Medical Lake girls win Can-Am

KETTLE FALLS – Little by little the pieces are beginning to fit together for Medical Lake cross country in 2023.

With a rebuild in progress following graduation, the Cardinals are showing improvement each week, Coach Gene Blankenship said.

That was most evident Sept. 23 where Medical Lake collected the girls team title at the Can-Am Invite.

The Cardinals had a winning team low of 41 points to top Selah with 67 in second. Rounding out the Top 5 are

Colville, 91; Deer Park, 105; and Jenkins (Chewelah), 112.

The Medical Lake boys were fourth with 167 points.

Valley Christian won the boys title with a low of 53 team points. Jenkins was second with 85 and Colville third with 119.

Brewster rounded out the Top 5 with 170 team points.

Cardinal Kaylee Dennler was the individual champ in a time of 20 minutes, 33 seconds over the 5,000-meter course at the Kettle Falls Day Use Area of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Kaitlyn Wiley was fourth at 21:22 for Medical Lake

Dennler had planned to compete with fellow sophomore Zadi Zier from Colville, but Zier was sick, the coach said.

“She was anticipating a good race with the girl who was leading the way for maybe the first mile, mile-and-a-half,” Blankenship said.

Dennler got ahead of her going into the last half-mile.

In the boys race, Nakai Ornelas was the top Medical Lake finisher with a time of 17:43, good enough for 10th-place. Cardinal Hector Gomez was right on his heels in 11th, with a time of 17:44.

“My boys team … I think we’re gonna get a lot better than we are right now,” Blankenship said, noting the Medical Lake band, which has a number of cross country athletes, played in Leavenworth.

The band athletes were absent from the Can-Am.

“My No. 3 girl, my No. 3 boy and my Nos. 5 and 6 boys were on the band trip,” Blankenship said.

Next for the Cardinals was a meet at Deer Park with Colville on Sept. 27. The newspaper went to press before the meet started.