Coming home on Nov. 9 from its first State meet in school history, the Wenatchee High School cross country team refused to be discouraged by the outcome.

The boys placed 10th overall, and the girls came in 16th place out of 16 teams.

“Of course we wanted to do well at State, but that wasn’t the main goal. We trained to peak at Districts, not State, and we did that,” sophomore Sophie Marshall said.

“There were some tough teams, so it was a total team effort,” Coach Susan Valdez said. “It was even more rewarding because we ran a lot over the summer, and it was great for both teams to see their hard work pay off.”

Junior Cole Christman led the boys team, placing 17th for a new personal record at 15 minutes and 44 seconds. Senior Sam Martin was close behind in 35th place with a time of 16 minutes and 4 seconds, also a new personal record. Behind them were junior Austen Lane and senior Tristan Cunderla, taking 66th and 96th place.

The girls team was led by junior Raquel Thody in 90th place with a time of 19 minutes and 59 seconds, followed by junior Lindsey Wapato and Marshall, who achieved new personal records as well.

“It [State] gave me experience so that next year I can be more comfortable, and it definitely gave everyone on the team experience with these kinds of big races,” freshman Moses Lurbur said. “I think we’re all really happy with how we did, considering how we weren’t even ranked at one point during the season.”