On the morning of Sept. 9, five Mercer Island High School cross country harriers teamed up to set an unofficial course record at a land and lake competition in Maple Valley.

Owen Powell, Matthew Lawrence, Sophia Rodriguez, Bodie Thomas and Victoria Rodriguez battled against 200-plus teams to notch first place in a Tahoma Coed Relays race at Lake Wilderness Park.

Following each athlete’s 3K segment, which concluded with a 100-meter lake dash, the team’s winning mark rolled in at 58:47.

Last spring, Powell won the 3A state 1,600-meter run in 4:07.75 at Mt. Tahoma High School. He grabbed the school’s first-ever 1,600 state title with the fastest mark among all classifications, and also took fifth in the state 3,200 in 9:01.33.

The Rodriguez sisters are new to the Island program this season following a family move to the area from Dallastown, Pennsylvania, according to a MileSplit article. Freshman Sophia stands as the 14-year-old age-group two-mile and 5,000-meter world record holder, the story reads, adding that junior Victoria is a stellar 2K steeplechase runner and placed fourth at the Nike Outdoor Nationals this year.

Head coach Susan Empey said, “Rodriguez girls are flat out fast and are gelling well with the team. Hard working, humble and fun. Feeling awfully lucky they landed on MI!”

Owen Powell kicks up a splash while running through the lake. Photo courtesy of Aaron Koopman