October 8, 2018 

By Keenan Gray - The Runner

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Laurel, WA - Meridian's girls cross country team couldn't have it any other way on their home course as they had their entire varsity place in the top 10 for the 5,000 meter race this last Wednesday, Oct. 3 against Ferndale, Blaine, and Nooksack Valley.

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The No. 7 ranked Trojans top runner, Kayla Aalpoel, won her first high school race beating Ferndale's Jaclyn Denham in a time of 19:38, a personal best for Aalpoel. Denham's 2nd place finish was ran in 19:51.

 

Aalpoel and Denham were neck and neck from the start and it appeared to be a great race till the end. Quickly after mile 2, Aalpoel began a surge and would eventually get away from Denham and was on her to victory.

 

The other six runners from Meridian who finished in the top 10 were Kendyl Otter, Rubi Stuit, Makenna Holz, Cristina Esquivel, Emma Forbes, and Kady Aamot.

 

Blaine's Taylee McCormick placed 7th in 23:32 and Nooksack's Jenna Tiemersma was 11th running 24:55. Both would be their teams top placer.

 

To the boys meet, No. 2 Meridian were the winners scoring 29 points and gathered four of the top five finishes from all their seniors. Nathan Schneider won his 3rd race of the 2018 campaign running 16:33. Following Schneider from the Trojans were Abbas Theophilus (2nd), Jaskaran Dhatt (3rd), and Jenson Ellars (5th).

 

Meridian has now compiled a 4-1 meet record, 3-0 in Northwest Conference duals.

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Jaskaran Dhatt (L) and Abbas Theophilus (R) battle at the end of the race at Meridian High School on Wednesday, Oct. 3. (Keenan Gray/ The Runner)

 

Ferndale had 4 runners in the top 10 just like Meridian, with Landon Sturdevant taking 4th overall with a time of 17:33. Eric Maldonado (6th), Josiah Bushnell (9th), and Isaac Bobadilla (10th) made it as the other three runners for Ferndale.

 

Logan Clabaugh and Jacob Roosma from Nooksack were 7th and 8th for the Pioneers as they ran 18:13 and 18:27. Blaine's Malachi Crump was 15th as the Borderites top runner.

 

What' Next?

Ferndale and Blaine will travel to Lakewood High School tomorrow morning for the Nike Hole in the Wall Invite, while Meridian and Nooksack have the weekend off.

 

Results

 

Boys - Meridian (29), Ferndale (42), Nooksack (54), Blaine (119)

 

1. Nathan Schneider (16:33, Meridian), 2. Abbas Theophilus (17:03, Meridian), 3. Jaskaran Dhatt (17:03, Meridian), 4. Landon Sturdevant (17:33, Ferndale),

5. Jenson Ellars (17:40, Meridian), 6. Eric Maldonado (17:46, Ferndale), 7. Logan Clabaugh (18:13, Nooksack), 8. Jacob Roosma (18:27, Nooksack), 9. Josiah Bushnell (18:30, Ferndale), 10. Issac Bobadilla (18:46)

 

Girls - Meridian (21), Ferndale (62), Nooksack (89), Blaine (89)

 

1. Kayla Aalpoel (19:38, Meridian), 2. Jaclyn Denham (19:51, Ferndale), 3. Kendyl Otter (21:42, Meridian), 4. Rubi Stuit (22:26, Meridian), 5. Makenna Holz (22:42, Meridian) 6. Elisa Herter (23:20, Ferndale), 7. Taylee McCormick (23:32, Blaine), 8. Cristina Esquivel (23:33, Meridian), 9. Emma Forbes (23:34, Meridian), 10. Kady Aamot (23:36, Meridian)

 

For more results, visit: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/Results/Meet.aspx?Meet=147284&show=all

 

To see photos from this meet, visit: https://www.facebook.com/pg/therunnerwa/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1149975158486392

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For more prep Cross Country and Track & Field news visit The Runner