MEET RECAP: Mt Si @ Issaquah/Issaquah Icebreaker Invite

Issaquah track and field hosted Mt Si for our first home meet, where we finished with 2 first-place team finishes and 21 individual event wins.

Our first win in the 110m hurdles from Toren Garcia in a PR of 15.90, and the 100m hurdles were won by Erin Chollman in 18.23. The boy’s 1600m was won by Brennen Rickey in 4:36.57, followed up by the girl’s 1600m, where Jane Harig won in 5:46.48. The boy’s 4x100m was won by the quartet of Carlo Saez, Austin Schildt, Micah Seiffert, and Kelton Jones (45.75). Into the 400m, the boy’s race was won by Benjamin Lucas in 53.82, and the girl’s race was won by Ilora Farren in 1:03.55. The 300m hurdles was won by Toren Garcia in a state-leading 39.89, and Connor Rickey took home the victory in the 800m in 2:01.28, while Clara Michael won the girl’s race in 2:24.92. The 3200m was won by Connor Rickey (9:59.72), and Issaquah won the boy’s 4x400m, with a team of Matthew Fischer, Braydon Staples, Benjamin Lucas, and Ilyaas Motiwalla (3:46.59). 

On the field, Mackenzie Bice won both the high jump (4’6″), while Carson Naehr (6’0″) and Wyatt Chollman (172’6″) won high jump and javelin, respectively. KJ Strunk won the boy’s discus (113’10”) and shot put (44’11”), and Evie Adams won long jump (13’10”). Domfo Abekah won the girl’s triple jump (32’1″), while Aryan Singh won boy’s triple jump (34’5″). At the pole vault, Nolan Menting set a new personal best with a 12′ vault for the event win, as did Sole Miller in a vault of 9′. 

There were so many second and third place finishes, writing it in prose just isn’t feasible! See them listed below:

  • Carson Naehr (110mH, 2nd, 16.77)
  • Tatiana Rivas (100mH, 2nd, 18.39)
  • Chase Sawyer (100m, 3rd, 11.84)
  • Alexander Yahn (1600m, 2nd, 4:41.29)
  • Elena Gehrke (400m, 2nd, 1:04.02)
  • Nora Doyle-Newe (400m, 3rd, 1:04.63)
  • Shontel Bradley-Polk (300mh, 2nd, 47.57)
  • Anthony Dubovitsky (300mh, 3rd, 48.67)
  • Avani Akerar (300mh, 3rd, 54.00)
  • Henry Tait (800m, 2nd, 2:04.47)
  • Sally Davis (800m, 2nd, 2:31.77)
  • Cate Shipley (800m, 3rd, 2:34.36)
  • Girl’s 4x400m (2nd, 4:29.65)
  • Nicholas Barran (shot put, 2nd, 43’6″)
  • Jayce Grant (discus, 2nd, 101’8″)
  • Wyatt Chollman (discus, 3rd, 88’4.5″)
  • Amelie Santi (discus, 2nd, 68’3.5″)
  • Ellory Schofield (discus, 3rd, 64’4″)
  • Erin Chollman (javelin, 3rd, 84’4″)
  • Aryan Singh (high jump, 2nd, 5’6″)
  • Jacob Bradley-Polk (high jump, 3rd, 5’4″)
  • Katherine Dillon (high jump, 2nd, 4’4″)
  • Daniela Jaeschke (high jump, 3rd, 4’4″)
  • Dexter Zablocki (pole vault, 3rd, 10′6″)
  • Lucy Stevenson (pole vault, 2nd, 8’0″)
  • Lola Kagetsu (pole vault, 3rd, 7’0″)
  • Domfo Abekah (long jump, 2nd, 13’9″)
  • Ariana Simms (long jump, 3rd, 13’8″)
  • Evie Adams (triple jump, 2nd, 31’5″)
  • Gemma Babuin (triple jump, 3rd, 29’2″)

Issaquah won both of the team contests, with the girls winning 76.5-69.5 and the boys winning 105-40. 

For our first hosted invite–where we had more over 20 schools and 700 students competing–Issaquah showed that home court advantage matters. When it was all said and done, Issaquah girls won the meet over all, and Issaquah boys came in a close second place team finish. Issaquah athletes also brought home 7 event wins.

Our first victory came in the mixed 4x800m relay, where Ellie Miller, Nora Doyle-Newe, Braydon Staples, and Sailor Story ran 9:40.30. Our girls 4x200m of Kamarrie Spencer, Domfo Abekah, Madelyn Kraemer, and Sena Pittman (1:46.58) set a new season’s best and won the event. Our next win came in the women’s long jump, where Domfo Abekah won with a leap of 16’6.5″, and she also won the triple jump in 33’9″. These were jumps that put her at #7 and #3 for junior class records, respectively. Wyatt Chollman won the boy’s javelin, throwing 173’0″, setting a mark that puts him #8 all time for Issaquah High and #7 for seniors. Back to the track, Sena Pittman won the 400m in 59.45, While not a win, Toren Garcia finished second overall in the 300mh, which earned him the junior class record and puts him #3 all time for Issaquah High. The final individual event on the track was the 3200m, where Connor Rickey brought home the individual win in a time of 9:13.51. This time earns Connor the junior class record, and puts him #4 all time. Of note, Alexander Yahn (3rd) and Henry Tait (4th) ran 9:17.25 and 9:17.79, where Alex dipped under the previous junior class record and both cemented themselves in the top 10 all time. A master class by the distance group!

Again, to go through the second through fifth place finishes in prose would take too long! See them listed below:

  • Carson Naehr (high jump, 2nd, 5’10”)
  • KJ Strunk (javelin, 2nd, 156’1″)
  • Toren Garcia (110mH, 4th, 15.63)
  • Avani Akerkar (100mH, 5th, 17.85)
  • Christian Talluto (freshman 100m, 3rd, 12.28)
  • Shane Olsen (100m, 4th, 11.52)
  • Kylee Pachuilo (freshman 100m, 3rd, 13.56)
  • Sally Davis (freshman 1600m, 2nd, 5:27.59)
  • Daniela Jaeschke (400m, 5th, 62.79)
  • Avani Akerkar (300mh, 5th, 51.70)
  • Sena Pittman (200m, 3rd, 26.68)
  • Boy’s 4x400m (5th, 3:35.36)
  • Girl’s 4x400m (4th, 4:19.05)

Issaquah girls won a very close team contest over Skyline 96.5-96, and Issaquah boys finished second to Skyline boys 106-80.5. Skyline brought home the combined team title.

Eagles head up 228th on Tuesday April 5th, for our dual meet against Skyline! Fly Eagles, Fly!

2024 Track and Field: What to know

Track and Field online registration is available now.

All forms must be turned in by Monday 2/26/2024 before practice begins to participate in the first practice — NO exceptions.

There is no school the week of February 19th through February 23rd   and forms will NOT be accepted after March 1st.

Fill out the online registration form.  Please note you will need your Family Access Login of the first Parent/Guardian to complete the process.

Track & Field season starts February 26th. Coaches and athletes will meet at the Stadium at 3:30pm. Students should wear workout clothes.

Everything you wanted to know about Practices:

Practice is held five days-a-week, Monday through Friday, after school. Regular practice time is 3:30-5:30ish Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 4:00-6:00ish on Wednesday; sometimes a little shorter, sometimes a little longer.  Saturday practices may be held for certain events – coaches will notify athletes ahead of time when and where. Once meets start, a weekly routine will begin to take shape and it will be easier to gauge when practices may vary from the standard time frame. There is no practice on days we have a meet even if you are not participating in that meet. There will be no mandatory practices during Spring Break; info about any possible optional practices that week will be announced later. If optional practices for your event area are being held and you are in town over Spring break and able to participate, it is highly encouraged to attend. Any changes in the practice schedule will be announced on the blog or our Instagram, @issyxc_tf.

You are required to participate fully in 10 practices before you are able to compete in any meets per WIAA rules. If you miss four in a row, we begin subtracting from your banked total and will continue each day until you return. There AT LEAST are 18 available practices before our first meet on the Thursday of the fourth week.

Attendance at school for the full school day is required in order to participate in practice or meets that might be on that day. There are approved exceptions when you need to miss  school for appointments and other legitimate, but regardless, you need to bring a signed note from the doctor’s office or other legitimate excused absence to the attendance office in order for you to be able to practice.  In case you didn’t know, skipping class is not a legitimate excuse.

Athletes that consider themselves to be talented, varsity, good, awesome, or anything of that ilk should prove it by being at each and every practice. If you know you will need to miss a practice (some reasons are actually legitimate – the best way to tell if yours qualifies is by looking at your coach’s face when you give him/her your reason for missing practice), you must tell your coach. The best way to do this is to tell them in advance in person or you can email Coach Brookshire, Coach Mike, and your event coach. Their contact info can be found on the blog.

If an athlete is absent from practice or school, it is the event coach’s and head coaches’ discretion whether or not the athlete may compete in the meet(s) following the absence.

Practice begins on-time in the stadium bleachers where we meet as a group before breaking into our specific event groups and before ultimately going outside. We do not wait for anyone, and nothing looks worse than someone that routinely walks in late. Wednesday is probably the hardest day to get to practice without hustling. We do not formally return to the stadium.  Please remember that we are meeting outside, so please dress accordingly (pants, sleeves, rain shell, etc). Any changes in where we meet will be announced on the blog and on our Instagram, @issyxc_tf.

We practice and compete in all weather conditions except in instances of lightning. Any changes in our practice schedules due to weather will be announced on the blog and on our Instagram, @issyxc_tf.

During practice, bring your athletic bags and any other personal items to the grandstand. The school provides lockers for in-season athletes but the logistics around this are yet to be worked-out so it is advised not to depend on lockers being available. They may become available eventually and we will pass on information about this when we know more. It is best not bring anything valuable to practice that is not necessary.

Everything you wanted to know about Meets:

If an athlete is absent from practice or school, it is the event coach’s and head coaches’ discretion whether or not the athlete may compete in the meet(s) following the absence.

Our meet schedule includes non-Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday invitationals and post-season meets that do not include the entire team. We announce entries into these meets both at practice and on the blog.  Athletes that are invited to run will make themselves available for EVERY invitational meet in which they are entered. We attend these meets so our kids have a chance to compete against advanced competition so if you want to be the best, clear up your schedule when we have these meets. Our entire meet schedule can be found on the blog.

Our schedule includes five mid-week dual meets plus at least one meet during KingCo Week for everybody on the entire team. This means there is a minimum of six meets for everybody on the team, provided you meet and maintain eligibility requirements.

You must be passing 6 out of 7 of your classes to be academically eligible to compete in meets. The Athletic Director will notify the coaches about kids that are below these standards. The initial assessment is based on the most-recently completed semester and then there will be at least one grade check during the season.

We issue a standard uniform to each athlete which consists of a singlet and shorts. Jackets may also be issued. Uniforms are to be worn at each meet and are not to be worn at practice. Uniforms and jackets are collected at the end of the season at the Track awards banquet. Fines will be assigned to those who do not return team issued gear.

It is required that you dress appropriately for the weather conditions at practices and meets in order to stay warm and dry as best you can. Invariably, we will have some freshmen (and sometimes seniors) show up to the bus for meets with nothing on but their singlet and shorts. This is ill-advised and should be avoided. Team Gear is available for purchase by each individual athlete – click this link for more details. EVERY ATHLETE WILL NEED TO, AT A MINIMUM, PURCHASE THE TEAM WHITE LONG SLEEVE SHIRT. This is the first item on the store. If a student is unable to purchase, please email Coach Brookshire or Coach Mike and we will find a way get one.

Tips for success:

Proper rest is an essential part of success in Track & Field. Coaches will usually make recommendations for what you should do on off days when we do not have practice or meets.

Please purchase appropriate footwear for your events when possible. A new pair of running shoes for the season for practices is highly recommended. Shoes that are too old or worn can cause injury and delay progress. For competition, we strongly recommend spikes for all running events and any other various specialty footwear for field events. This is not required but merely recommended for optimum performance. Ask your coach at practice for guidance about footwear.

If you compete in any other sporting activity during the track season, whether individually or on another team – particularly club sports – or participate in clubs at the high school, it is important to weigh your commitment to track and field. Track and field is a varsity level high school sport, which requires you to be at practice at least 5 days per week on time. Anyone can find a place on our track and field team, but it is not for everyone. Please understand that persistent and repeated absences are prohibited by the WIAA, and as a result will result in dismissal from the team.

Other specific questions can be asked at practice or by emailing Coach Brookshire and/or Coach Mike.

MEET RECAP: 2023 WIAA State Championships

4A BOYS STATE CHAMPIONS, 4A GIRLS STATE RUNNER-UP

Issaquah Eagles are AGAIN returning home with some hardware! After a full year of hard work, we’ve arrived back at the state championships. The team raced on a tough course, coming away with 1 team title, 1 runner-up title, 3 all-state performances, and 14 powerful examples of running for something bigger than yourself!

Our girls team competed first, and ran like professionals! Led by freshman phenom Sally Davis (18:56.8, 10th, All-State), whose performance put her individually on the podium. Our next runner, senior Jane Harig (17th, 19:12.8), fought the whole race, and junior Sena Pittman (21st, 19:18.7) put up an amazing fight in her first state cross country meet. Sophomore Allison Hu (30th, 19:35.0) moved up 4 spots over the race, while junior Riley Eberhardt (31st, 19:35.1) improved 15 places from last year and ran an amazing finish. Of note, all 5 of these girls put up performances that rank amongst the top 25 Issaquah Eagles performances on the Sun Willows State course. Our sixth and seventh runners, junior Elena Gehrke (36th, 19:37.0) and junior Liv Jensen (48th, 19:56.4) had amazing races to close the door for the team. As a team, our girls ran selflessly, all putting themselves out there to be the best they could for their teammates. When it came time to tally up team scores, #1 ranked Mt Si totaled 53 points to Issaquah’s 83 points, taking home the team state championship. This was an amazing cap to a monumental season, which took a group of newcomers (4 of the top 7 hadn’t run HS cross country before) and turned them into championship contenders. This performance only reinforces the team bonds and friendships they built through the hardworking and dedication they put forward this year!

Onto our boy’s team, who entered the state meet this year as the clear favorite, was reminded that anything can happen at the state meet. Led by juniors Connor Rickey (8th, 15:59.4, All-State) and Henry Tait (16th, 16:12.9, All-State), both of whom went with the lead group and ran incredible individual and team races. Of note, Tait had one of the most meteoric improvements in one calendar year, going from 59th to 16th–an amazing show of his nose to the grindstone mentality. Senior Brennen Rickey (20th, 16:19.0) and junior Alex Yahn (29th, 16:28.2) were the next to cross the finish line, both of whom moved up or held position over the last mile of the race. State newcomer sophomore Nathaniel Laursen (68th, 17:01.9) put in an incredible effort to close the back door for our team. Our sixth and seventh runners, junior Robert Fischer (100th, 17:22.3) and senior Oscar Ruiz (106th, 17:25.0) both pushed themselves to the brink for their teammates. The squad finished the race in dramatic fashion, with only a 7 point margin of victory over #2 ranked Kamiakin, a surprise that only the state meet can bring. This is the second state championship in boy’s program history, and the second straight state championship, a feat that hasn’t been done in the 4A division since 2013-14 Gig Harbor. A win is a win, and our ultimate goal of being repeat state champions was accomplished! 

Link to full results here. Photos by Ken Fischer are here (to be updated).

For the second straight year, head coach Liza Rickey has coached teams to a state title and a state runner up finish, a testament to her incredible leadership and the tenacity of the Issaquah cross country team. Our teams now head to Nike Cross Regionals in Eagle, ID to compete for a NXN bid. Fly Eagles, Fly!

MEET RECAP: District Championships

In the second of our 3 post-season meets for our varsity squad, our TEAM showed that they are ready for the competition ahead. Overall, our athletes walked away district champions on the boy’s side and district runners-up on the girl’s side.

Starting with the girls, who lined up against 5 other state ranked teams, facing the #1 ranked Mt Si for the second week in a row. This time led by senior Jane Harig (7th, 18:27.6), followed by freshman Sally Davis (9th, 18:39.5) and junior Sena Pittman (12th, 18:45.7) — with breakout races from sophomore Allison Hu (17th, 19:01.4, PR) and junior Elena Gehrke (19th, 19:09.3) — along with junior Riley Eberhardt (25th, 19:22.4), and junior Liv Jensen (34th, 19:45.8) to round out our top 7. The team ended up finishing in second place to Mt Si (45-59). This performance is incredibly encouraging as we head into the state meet next week in Pasco. 

Onto our boys, who continue their dominance on their way to the state meet. The Eagles were led by junior Alexander Yahn (4th, 15:43.4), junior Connor Rickey (6th, 15:51.2), senior Brennen Rickey (9th, 15:57.5), junior Henry Tait (5th, 16:07.3), sophomore Nathaniel Laursen (19th, 16:28.3, PR), junior Robert Fischer (34th, 16:47.6) and senior Oscar Ruiz (38th, 16:51.5) — putting on a show in the team race, scoring 50 points over #7 ranked Eastlake’s 89 points #8 ranked Redmond’s 92 point effort. As we head to the state meet, we are excited to see how this group can do!

Links to full results are here, while links to photos taken by Ken Fischer are here. Both of our teams qualified for the state meet, which will be held at Sun Willows Golf Course on Saturday November 4th, ticketing link here. 4A girls race at 1:30pm, while 4A boys race at 3:00pm. The boys are ranked first going into the meet, and the girls are ranked second — both teams will be competing for the state title.

Fly Eagles, Fly!

MEET RECAP: Kingco Championships

In the first of our 3 post-season meets for our varsity squad, our TEAM showed that they are ready for the competition ahead. Overall, our athletes walked away with 10 All-Kingco individual performances, an individual runner-up finish, a second place team finish and a first place team finish.

Starting with our boys, who took care of business in a big way. The Eagles were led by junior Connor Rickey (2nd, 15:43.2, First Team All-Kingco), senior Brennen Rickey (4th, 15:57.5, First Team All-Kingco), junior Henry Tait (5th, 15:59.0, First Team All-Kingco), junior Alexander Yahn (6th, 16:00.8, First  Team All-Kingco), junior Robert Fischer (13th, 16:47.6, Second Team All-Kingco) and sophomore Nathaniel Laursen (16:54.0, Second Team All-Kingco) — putting on a show in the team race, scoring 30 points over #4 ranked Redmond’s 53 point effort. This is an incredible way to start the momentum of our post-season, and absolutely something for us to build on top of!

Onto girls, who put up about as good a fight as they could have. Going up against #1 ranked Mt Si, #4 ranked Skyline, and #5 ranked Eastlake, our squad raced well. Led by junior Sena Pittman (5th, 18:35.7, First Team All-Kingco) and senior Jane Harig (8th, 18:43.7, Second Team All-Kingco) — along with freshman Sally Davis (12th, 18:54.9, Second Team All-Kingco), junior Riley Eberhardt (21st, 19:27.6), junior Elena Gehrke (22nd, 19:30.4), sophomore Allison Hu (23rd, 19:31.0, PR), and junior Liv Jensen (24th, 19:33.6) — all running amazing races and finishing a close second place as a team to Mt Si (45-68). While a Kingco trophy didn’t return home with us for the girl’s team, this performance gives us an incredible point to take off from. 

Links to full results are here, while links to photos taken by Ken Fischer are here. Both of our teams qualified for the district meet, which will be held at Lakewood HS on October 28th. 4A girls race at 1pm, while 4A boys race at 2:20pm.

Fly Eagles, Fly!

MEET RECAP: Nike Hole In The Wall

As one of the largest meets in the pacific northwest, Hole In the Wall hosted nearly 5000 athletes racing across 13 races. Issaquah showed up extremely well, as a team winning 3 races and finishing as the runner-up in two others and having a whole slew of PRs and individual awards. 

Our first group of the day was our freshman/sophomore boys bright and early at 9AM. Sophomores Kiran Pan (14th, 17:37.7, PR) and Ben Meier (20th, 17:46.4, PR) led the way, along with frosh Sebastian Sengamalay (32nd, 18:06.6, PR), Lincoln Young (41st, 18:23.3, PR), and sophomore Owen Kang (46th, 18:31.5) scored for Issaquah. This group was 5th in the team standings with 153 points, where Lincoln HS out of Portland won with 44 points. Our JV Bronze girls brought home our first team win of the day, led by Caprice Oliva (3rd, 23:36.3, PRAnike Sharp (10th, 24:03.5, PR), Piper Stone (15th, 24:19.6, PR), Kira Schell (20th, 24:45.6), and Alexandra Clarke (26th, 24:58.4) to round out our scoring 5. The JV Girls scored 39 points over Shorewood’s 40 points. JV Girls silver were up next, who were led by sophomore Allison Hu (1st, 20:26.3, PR), senior Faith Dougherty (8th, 21:56.5), freshman Whitney Neville (9th, 21:59.3, PR), junior Amanda George (13th, 22:24.6), and senior Mackenzie Bice (19th, 22:36.1). The girls ended up scoring 43 points for first place over West Point Grey Academy (66 points). With the JV Bronze boys, junior Augustus VanWagoner led the way, followed by Aiden Gandhi (34th, 21:06.3), senior Trillium Magus (2nd, 18:03, PR), senior Vignesh Ravilla (82nd, 21:55.4), and junior Mateo Romeyer (146th, 22:41.7, PR), rounding out the scoring 5. In the team competition, this crop of JV boys finished 10th overall scoring 378 to Shorewood’s 15. JV Boys silver were up next, who were led by junior Mason Underwood (5th, 18:22.8), junior Ryan Aby (11th, 18:53.5), senior Brigid Chiu (17th, 19:09.9), senior Ryan Heuchert (24th, 19:26.8), and senior Calvin Rodrigue (50th, 19:51.1). The boys ended up scoring 100 points for first place over Sehome (107 points). Our final JV group of the day was our JV Gold boys, led by sophomore Josh Dayley (19th, 17:40.0, PR), junior Toren Garcia(49th, 18:21.3), junior Finn Anstey (54th, 18:24.0), junior Braydon Staples (76th, 18:45.6), and junior Jacob Chalissery (82nd, 18:49.0). This group of boys placed 7th with 257 points to Coeur D’Alene (31 points).

For our four varsity level races, which began with Varsity silver girls, who were led by freshman Lauren Tehero (21st, 20:45.7, PR), senior Ilora Farren (23rd, 20:47.7), junior Georgia Short (24th, 20:48.0), senior Clara Tubbs (36th, 21:11.0), and senior Giada Oliva (46th, 21:25.4). These girls finished second to West Point Grey Academy 116-136. Our Varsity silver boys led by Nathaniel Laursen (4th, 16:50.5), Ellie Miller (25th, 17:38.4), Ilyaas Motiwalla (54th, 18:06.8), Ishaan Agarwal (59th, 18:10.6), and Nicolas Talluto (63rd, 18:12.5) finished second to Lakeside of Seattle 121-194. 

Freshman Sally Davis (43rd, 19:23) led our elite girls, followed closely by junior Sena Pittman (48th, 19:31.5), senior Jane Harig (55th, 19:36.8), junior Elena Gehrke (80th, 20:14.5), and junior Liv Jensen (95th, 20:42). The performances by these ladies were enough for them to finish seventh as a team, totaling 263 points, finishing as the third Washington team in the field. The race was won by Lincoln of Portland with 62 points. 

Our boys’ varsity was the final race of the day, where junior Connor Rickey (12th, 15:37.2), junior Henry Tait (23rd, 15:53.3), senior Brennen Rickey (35th, 16:01.4), junior Alex Yahn (49th, 16:15.1), and junior Robert Fischer (114th, 17:07.6). The boys’ team finished fifth, finishing as the second Washington team and ahead of #22 nationally ranked Bozeman. The race was won as a team by Coeur D’Alene with 68 points. 

Full results are here. Photos by Ken Fischer are here.

Looking ahead, Issaquah hosts our Crest and Crown meet at Marymoor Park on Wednesday October 11th, which will also serve as a preview of the Kingco Championship course. Races will start at 3:15pm, and the parks department charges $1 for parking on site. The following Wednesday (18th) will be the Sub Varsity Kingco JV Invitational, and Friday the 20th will begin our route to the state championship with the Kingco Championships.

Fly Eagles, Fly!

MEET RECAP: 50th Sunfair Invitational

As one of the great historical invitationals in the northwest, Sunfair continues to be an athlete-favorite that challenges our runners to be the best version of themselves. Our team rose to said challenge, recording multiple individual wins, multiple team wins, and both varsity squads coming home with hardware and trophies. 

Our freshman group started the day with a 2 mile course on the historic Franklin Park. Whitney Neville (3rd, 14:36, 2 mi PR) and Caprice Oliva (4th, 14:59, 2 mi PR) led the way. Our frosh boys recorded our first win of the day, where Sebastian Sengamalay (1st, 11:47) and Arya Bhat (5th, 12:04, 2 mi PR) led the way, followed by Rex Garner (7th, 12:13, 2 mi PR), Lincoln Young (9th, 12:14, 2 mi PR), and Thomas Ryan (12th, 12:32, 2 mi PR) to round out our scoring 5. The freshman boy’s crew scored 25 points over West Valley’s 45 points. Awesome showing by our newcomers!

Junior varsity girls were up next, who were led by senior Clara Tubbs (1st, 21:05), senior Ilora Farren (3rd, 21:58), sophomore Sailor Storey (4th, 21:59, 3 mi PR), senior Giada Oliva (5th, 22:17), and senior Mackenzie Bice (6th, 23:01, 3 mi PR). The girls ended up scoring 15 points for first place over Richland (79 points). With the junior varsity boys, sophomore Nathaniel Laursen (1st, 17:23, 3 mi PR) led the way, followed by sophomore Nicolas Talluto (2nd, 18:03, 3 mi PR), junior Matthew Fischer (3rd, 18:05), junior Ishaan Agarwal(5th, 18:13), and senior Ilyaas Motiwalla (6th, 18:22) rounding out the scoring 5. In the team competition, the boys finished first over West Valley 17 to 110. A great showing by our developmental group!

On to our varsity girls, who raced as pairs in flights against their respective standing on the team (for example, numbers 6 and 7 race all other teams 6 and 7, and so on). First up was junior Georgia Short(21:45), who was the second place #7 to cross the line. Freshman Lauren Tehero (20:53, 3 mi PR) had an amazing showing representing us as our #6 runner, finishing second place in the standings. Sophomore Clara Michael (20:41, 3 mi PR) finished second in the races against #5s, and junior Elena Gehrke (19:47, 3 mi PR) finished second against the #4s. Freshman Sally Davis (19:31, 3 mi PR) and junior Sena Pittman(19:23, 3 mi PR) both finished first against #3s and #2s, respectively, and senior Jane Harig (19:18, 3 mi PR), who raced alone against all other team’s #1 runners, finished second and ran the second fastest time of the day. The performances by these ladies were enough for them to finish second as a team, totaling 12 points, finishing behind 3rd-ranked West Valley Yakima with 9 points. 

Our boys’ varsity also raced in the flighted format, where senior Oscar Ruiz (17:30, 3 mi PR) and junior Ben Lucas (17:30, 3 mi PR) both finished first against #7s and #6s, respectively. Junior Robert Fischer (17:01, 3 mi PR) finished first amongst #5s, and junior Henry Tait (16:14, 3 mi PR) finished first against #4s. Junior Alex Yahn (16:11, 3 mi PR) was first for the #3s, and senior Brennen Rickey (15:47, 3 mi PR) finished first against #2s. Connor Rickey, racing as our #1 runner, finished first overall with a time of 15:45 (3 mi PR), which was the fastest time of the day and over a 30 second improvement on Sunfair’s course from last year. The boys’ team finished first, winning every single flight and coming up with a perfect score of 7 points over West Valley Yakima’s 16 points. When combined, our varsity programs scored a total of 19 points, which brought us home the combined team championship.

Full results are here. Photos by Eisenhower’s Ivan Alfaro are available here. Photos by Ken Fischer are here (will update once available). 

Looking ahead, Issaquah travels north to Hole In the Wall, hosted by Lakewood High School of Arlington on October 7th. This invite is one of the largest meets in the country, where over 5000 athletes will be racing throughout the day. Frosh/Soph boys will be our first race of the day at 9AM. 

Fly Eagles, Fly!

MEET RECAP: Issaquah, Woodinville @ Mt Si

Following the extremely impressive performances that the weekend brought about, it is hard to believe that they could be topped. However, Mount Si’s course proved to have something special for the second year in a row — tallying 90 personal bests — the Eagles took on the Woodinville Falcons and the Mt Si Wildcats at the South Fork Landing Disc Golf Course. Along with stellar team performances — winning 2 of the 3 possible team races — we also recorded 2 of 3 possible individual wins. 

Starting with our varsity boys, where junior Henry Tait (1st, 15:35), junior Connor Rickey (2nd, 15:39) led the team, followed by junior Robert Fischer (4th, 16:07, PR), senior Oscar Ruiz (5th, 16:08, PR), and junior Ben Lucas (10th, 16:19, PR) to round out the scoring five. This is a huge step for our team and we are so excited for these three’s continued growth. This group finished with a score of 24 to Mt Si’s 39. 

Onto our girl’s squad, who raced 4A State 1st-ranked Mt Si. Issaquah’s freshman Sally Davis (4th, 18:03, PR) and senior Jane Harig (5th, 18:04, PR) led the charge while junior Riley Eberhardt (7th, 18:54, PR), junior Elena Gehrke (8th, 19:00, PR) and junior Liv Jensen (10th, 19:05, PR) closed the back door for our scoring 5. This effort by our girl’s squad put them second to Mt Si 19-37. Great job by these ladies!

Our boy’s Junior Varsity group closed out the evening, where junior Ishaan Agarwal (1st, 16:57, PR), senior Ilyaas Motiwalla (3rd, 17:06, PR), sophomore Nicolas Talluto (4th, 17:07, PR), junior Silas Sneath (5th, 17:21, PR) and junior Toren Garcia (6th, 17:23, PR) all worked to incredible PRs. Issaquah’s JV squad delivered a 19-44 victory over Mt Si, while also taking in this race, but also took 25 of the top 30 spots in this race — what could only be considered as a wall of yellow!

Links to full results here. Links to photographs by Ken Fischer here.

Coming up, Issaquah flies over the pass for the 50th rendition of the Historic Sunfair Invitational on Saturday, September 30th. 

Fly Eagles, Fly!

MEET RECAP: The Mook XC Invite/Kings Cross Invitational

In our team’s first big invitational weekend of the season, Issaquah split our team between two meets — sending a squad to The Mook XC Invite Invitational and another group to the 16th King’s Cross Invitational. Both groups were up against high level competition, and rose to meet the challenge. 

The first event of the weekend was the Girl’s Invitational section at The Mook, where 7 of our athletes raced. Led by junior Sena Pittman (9th, 18:16.6, PR) and freshman Sally Davis (11th, 18:24.3, PR), along with scorers senior Jane Harig (24th, 18:47.0), and juniors Elena Gehrke (29th, 19:03.5, PR) and Riley Eberhardt (31st, 19:14.8, PR) rounding out the scoring five. Quah girls ended up finishing 2nd overall, with #1 regionally ranked Jesuit HS out of Portland taking the victory 48-98. This was an awesome step in the right direction for this team and we look forward to seeing how the rest of the season plays out for this group!

The last race for the Eagles at the Mook was the Boy’s Varsity in the Invitational section, going up against two nationally/regionally ranked teams and multiple top ranked teams in their states. Our boys rose to the challenge, finishing 2nd overall as a team and the 1st Washington team. Led by junior Connor Rickey (9th, 15:16.5, PR), junior Alex Yahn (13th, 15:25.1, PR), and senior Brennen Rickey (14th, 15:25.4, PR), along with juniors Henry Tait (19th, 15:30.7, PR) and Robert Fischer (61st, 16:22.2, PR) rounding out the scoring five. Finishing 2nd as a team to #1 regionally ranked Jesuit HS 63-108, we took down #4 regionally ranked Franklin HS in the process, proving our pedigree amongst the best teams in the region and nation.

Our crew at King’s Cross Invite also were met with stiff competition, but this group showed that they are equally prepared to step up to the challenge of racing — even with an intensely difficult course (and an added obstacle in bees!). Beginning with the JV Boy’s White race — junior Kai Adlakha (18:11,13, 3 mi PR) won the race, with junior Finn Anstey (2nd, 18:24.84, 3 mi PR), freshman Sebastian Sengamalay (3rd, 18:34.36, 3 mi PR), sophomore Kai Mitsuyama (4th, 18:35.32, 3 mi PR), and junior Mason Underwood (6th, 18:47.31, 3 mi PR) rounding out the scoring 5. This group won the team race 16-72 over Cedar Park Christian HS. 

Our girls at King’s Cross also showed out — led by junior Georgia Short (6th, 20:52.93, 3 mi PR) and followed by freshman Lauren Tehero (7th, 21:02.66, 3 mi PR), senior Giada Oliva (10th, 21:08.26, 3 mi PR), freshman Caroline Mullet (11th, 21:20.54, 3 mi PR), and senior Ilora Farren (14th, 21:42.17, 3 mi PR) to round out the scoring 5. They finished 1st as a team over King’s HS 47-54 in a close team battle, and we are extremely proud of this group for representing our varsity at this meet so well!

The final are of the day was the Varsity Boy’s Red race at King’s Cross, led by junior Matthew Fischer (19th, 17:47.31, 3 mi PR), along with sophomore Nicolas Talluto (29th, 18:06.31, 3 mi PR), junior Ishaan Agarwal (30th, 18:06.45, 3 mi PR), senior Ilyaas Motiwalla (21st, 18:18.24, 3 mi PR) and junior Silas Sneath (36th, 18:27.93, 3 mi PR) rounded out our scoring 5. This group also finished 4th behind the varsity teams of Cedar Park Christian (24), Franklin (75), and Mt Rainier (107) with a total of 118 points. Developing the future of our team is looking extremely bright with performances like these!

With almost everyone on our team post either a new personal best, season’s best, or a near-personal best, it is evident that even through some of our toughest training, our athletes can put up amazing performances. Great job TEAM!

Links to the results for The Mook are here, while King’s Cross are here. Photos by Ken Fischer of Kings Cross are linked here, and a gallery of photos of The Mook are linked here

Looking ahead, Mt. Si hosts us for a league meet that includes Woodinville on Tuesday September 26th. This meet is hosted at the South Fork Landing Disc Golf Course in North Bend — boys will race first at 4pm. Then, on Saturday September 30th, our whole team will travel to Yakima for the historic 50th Sunfair Invitational at Franklin Park. 9th grade girls will race first beginning at 10am. 

Fly Eagles, Fly!

MEET RECAP: Issy, Skyline @ North Creek, Inglemoor

In what was the second annual “mega meet” at St Edwards — where almost every school in our conference raced on the same course over a two day stretch — Issaquah reigned supreme in the first 5K race of the season. Up against Inglemoor, North Creek, Skyline — Issaquah won 4 of the 4 contested races and notched 2 individual wins.

First race of the day was our varsity boys, led by junior Alex Yahn (16:19.31, PR) who also won the race for Issaquah, finishing just ahead of senior teammate Brennen Rickey (2nd, 16:26.90) and ahead Skyline’s Reader Aageson. Rounding out our scoring 5 were juniors Henry Tait (5th, 16:37.35), Robert Fischer (7th, 17:22.54), and sophomore Nathaniel Laursen (8th, 17:28.45, PR). This totaled to 23-40 over Skyline, sealing a dominate league performance in our second full-distance race of the season.

Next up were varsity girls, led by freshman Sally Davis (19:24.59, PR) who finished 3rd behind Skyline’s 1-2 runners. Junior Sena Pittman (4th, 19:24.64, PR) and senior Jane Harig (5th, 19:25.10) came across next, while junior Liv Jensen (10th, 21:04.51) and freshman Lauren Tehero (11th, 21:05.74, PR) rounded out our scoring top 5. These incredible efforts from our girl’s team was enough to secure the overall team victory over Skyline 33-50, and securing the league meet victory over Inglemoor and North Creek as well.

Onto our JV boys, who secured 9 of the top 10 spots to secure a score of 20 over Skyline’s 43 point effort. Junior Braydon Staples finished second overall (18:28.54, PR) followed by senior Ilyaas Motiwalla (18:33.51), junior Toren Garcia (18:33.67), junior Jacob Chalissery (18:45.54, PR), and junior Kai Adlakha (18:56.13, PR) to round out the scoring 5. This was an awesome effort by these athletes to set us up well for the future!

The evening of races concluded with JV girls, who secured the top 11 spots to secure a perfect score of 15 over Skyline’s 62 point effort, led by senior Clara Tubbs (1st, 21:40.59), senior Mackenzie Bice (2nd, 22:43.84), senior Faith Dougherty (3rd, 22:57.32), sophomore Amelia Ryan (4th, 23:16.06), and senior Rachel Dennie (5th, 23:31.27). An amazing effort by these ladies to close out the racing evening!

Full results from the meet are here. Photos by Ken Fischer are linked here (to be linked when available).

This week continues with invitationals this Saturday, where our team will split up and race at multiple locations. Varsity will be attending The Mook XC Invite at Alderbrook Golf Course in Tillamook, OR (Invitational races at 1:15pm) and a group racing at Kings Cross Invite, hosted by Kings HS (races begin at 1:15pm).

Fly Eagles, Fly!