Fort Steilacoom Delivers: Lanese Rolls, Jenkins Runs Away, and the Freshman Class Announces Itself
Gear stashed and ready. An Issaquah High School duffle waits under the team tent before the start of the races.
The Fort Steilacoom Invitational kicked off Saturday morning bright and early with youth and middle school races — teams and coaches shuffling off buses in the background, tents going up, bibs getting sorted.
Walking the park, a few things felt different this year. There was a big inflatable arch at mile one that I don't remember from past years, and the finishing chute had been narrowed from its usual wide-mouth entry. It probably works better — keeps athletes on the correct line coming into the finish.
Once I started scouting team tents and shooting locations among the fall-colored trees, I could feel the excitement building. The chatter under the tents made it obvious some athletes were nervous, some were hunting a PR, and others were there mostly to support their teammates.
I had no plans to shoot the early races, but I had one athlete I was hunting for — Aurelia Hawkins of Peninsula High School. Once Hawkins came into sight, I fired off several frames, my first race photos of the day, and it felt good. She went on to finish the 2-mile race in 26:38.5, setting the bar near her own personal best from last year's Westside Classic at Chambers Bay.
Peninsula High School’s Aurelia Hawkins pushes toward the finish in the 2-mile race at Fort Steilacoom, clocking in at 26:38.5.
As the day moved along I caught a lot of the kids I'd seen at Cascadia Running Camp and got to visit with their coaches — many of whom were camp counselors. It's always fun seeing them in real competition. With thousands of athletes on the course, finding familiar faces in the frame never gets old.
Spanaway Lake senior Isabelle Ackley pushes the pace on the course during her race at the Fort Steilacoom Invitational.
Heat after heat, runners started — it felt like the gun fired every 10 to 15 minutes, which made it tough to figure out where to be without missing athletes as they came through the course.
The varsity gold races were stacked, and I was excited to cover them. My day ended up getting cut short, but watching the times and results roll in afterward is rewarding in its own right.
Boys: Lanese Sets the Pace
Olympia's Quenton Lanese sets the course on fire, finishing in a blistering 15:02.1, with Mead's Stejer Franklin in tow just seven-tenths of a second back.
Olympia's Quenton Lanese set the course on fire, finishing in a blistering 15:02.1, with Mead's Stejer Franklin in tow just seven-tenths of a second back. North Central's Elliot Yegge finished third in 15:23.1.
Behind the top three was a long list of athletes who broke 16 minutes.
Mead took home the team title, with Gig Harbor and Stadium finishing second and third.
The freshman boys pack stays tight during the early stages of their 5K race at the Fort Steilacoom Invitational.
Girls: Jenkins Runs Away With It
On the girls' side, Kamiakin's Jaycee Jenkins threw down a convincing win, finishing in 17:59.8 — a 32.8-second gap on second-place finisher Lenorah Mcgarty of Redmond. Sequim's Eleanor Jones was just a few steps behind Mcgarty, in 18:32.9.
Emery Dahl (Redmond), Leah Hennen (Olympia), Kisanet Mearafu (Auburn), and Ella Savage (Gig Harbor) rounded out the top seven. Not a senior among them.
Tahoma's girls dominated the team scores, with Olympia and Kamiakin right behind. Issaquah's girls squad was made up almost entirely of JV runners and still finished 10th overall — a real signal of the depth they're building into the roster.
Running as a pack, Issaquah's girls squad was made up almost entirely of JV runners and still finished 10th overall — a real signal of the depth they're building into the roster.
The Freshman Class Is Arriving
Elijah Teeples (Kamiakin) solidified his top spot on my Project 29 board, running 16:08.1. Owen Loft (Mead) joins him at 4th in the state, and Christopher Healey (Vashon Island) sits 10th.
Sequim's Eleanor Jones is sending a signal to the rest of the state that she's ready to compete at a high level — finishing 3rd overall on the day and sitting 2nd on the freshman board. Kennedy Catholic's Vivian Porter also joins the list, at 12th.
Washington middle school cross country has no central database — so Project 29 rebuilds the incoming freshman class from raw championship results, verified distance by distance. Jackson, Jones, and Teeples are the first names off today's meet to move on the board. Keep an eye on it as more of the Class of 2030 opens its high school season.
Explore Project 29 ↗Other Notable Performances Around the State
Is this the year Sophia Rodriguez (Mt. Si) gets challenged down the stretch at the state championships? Aubrey Wilems (Eastlake) and Jaycee Jenkins (Kamiakin) are both within striking distance. I'm excited to see how the season plays out for these three.
Jillian Jackson (Lewis & Clark) sits atop the Project 29 charts and 6th on my State Watch board.
Joshua Whitney (Davis) claims the top spot for 4A boys in the state, running 14:56.79.
Miro Parr-Coffin sits 4th on my state board, just a second off Quenton Lanese and Stejer Franklin.
Inglemoor claims the top spots on both the boys' and girls' 3A boards, with Sammy Connell and Grace Ding occupying those. Inglemoor also holds the 3rd slot on the girls' side with Ava Simonetta's 18:37.57.
Ellensburg's Grace Beachy sits atop the 2A girls division, well ahead of second place. Kingston's Emma Grice cracks the top five for 2A girls. Wyatt Nitzschke (Columbia River) leads the 2A boys.
WSCCCA scholarship donations now include every digital download purchase from my race galleries — in addition to commissioned bookings of $350 and up.
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