Mercer Island advances three to 3A state cross country meet

Sophomore Maggie Baker and junior Kayla Lee made the top-49 cut for the Mercer Island girls, while senior Nate Benson moved on for the Islander boys.

Three Mercer Island cross country athletes qualified for next weekend’s 3A state championship meet in Pasco.

Sophomore Maggie Baker and junior Kayla Lee made the top-49 cut for the Mercer Island girls, while senior Nate Benson moved on for the Islander boys.

Baker placed 11th in the girls’ 5K race with a personal-best time of 19:13.8. Lee finished 14th with a PR of 19:26.7. Benson placed 40th in the boys’ 5K, finishing with a time of 16:50.1.

The Islander girls had advanced as a team out of the KingCo 3A championships to Thursday’s district meet. Also competing for Mercer Island at districts was Chloe Michaels, Mary Rose Vu, Rani Woerner, Taylor Libman and Sofia Caruccio. Ben Stoops also competed for the Mercer Island boys.

Holy Names senior Jordan Oakes won the girls’ 5K at 17:37.2, while Garfield senior William Laird won the boys’ race at 15:59.4.

The state cross country championships will take place Nov. 5 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.