REGIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!

Both the Backhawk boys and girls varsity and JV teams won regionals yesterday at Gorge, WA. The girls varsity race was first and Sanne Amie and Kinsey took control of this race and finished a very strong 1-2-3 overall. Amanda and Mariah raced very smart moving through the field in the second half to finish 10th and 13th. Team standings (top four schools qualified for state):

1. Cheney -- 28
2. Ephrata -- 100
3. Deer Park -- 121
4. Ellensburg -- 124

The boys varsity race was very intense with many schools in contention. Nash started off well and held on to finish 14th with Devon, Jacob and Aaron working their way through the field to finish 10th, 15th, and 19th respectfully. Corey, steadily improving, finished 30th overall to round out the Blackhawks top 5 and helped closed the pack time of 1-5 to an impressive 36 seconds. With the goal of qualifying for state in their minds the boys were very excited to say the least when the team scores were announced:

1. Cheney -- 88
2. Deer Park -- 96
3. Ellensburg -- 131
4. Selah -- 150

To finish up the event both the JV teams ran very well to show the overall depth of both the boys and girls teams. The boys JV were led by Mark finishing 2nd overall followed by a tight pack of others to led the JV past all other schools:

1. Cheney -- 42
2. Ellensburg -- 79
3. Deer Park -- 87
4. Selah -- 89

The girls JV had a very impressive showing going 1-2-3-4 with Sydney, Johanna, Sarah, and Katie all within 48 seconds. Allie finished a very strong 8th overall to round out the scoring:

1. Cheney -- 18
2. Ellensburg -- 53
3. East Valley (Spokane) -- 67
4. Deer Park -- 97 

Next up for the Blackhawks is the state meet on Nov. 6 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, WA. More information is available on the right side of this page with info being sent home with athletes on Monday Nov. 1st. Thanks to all the parents and fans who showed up at the Gorge yesterday to support the Blackhawks and celebrate our success. 

Some dates of interest:

• 11/6 -- State Meet (Girls Race: 11:00am Boys Race: 1:30pm)
• 11/13 -- Hoedown @ Beeler's 6pm-9pm
• 11/15 -- Awards Night @ CHS 6pm-8pm
• 11/25 -- Turkey Trot @ CHS 9am

Regionals Info (CHANGES TO SCHEDULE)

This Saturday at The Gorge Amphitheater, the Blackhawks will race both teams from the GNL and CWAC to determine which schools will move on to State. The top 4 teams and the top 20 individuals on both the girls and boys side will advance. Get ready to see the Blackhawks in their new uniforms (shown to the left).

CHANGES TO SCHEDULE!!!
Schedule for Saturday is as follows (if anything changes we will spread the word):

• 8:00am Load Bus
• 8:15am Depart for Gorge
• 11:00am Approximate Arrival
• 1:00pm Girls Varsity
• 1:30pm Boys Varsity
• 2:00pm Wheelchair
• 2:30pm Boys JV (JV races have been switched...)
• 3:00pm Girls JV
• 3:30pm Awards
• 8:00pm Arrive @ CHS

Some reminders about the meet: 

1. Directions -- the meet is at the Gorge Amphitheater, take I-90 to exit 149 and follow signs to venue
2. Admission -- they are charging admission to this meet $6 (adults/students w/o ASB) and $4 (seniors/students w/ASB)
3. With usage of this facility they are asking for everyone to stay out of the concert/stage/bowl area for safety reasons. 
4. Click here for Full Meet Information 

Vs. Clarkston @ Salnave

The Blackhawks finished up their league competitions today at Salnave Park versus Clarkston. Overall they competed and ran very well. Since there were only two schools, there were only two races: girls and boys.

First off the girls ran strong from the start of the race to secure a league title going 1-7 versus Clarkston. The Blackhawks were led by sophmore Sanne (19:10) followed by Kinsey (19:43), Amie (20:00), Amanda (20:32), Mariah (21:04), Savannah (21:05), and Anika (21:12). These top 7 gals will be representing the team at Regionals at Quincy on 10/30. Joining them and running on JV at Regionals will be Sydney, Sarah, Katie, Allie and Johanna.

In the second race of the day the Blackhawk boys raced very well and were impressive with their pack mentality. Leading the boys on this day was Devon in 16:49 followed closely by Nash (17:01), Aaron (17:03), Jacob (17:13), Corey (17:29), James (17:58) and Nick (18:08). These top 7 boys will be representing the team at Regionals at Quincy on 10/30. Also making the trip to run JV will be Dakota, Mark, Spencer, Tom, DJ, Derek, Andrew, Dillon, Collin, Kyle B., Regan, Jesse, Carson, Maka, Preston, and Charlie for all breaking the 21 minute mark.

Final GNL standings:

Boys:		Girls:
Deer Park	6-0	Cheney	6-0
Cheney	5-1	Deer Park	5-1
West Valley	4-2	East Valley	4-2
East Valley	3-3	West Valley	3-3
Pullman	2-4	Medical Lake	2-4
Medical Lake	1-5	Clarkston	1-5
Clarkston	0-6	Pullman	0-6

Team Notes:

• Thanks to all of the parents who helped out with the potato feed tonight after the race. It was very successful and everyone had a good time in celebration. 
• Don't forget to register and help spread the word about this year's Turkey Trot. Entry forms are available on the right of this page near the top. We hope you and your families join us for this year's race. 
• For those going to regionals, the races are in the afternoon, so we will leave Saturday morning...Keep your eyes open, the Blackhawks could look different on race day...

Week of Oct. 18-23

This week marks the last week of the regular season where the entire team will be together. The last league meet is on Wednesday at Salnave Park against Clarkston, the time schedule is different because there are going to be only 2 schools:

• 4:00pm start time for ALL girls
• 4:40pm start time for ALL boys 

After Wednesday's meet we will let the runners know who is going to race regionals at Quincy on the 23rd either  on varsity or JV. The season has has been great so far and they are looking forward to finishing strong come regionals and state. 

GNL #3 -- WV, PUL,

On Wednesday the Blackawks had their third league meet of the year and traveled to East Valley to race on a very difficult course. Even though East Valley was in the race, we did not score against them because we already met at the Fairways two weeks ago.

The JV boys started off the meet racing very well in a tight pack again beating West Valley 25-33 and Pullman 17-46. The boys were led by Derek placing 3rd overall in a time of 19:31 followed by Spencer and Dakota in 4th and 5th respectfully. As a team the JV boys had their top 9 runners all within 52 seconds which is a great pack time.

With two of their top five girls sitting out for this race the girls ran very well and showed their strong depth putting 7 in the top 10 overall. The Blackhawks were led by Amie with a time of 21:14 to secure wins over West Valley and Pullman by perfect scores of 15-50. Others running well for the girls included Amanda in 6th overall with a time 22:03 and Mariah in 7th with a time of 22:29.

The most competitive race of the day was the Varsity Boys with all four teams evenly matched on paper. Running controlled through the first half, the Blackhawk Boys took over this race on the hill using their strength and patience. At the finish they were led by Devon, Aaron, and Jacob in 4th, 5th, and 6th respectfully all within 17 seconds of each other. Running well together Nick and Corey secured victories versus both Pullman 26-29 and West Valley 25-30.

Current GNL standings:

Boys:		Girls:
Deer Park	4-0	Cheney	5-0
Cheney	4-1	East Valley	4-1
West Valley	4-1	Deer Park	3-1
East Valley	3-2	West Valley	3-2
Pullman	1-4	Medical Lake	1-4
Medical Lake	1-4	Clarkston	1-4
Clarkston	0-5	Pullman	0-5

Quincy Invite

The Blackhawks headed to The Gorge Amphitheater on Saturday to compete against the majority of the teams and the same course as the regional meet in 3 weeks. The weather was cool calm and cloudy, just about perfect for racing fast. Backwards from most races the varsity teams raced first with the girls setting the tone for the rest of the day.

Racing smart once again the Varsity Girls ran relaxed for the first half and moved up through the field in the second half, showing their top-end strength, and good depth. Led by Sanne and Kinsey going 1-2 with Amie 4th overall, the Blackhawks finished first as a team with 38 points to Ephrata's 64. Others racing varsity included Anika (16th) Savannah (17th) Amanda (21st) and Sydney (26th).

Up next was the Varsity Boys, who raced equally as well moving up in the last mile of the race. Led by Nash (6th overall), the top four boys raced as a pack and showed that their hard work is paying off; Devon finished (8th) with Jacob (9th) Aaron (13th) Nick (39th) Corey (53rd) and Spencer (59th). Overall they finished second to Deer Park, but are closing the gap every week, only losing by four points 69-73.

The Boys JV were next and had their best showing of the year so far placing first overall with 30 points ahead of 2nd place Deer Park with 57 points. Leading them were James (2nd) and Tom (3rd) earning Varsity spots for the next race. Also scoring for the boys were Dakota (7th) DJ (10th) and Kyle (11th).

To finish the day off the Girls JV raced in dominated fashion led by a 1-2 finish from freshman Mariah and Sarah respectfully. Also running for the girls were Katie (4th) and Johanna (5th).

Up next for the Blackhawks is the third league meet of the year at East Valley High School against West Valley and Pullman on Wednesday 13th. Having already raced East Valley the Blackhawks will only be scored against the other two schools. The season has flown by so far with only 3-4 weeks left for most runners.

EV, CHE @ ML Recap

Both the guys and girls teams were very dominate at their second league meet of the season hosted by Medical Lake at The Fairways Gold Course last Thursday. The JV boys started off the meet very strongly going 1-8 overall led by senior runner Spencer with a time of 19:25 on a warmer than normal afternoon. They ran smart and moved through the field in the second half showing good confidence and strength; included a 1-5 spread of only 33 seconds.

Next up were the combined girls, who took over this race early with the top four spots by the mile. Over the second half they ran within themselves Sanne, Kinsey, and Amie  finish 1-2-3 respectfully to guarantee wins versus both Medical Lake (15-48) and East Valley (19-42). With the varsity girls taken out the Blackhawks girls JV took the top 5 spots led by hardworking Sydney in 22:57. 

To round out the day the Varsity guys also ran very patient and smart, running behind 5 EV runners the first mile. By the end they showed their improved depth putting all seven runners in front of both Medical Lake's and East Valley's 5th runners. They were led by senior Nash with a 2nd overall finish in 17:14 and not far behind and running together very well were Devon, Jacob, and Aaron in 4th 5th and 6th respectfully. Team scores included two wins for the Blackhawks of (26-31) vs. East Valley and (18-40) vs. Medical Lake. 

Next up for the Blackhawks is the Quincy Invite on 10/9 which will give the teams a preview of the regionals course they will have to run strong on later to qualify for state. 

Updated League Standings (to the best of our knowledge):

Boys:	Girls:
Deer Park (2-0)	Cheney (3-0)
West Valley (2-0)	West Valley (2-0)
East Valley (3-1)	Clarkston (2-1)
Cheney (2-1)	Deer Park (1-1)
Clarkston (1-2)	East Valley (2-2)
Medical Lake (0-3)	Medical Lake (0-3)
Pullman (0-3)	Pullman (0-3)