilight Invitational is in the books, and six Whatcom County cross country teams had the chance to race against some of the state’s finest competition Oct. 1 at the Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville.

Sehome, Squalicum, Meridian, Lynden Christian, Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley all sent runners to the meet, returning with varying degrees of success. The Squalicum boys took first place out of 35 teams with a score of 55. Sehome was right behind them in second at a score of 61, and Meridian finished 10th at 297.

For the girls, Anacortes won the team title by a wide margin. Sehome finished 87 points behind the top spot with 123, good enough for second place. Meridian took 14th (325) and Squalicum finished 15th (410).

“One reason why we like to go to this meet is it’s on a golf course,” Sehome coach Kevin Ryan said. “It simulates a lot of the technical stuff that the state meet requires.”

The meet began with a 5,000-meter open race, followed by the junior varsity events. Schools were limited to seven runners in the varsity races. There were two racing brackets: classifications 1B through 2A, followed by 3A and 4A.

photo  Sehome’s Zack Munson looks to the finish line as he wins the boys race against Bellingham and Squalicum at Lake Padden on Sept. 28. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)  

Some athletes opted to run in the open race. Sehome had its homecoming event the same day, Ryan said, and that event was earlier. The Mariners’ girls ran their varsity race with fewer of their top runners than they are accustomed to.

“It was a really strong race for our girls, but they just ran a little short-handed,” Ryan said. “But, again, we’re just trying to learn the ins and outs of where we’re at and how to run properly.”

This meet also marked the midway point of the season for most teams. 

“On Saturday, even with missing a key component — Tyler Nielsen — our runners stepped up in a big way,” Squalicum coach Erin Hoopes said. “All seven [boys runners] had lifetime PRs and we couldn’t have asked for a better day.”


Squalicum’s boys team had four finishers inside the top 15 out of 243 runners who competed. Evan Rush led the pack, taking second behind Sehome’s Zack Munson, with a time of 15:46.40. Munson dominated the competition for the Mariners, easily capturing the title in 15:05.10.

Owen Voigt (15:59.80) took fifth place for the Storm, as Chase Bartlett (16:00.20) came in at seventh and Wesley Sluys (16:28.70) finished 13th. 

Sehome’s Skyler Gillham (16:00.10) was just outside the top five at sixth. Add Lynden Christian’s Andrew Luce, who finished fourth with his time of 15:54.70, and six of the top-10 finishers were all from Whatcom County schools.

photo  Far ahead of her competition, Sehome’s Evelyn Buetow takes first place against Bellingham and Squalicum in a cross country race at Lake Padden on Sept. 28. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)  

“We’re getting big race experience under our belt — [it’s] really the important thing right now,” Ryan said. “They’re learning how to handle it right now.”

On the girls side, Meridian runner Logan Ignacio led all Whatcom County athletes with her sixth-place finish and 19:29.10 time out of 195 total runners. Sehome’s Julie Gill was close behind in eighth with a time of 19:34.20. Squalicum’s Emily Bowles (19:53.40) finished 13th and just one spot ahead of Sehome’s Marcella Leita (20:03.80).

The Mariners’ Evelyn Buetow took first in the open race, crossing the finish line 39 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Ryan said competing against other Bellingham schools at large meets helps to keep his team focused while increasing the competition level, especially with how fast all three schools are.

“I think what it does is they just build off each other,” Ryan said. “Last year at state, we were first, third and fourth … we think we have a chance to go one, two, three this year. The expectation is there. You can’t get away with being anything but your best if you want to succeed. It really drives the competition.”

This meet fell just four days after the Northwest Conference City Meet between Bellingham, Squalicum and Sehome, which was unfortunate scheduling for the latter two teams. The Mariners and Storm were forced to take it easy during the three-team city meet in preparation for the Twilight Invitational.

“At the city meet, assistant coach Chris Fredlund came up with a plan for the varsity boys to help bring our number six, seven and eight runners up with our top pack,” Hoopes said. “We wanted them to be ready to race well and be healthy for the Twilight Invite. A few runners had been fighting colds and fatigue, so we wanted them ready for Saturday.”

photo  Will Giesen led the Bellingham boys team in a cross country race against Sehome and Squalicum at Lake Padden on Sept. 28. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)  

Bellingham did not compete at the Twilight Invitational, but will join its rival schools at the Nike Hole in the Wall Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 8. That meet is at Lakewood High School and will host more than 130 schools — some coming in from Oregon, California and Alabama.

“We’re excited for it. Our boys got invited to the elite race there, so that’ll be a different experience for them. At a 2A level, they’re used to all being up at the very front of some races, and it’s going to be a little different experience,” Ryan said of the upcoming meet. “The girls are running the gold race, and it should simulate a state meet really well for them.”

Latest stories

Prep sports previews spring 2024
March 28, 2024 10:00 p.m.
Vikings senior post was pivotal in the best run in program history
March 28, 2024 10:00 p.m.
Golden Eagles notch four homers, still fall 10-7 to Lions
March 28, 2024 8:32 p.m.

Have a news tip?

Email newstips@cascadiadaily.com or Call/Text 360-922-3092

Sign up for our free email newsletters

Preferences: