Galleries Live · 2026 WIAA State Cross Country
See the Photos Behind the Picks
All 12 races from Pasco, with top 10 results and team champions.
Want the story of the day? Read the State recap.
Sehome’s top three girls (Kjirsten Ludeman, Samantha Knipp and Sloane Clines) crest the hill at mile 1 of the 2A race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. Photo by Russell Moore.
State Championships · Sat Nov 7 · Sun Willows, Pasco
My Team Picks, Graded
Before State I ranked the 4A and 3A fields against the WIAA coaches poll and said I would grade every call, misses included. Here is the full scorecard. I matched the poll on champions (3 of 4), called the 3A boys title the poll missed, and landed closer to the final order in three of the four races.
| Race | My champion | Poll champion | My podium | Poll podium | Me | Poll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4A Boys | Mead ✓ | Mead ✓ | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | 1.5 | 1.9 |
| 4A Girls | Issaquah ✓ | Issaquah ✓ | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 | 2.0 | 2.4 |
| 3A Boys | Gig Harbor ✓ | Shorewood ✗ | 2 of 3 | 1 of 3 | 1.5 | 2.3 |
| 3A Girls | Seattle Prep ✗ | Mercer Island ✓ | 3 of 3 | 2 of 3 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| All four | 3 of 4 | 3 of 4 | 9 of 12 | 7 of 12 | 1.8 | 2.2 |
Podium = how many of the top 3 teams I (or the poll) had in the real top 3. Me / Poll = average places off.
Best calls
- Gig Harbor boys (3A): I had them #1 against a poll that had them 4th. They won with 107 points.
- 3A girls podium: I had Seattle Prep, Gig Harbor and Mercer Island in my top three. They finished 2nd, 3rd and 1st: the right three teams, in the wrong order.
- Glacier Peak girls (4A): #4 against a poll that had them 10th. They finished 3rd.
- Kamiakin boys (4A): #4 against a poll that had them 7th. They finished 3rd.
- Bishop Blanchet boys (3A): #3 against a poll that had them 5th. They finished 2nd.
Misses
- Seattle Prep girls (3A): I made them my #1 and Mercer Island my #3. Mercer Island won, 91 to 101.
- Curtis girls (4A): #5, finished 11th. The biggest miss on the board, and the poll (#9) was closer.
- Mt. Spokane girls (3A): #6, finished 11th. Central Valley girls (3A): #10, finished 16th.
- Olympia girls (4A): #3, finished 7th. Camas boys (4A): #6, finished 10th.
- Lincoln (Seattle) girls (4A): #10, finished 5th. I went below the poll and they finished well above it.
4A Boys
| Team | Poll | Mine | Actual | Pts | Closer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mead | 1 | 1 | 1 | 69 | Even |
| Skyline | 2 | 2 | 2 | 103 | Even |
| Curtis | 5 | 3 | 6 | 171 | Poll |
| Kamiakin | 7 | 4 | 3 | 137 | Me |
| Stadium | 4 | 5 | 4 | 149 | Poll |
| Camas | 3 | 6 | 10 | 231 | Me |
| Arlington | 6 | 7 | 5 | 166 | Poll |
| Glacier Peak | 9 | 8 | 7 | 184 | Me |
| Battle Ground | 8 | 9 | 9 | 227 | Me |
| Jackson | 10 | 10 | 13 | 264 | Even |
| Avg. places off | Me 1.5 | Poll 1.9 | |||
4A Girls
| Team | Poll | Mine | Actual | Pts | Closer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issaquah | 1 | 1 | 1 | 96 | Even |
| Mt. Si | 3 | 2 | 2 | 143 | Me |
| Olympia | 8 | 3 | 7 | 187 | Poll |
| Glacier Peak | 10 | 4 | 3 | 152 | Me |
| Curtis | 9 | 5 | 11 | 207 | Poll |
| Arlington | 2 | 6 | 4 | 158 | Even |
| Tahoma | 4 | 7 | 6 | 182 | Me |
| Kamiakin | 5 | 8 | 8 | 192 | Me |
| Mead | 6 | 9 | 10 | 202 | Me |
| Lincoln (Seattle) | 7 | 10 | 5 | 166 | Poll |
| Avg. places off | Me 2.0 | Poll 2.4 | |||
3A Boys
| Team | Poll | Mine | Actual | Pts | Closer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gig Harbor | 4 | 1 | 1 | 107 | Me |
| Shorewood | 1 | 2 | 4 | 166 | Me |
| Bishop Blanchet | 5 | 3 | 2 | 110 | Me |
| Seattle Prep | 6 | 4 | 5 | 167 | Even |
| Mt. Spokane | 3 | 5 | 3 | 117 | Poll |
| Ridgeline | 2 | 6 | 7 | 205 | Me |
| Peninsula | 10 | 7 | 8 | 267 | Me |
| Edmonds-Woodway | 9 | 8 | 9 | 270 | Poll |
| Mercer Island | 7 | 9 | 6 | 173 | Poll |
| Shadle Park | 8 | 10 | 13 | 314 | Me |
| Avg. places off | Me 1.5 | Poll 2.3 | |||
3A Girls
| Team | Poll | Mine | Actual | Pts | Closer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Prep | 2 | 1 | 2 | 101 | Poll |
| Gig Harbor | 4 | 2 | 3 | 116 | Even |
| Mercer Island | 1 | 3 | 1 | 91 | Poll |
| Ridgeline | 3 | 4 | 7 | 196 | Me |
| Inglemoor | 6 | 5 | 5 | 191 | Me |
| Mt. Spokane | 5 | 6 | 11 | 249 | Me |
| Edmonds-Woodway | 7 | 7 | 4 | 185 | Even |
| Oak Harbor | 8 | 8 | 9 | 243 | Even |
| Shorecrest | 9 | 9 | 10 | 245 | Even |
| Central Valley | 10 | 10 | 16 | 374 | Even |
| Avg. places off | Me 2.3 | Poll 2.3 | |||
Sources: 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships team results (Sun Willows, Pasco, Nov 7, 2026); 2026 Washington State Coaches Poll, Week 9 (WIAA). My rank: Russell Moore, Nov 3.
Before State, I ranked the 4A and 3A fields against the WIAA coaches poll and promised to grade every call, misses included. Here is the full scorecard.
Issaquah’s Georgia Greene heads for the finish line in the 4A girls race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. Photo by Russell Moore.
THE SHORT VERSION
I called 3 of 4 team champions, the same as the poll, but I was the only one on Gig Harbor in the 3A boys. Across the 40 team slots (top 10 in each race), my rankings landed closer to the final order in three races and tied the poll in the fourth: 1.8 places off per team on average, against 2.2 for the poll.
CHAMPIONS
4A Boys: Mead. Poll and I both had it.
4A Girls: Issaquah. Poll and I both had it.
3A Boys: Gig Harbor. I had it; the poll had Shorewood, which finished 4th.
3A Girls: Mercer Island. The poll had it; I had Seattle Prep, which finished 2nd (101 points to Mercer Island's 91).
Mead’s Stejer Franklin heads for the finish line in the 4A boys race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. He placed 2nd in 14:59.0. Photo by Russell Moore.
Mercer Island’s Bella Heczey early in the 3A girls race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. Photo by Russell Moore.
PODIUMS
I had 9 of 12 podium spots right across the four races. The poll had 7 of 12. In the 3A girls I had all three podium teams (Seattle Prep, Gig Harbor and Mercer Island) in my top three, in the wrong order.
AVERAGE PLACES OFF (LOWER IS BETTER)
4A Boys: me 1.5, poll 1.9
4A Girls: me 2.0, poll 2.4
3A Boys: me 1.5, poll 2.3
3A Girls: me 2.3, poll 2.3
BEST CALLS
Gig Harbor’s Joshua Minner nears the finish in the 3A boys race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. He placed 9th in 15:36.9 as Gig Harbor won the team title. Photo by Russell Moore.
Gig Harbor’s Galen Peloquin nears the finish in the 3A boys race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. He placed 18th in 15:51.2. Photo by Russell Moore.
Gig Harbor boys (3A): my #1, the poll's #4. They won with 107 points.
Glacier Peak girls (4A): my #4, the poll's #10. They finished 3rd.
Kamiakin boys (4A): my #4, the poll's #7. They finished 3rd.
Bishop Blanchet boys (3A): my #3, the poll's #5. They finished 2nd.
Glacier Peak freshman Dahlia Zener near mile 2 of the 4A girls race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. She went on to place 3rd in 18:12.3. Photo by Russell Moore.
Kamiakin freshman Elijah Teeples nears the finish in the 4A boys race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. He placed 13th in 15:44.8. Photo by Russell Moore.
Bishop Blanchet’s William Knox at mile 1 of the 3A boys race at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco. He placed 7th in 15:35.3 as Bishop Blanchet finished 2nd as a team. Photo by Russell Moore.
MISSES
Seattle Prep girls (3A): my #1, finished 2nd. Mercer Island, my #3, won.
Curtis girls (4A): my #5, finished 11th. The biggest miss on the board, and the poll's #9 was closer.
Mt. Spokane girls (3A): my #6, finished 11th.
Central Valley girls (3A): my #10, finished 16th.
Olympia girls (4A): my #3, finished 7th.
Camas boys (4A): my #6, finished 10th.
Lincoln (Seattle) girls (4A): my #10, finished 5th. I went below the poll and they finished well above it.
HOW I GRADED
"Actual" is each team's final State place. "Places off" is how far a team's final spot was from its ranking, averaged over the 10 teams. The poll covers state-qualifying teams only, so some final places are held by teams outside the poll top 10.
Sources: 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships team results (Sun Willows, Pasco, Nov 7, 2026); 2026 Washington State Coaches Poll, Week 9 (WIAA). My rank: Russell Moore, Nov 3.
