Blackhawk boys capture first outright GNL title

The last time the Cheney High School boys cross country team finished first in the Great Northern League was 2007, and they had to share their triumph with West Valley and Colville.

This time, the Blackhawks are all alone at the top.

Thanks to a 24-31 win over visiting Pullman High in the regular-season ending league dual meet Oct. 14, the Cheney boys have captured their first GNL regular season title since joining the league in 2006. The Blackhawks placed all five scoring runners in the top-eight spots against the Greyhounds to finish 4-0 in league.

Drake Johnson led Cheney, finishing second in 16:42.5, 11.1 seconds behind Pullman's Tim Pendry. Johnson was followed by Matt Christianson in third (17:00.3), Mason VanStone in fifth with a season best mark of 17:28.0, Kaleb Lerch in sixth (17:28.8) and freshman Jack Peabody in eighth, also with a season best time of 17:39.4.

Luke Huguenin was 12th (18:16.7) while Tucker Cunningham was 14th (18:46.8).

The Cheney girls couldn't quite repeat the boys' performance against the Greyhounds, who are ranked fifth in the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association's Oct. 18 2A poll. Pullman placed four of its five scoring runners in the top four slots to hand the Blackhawk girls their first league loss of the season, 25-35.

Cheney runners did capture places 5 – 11. Hannah Spakousky was fifth in 21:22.6, followed by Brett Draper (21:26.1), Lexi Brooks (21:34.6), Abby Hammermeister (21:38.3) and Alecia Brooks (22:16.1) providing Cheney's scoring.

Jolene Whiteley was 10th in 22:32.6 and Sara Nanny was 11th in 22:33.6. Draper, Lexi Brooks and Whiteley all set new season best marks at the meet.

Cheney now travels to Clarkston this Saturday, Oct. 24, to compete in the District 7 meet, with the top two teams advancing to regional glue-in competition Oct. 31 at Rotary Park in Ellensburg against schools from the Central Washington Athletic Conference. The top four teams at regionals advance to the state meet Nov. 7 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Johnson, Christianson, VanStone, Lerch and Peabody all own five of the top 15 times this season in the GNL, with the 2A eighth-ranked West Valley boys also owning five, followed by Pullman with three and one each from Clarkston and East Valley. Spakousky, Draper, Hammermeister, Lexi Brooks, Nanny and Alecia Brooks are all in the top 15 for the girls, with Pullman owning four spots, two each for East Valley and West Valley and one for Clarkston.

All four of Pullman's top-15 spots are in the top 10, third – sixth, as are Cheney's at second, and eighth – 10.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].