A true team effort and one of the most memorable performances by a women's team in Bush history - It started with our two top runners, Ela and Lolo. For the fourth consecutive time, sweeping her high school career, Ela qualified for the state championships by placing 7^th overall in a fantastic race.  Lolo, (literally) right behind her, makes this her third qualifying race in three seasons, finishing in eighth place - her highest districts finish to date. These two girls are the anchor of the girls team. They set the tone for the team and help everyone perform at their personal best. The middle pack of girls team dug deep, ran together, and played a crucial role in getting the team to states.  Liya ran an incredilbe third mile passing runner after runner and finishing in 35^th place!  This was over 15 places higher than she was seeded, and it placed her as an individual qualifier to state. "It was one of the most impressive efforts I’ve seen this year" said Head Coach James Batey.  Just behind her was Dylan, blasting around the track to pass and finish in an individual state qualifying position of 42^nd! Just steps behind was Dalia, who unleashed her ferocious kick down the final straightaway and finished in an incredible 44^th place. Next up was Sabine, a runner who just keeps getting better race after race, who exploded down the final stretch to catch and pass a yellow jersey, and who finished 77th, several places ahead of her stretch goal. Combined these girls were able to capture third place in the district and a team bid to the state championships next week in Pasco! 

 

The boys were next and did an amazing job as well. First across the line running a gutsy race was Noah Cape, running a course PR of 17:21, finishing in tenth place and individually qualifying for the state championships.  Just behind was freshman Kaito Hikino, finishing in twelfth place, running a 17:23, finishing as the second freshman in the district and also individually qualifying for the state championships. Rounding out our state championship qualifiers was Taylor Cundiff who finished in 24^th place, running a course PR of 17:41 and qualifying for state for the third consecutive season. Congratulations to all three state qualifiers! Emil, who had a great race and a course PR of 19:25 was next across the line, completing a great race on a tough course. Gabriel (21:10) and Will (21:14) hit the chute next.  They worked hard together and finished right next to each other. Just behind was Matthew, who with an incredibly gutsy performance battled through a painful side cramp, an ambitious race plan, and a tough course to finish strong without giving up. His perseverance was something to behold and will serve him well in future races.