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SPOKANE — For the first time in program history, a girl and boys raced as varsity representatives of the Cusick School District.
Last week, Cusick ran in NE2B League Meet #3 Tuesday, Oct. 6 at Harrington Golf and Country Club.
“There is still room for improvement in shortening up our spread between runners,” coach BriAnna Balcom says.
In the girls’ varsity 3-mile, sophomore Jazlyn Kelso finished 43rd of 48 with a time of 27:39.7, setting a personal best.
“We only have one girl runner, Jazlyn Kelso, so we are unable to score as a team,” Balcom says.
Senior Richard Sandwick led the boys’ varsity 3-mile with a time of 16:12.2, breaking into the single-digit placements after finishing sixth of 122. Freshman Marshal Eveland joined Richard Sandwick in the top 12 with a time of 17:12.2, finishing 12th.
Eighth-grader Abram Sandwick and sophomore Nick Sandwick both broke the top half, the former finishing 26th after clocking in at 17:57.0 and the latter finishing 34th after clocking in at 18:49.8. Sophomore James Lilya clocked in at 21:12.2 for a 76th-place finish.
All boys set personal records, finishing fifth of 15 1B and 2B teams with a score of 148.
“Our boys made a decent showing,” Balcom says.
Cusick next ran in the Ninth Annual Battle for the 509 Saturday, Oct. 10 on the Spokane Polo Grounds.
“We didn’t score as a team in any races on Saturday because our runners were separated based on their times,” Balcom says.
In the girls’ novice 5,000-meter, Kelso broke into the single- digit placements after finishing eighth of 133. Her time 24:21.9, Kelso set another personal best.
Richard Sandwick was the only Panther to qualify for the boys’ varsity championship 5,000-meter. He finished 27th of 97 with a time of 16:39.4, setting a personal record.
Abram Sandwick, Eveland and Nick Sandwick ran in the boys’ varsity red 5,000-meter. Abram Sandwick finished 38th of 159, his time 18:13.1; Eveland 39th, his time 18:13.2; and Nick Sandwick 107th, his time 19:35.1. Abram Sandwick and Eveland set personal records, and Nick Sandwick set a season best.
“Everyone performed well and set new personal or season bests on Saturday,” Balcom says.
Kelso was honored as Cusick’s Girls Runner of the Week for “a great first varsity appearance,” Balcom says. She set a significant personal record from Tuesday to Saturday, with a top 10 finish.
Abram Sandwick was honored as Cusick’s Boys Runner of the Week for an over-one-minute personal record.
“We got the breakthrough races we needed this week,” Balcom says.
Cusick runs in the NE1B D6 League Championship Meet Friday, Oct. 16 at the Reardan Cross Country Course, with the boys’ varsity 5,000-meter at 2 p.m. and the girls’ at 1:15 p.m.
