Top Teams From Oregon, Washington Set To Assemble At Lakewood High

By Keenan Gray for DyeStat

One of the fastest races in Washington state is set for this weekend as the Nike Hole in the Wall welcomes elite competition to this year’s invitational Saturday in Arlington.

With many of the teams competing from Washington, this year’s field of 130-plus schools comes from six states and one Canadian province They will take part in a full day of competition at Lakewood High’s campus. 

Just a week after sweeping the Nike Twilight Invite team titles at the Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville, the U.S. No. 6 Jesuit OR boys and No. 12 Jesuit girls return to the Evergreen State for the second weekend in a row in hopes of coming away with a third consecutive Hole in the Wall team title sweep.

In 2021, the Jesuit boys beat Bishop Blanchet WA 67-118, while the girls beat Tahoma WA 68-154.

Jacob Nenow of Jesuit headlines the elite field of boys runners, coming in with the No. 1 overall time of 14:52.8 from his recent performance at Nike Twilight Invite. He was fourth at last year’s race.

Challenging the Jesuit boys in the team race will be the Eastlake WA boys, who will get a second crack at the Crusaders after finishing second to them by 11 points at Nike Twilight. Leading the Wolves is Ethan Pedersen, who sits among the top five individuals in the field with a time of 15:13.10.

Sehome WA’s Zack Munson and Lakes WA’s Cruize Corvin will face off against each other for the second time this season just a few weeks after the two met at the Fort Steilacoom Invite on Sept. 24. Corvin outkicked Munson at Fort Steilacoom Park for the individual title in a time of 15:01.0. 

Munson ranks second in the field with a time of 14:59.7 from his fifth-place effort Sept. 24 at Nike Portland XC. 

Other notable runners to watch for are West Salem OR's Jack Meier and Brady Bliven, Jesuit’s Gus Clevenger, Walla Walla WA's Brody Hartley, a Notre Dame commit, Central Kitsap WA's Blake Reynolds and Newberg OR's Anthony and Zachary Giesch.

Last year’s winner, James Crabtree of Sherwood OR, broke the 5,000-meter course record for the boys when he ran 14:45.5.

Maura O’Scannlain, who took 18th last season, leads the Jesuit girls in the elite race coming off a season best performance of 18:05.3 at Nike Twilight to finish third overall in the big school race.

O’Scannlain will face Washington’s top three runners in Skyline WA’s Anna Callahan, second at Nike Portland XC, Anacortes WA’s Jessica Frydenlund, a Gonzaga commit and reigning Washington state 2A cross country champion, and East Valley (Spokane) WA’s Logan Hofstee.

Callahan has the top overall time of 17:38.6 and finished 11th in last year’s race. Frydenlund and Hofstee are second and third in the field, respectively, at 17:44.30 and 17:48.54.

Lake Oswego OR’s Ana Peters will also be making the trip north, coming in with the fourth overall time of 18:00.9. Her sister, Kate, holds the girls course record of 16:58.7 set back in 2019 but has not run yet this fall due to an injury.

Issaquah WA’s Katherine Yahn and Mary Jane Harig, Skyline’s Rebecca O’Keefe, Central Kitsap WA’s Clare Herring and Mount Si WA’s Hailey Cossey round out the top 10 competitors to watch for.

Washington state 3A cross country champion Lily LaPorte of Bishop Blanchet, 13th in last year’s race, is set to race for the second time this year after making her season debut last weekend where she won the Curtis Invite in Tacoma in 18:27.1.

Jesuit will face off against Metro League rival Sunset of Oregon and Washington’s Tahoma and Central Kitsap in the team race, along with Mountain Brook from Alabama. Sunset defeated both Tahoma and Central Kitsap at Nike Portland XC, while Jesuit handled Central Kitsap at Nike Twilight.