South Sound XC — Documentary Coverage
Ft. Steilacoom
Invitational 2026
- Event
- Ft. Steilacoom Invitational — High School Cross Country
- Date
- — first race 9:00 AM, Gold Varsity 2:00 PM
- Location
- Fort Steilacoom Park, Lakewood, Washington
- Photographer
- Russell Moore — Editorial sports photographer, Pacific Northwest
- Services
- Documentary photo gallery (post-race) + guaranteed private commissions (pre-race, 3 slots)
Notice of Operations — 2026 Season
The lens follows the race,
not the roster.
I don't shoot volume galleries anymore. No 2,000-frame dumps, no bib-searchable archives, no guarantee that every runner crosses my frame. That model produced a lot of files and very few photographs worth keeping.
What I shoot now is the meet itself — editorial documentary coverage of Washington high school cross country. The leader committing at the hairpin. The freshman closing on tired legs. The chute at the moment form gives out. The story doesn't check start lists.
The gallery from this meet will be a curated set of selects. Your athlete might be in it. Guaranteeing they are takes the channel below.
- EditorialCoverage follows the narrative of the race — no roster obligations.
- CuratedA tight set of selects, not a volume archive. Every frame earns its place.
- GuaranteedThe only way to guarantee your athlete: a private commission, booked before race day.
Guaranteed Coverage — Private Commission
One athlete. A dedicated shooting plan across multiple course checkpoints, worked around the editorial coverage. Delivered as a private, edited gallery. If they're on the course, they're in the frame — that's the contract.
Programs from this field already in my archive: Olympia, Gig Harbor, Curtis, Lake Washington, White River — plus state in Pasco and NXR in Spokane.
The Compass
Race Intel
01 — Schedule
| Gun | Race | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Youth 1 Mile — two heats | 1 Mile | |
| 09:15 | Open / Community — Men's & Women's | 5K | Open entry |
| 09:45 | Club / Middle School — Boys & Girls + Ambulatory | 2 Mile | |
| 10:10 | Boys JV — Top 5 | 5K | |
| 10:20 | Girls JV — Top 5 | 5K | |
| 10:50 | Boys JV — Freshman | 5K | Where underclassmen get noticed |
| 11:00 | Girls JV — Freshman | 5K | |
| 11:30 | Boys JV — 18–21 min | 5K | |
| 11:40 | Girls JV — 21–27 min | 5K | |
| 12:10 | Boys JV — 22–24 min | 5K | |
| 12:40 | Boys Bronze Varsity | 5K | |
| 12:47 | Girls Bronze Varsity | 5K | |
| 13:20 | Boys Silver Varsity | 5K | |
| 13:27 | Girls Silver Varsity | 5K | |
| 14:00 | Boys Gold Varsity | 5K | The show — Lanese, Compton, Pepin, Franklin |
| 14:07 | Girls Gold Varsity | 5K | The show — five of the state's top 11 returning girls |
| 14:30 | Boys JV — 25 min and up | 5K | |
| 14:40 | Girls JV — 28 min and up | 5K |
2026 Field — Ft. Steilacoom Invitational
98 Schools
on the Prairie
The first real 5K most of these programs will see all season — no classification heats, no hiding. Spokane to Wrangell, everyone in the same results table.
- Auburn
- Auburn Riverside
- Ballard
- Battle Ground
- Bethel
- Bonney Lake
- Bothell
- Bremerton
- Camas
- Capital
- Cascade (Leavenworth)
- Castle Rock
- Cedar Tree Classical Christian
- Central Kitsap
- Centralia
- Centralia Christian
- Charles Wright Academy
- Cheney
- Clover Park
- Concordia Christian Academy
- Covenant
- Curtis
- Decatur
- Eisenhower
- Emerald Ridge
- Evangel Classical
- Evergreen (Seattle)
- Evergreen (Vancouver)
- Federal Way
- Fife
- Forest Ridge
- Foster
- Franklin
- Garfield
- Gig Harbor
- Highline
- Ingraham
- Issaquah
- Juanita
- Kamiakin
- Kelso
- Kennedy Catholic
- Kent Meridian
- Kentlake
- King's
- Kingston
- Lake Washington
- Lakes
- Liberty (Issaquah)
- Life Christian Academy
- Lincoln (Tacoma)
- Mead
- Mount Rainier
- Muckleshoot Tribal
- Northwest Christian (Lacey)
- Newport (Bellevue)
- North Central
- North Kitsap
- North Mason
- North Thurston
- O'Dea
- Olympia
- Olympic
- Orting
- Peninsula
- Pope John Paul II
- Port Angeles
- Puyallup
- Rainier
- Redmond
- Renton
- Reynolds
- River Ridge
- Rochester
- Seattle Christian
- Sequim
- Shelton
- Silas
- Spanaway Lake
- Stadium
- Steilacoom
- Sumner
- Sunnyside
- Tahoma
- Tenino
- Thomas Jefferson
- Three Rivers Christian
- Timberline
- Todd Beamer
- Tumwater
- Tyee
- Valley Catholic
- W.F. West
- Washington
- Woodinville
- Woodland
- Wrangell
- Yelm
Middle school: Bush (Tumwater) · Castle Rock · Harrison · Kelso · Life Christian Academy · Northwest Christian (Lacey) · Rainier · Seattle Christian · Tenino · Three Rivers Christian · Whitman
Club: Federal Way Track · Fircrest Parks & Rec · King Cobras Athletic Club · Psalm Ascent Athletics · Rogue Valley Heat · Sonic Boom Running · South Hill Running · Spokane Athletics
2026 Preview — The Ones to Watch
No classifications.
Nowhere to hide.
About 50 of the 150 athletes on my WA Returning Watch board are entered here. The Gold Varsity races at 2:00 PM are the first honest state-caliber test of the season — these are the names the lens finds first.
- Quenton Lanese 4A state runner-up as a freshman (15:05.4), then national freshman records in the 1600m and 3200m on the track. His first 5K since Pasco — on a course built for honest times.
- Charlotte White Fastest returning 5K of any girl entered (17:55.6). The Curtis girls are contenders; White is the point of the spear.
- Elin Beeler Seventh at 4A state as a freshman, closing 17th → 8th → 7th at Pasco. One of five top-11 girls in the Gold race.
- Kate Westfall Board #5 making the trip north — Camas always sends a front-runner, and she's it.
- Leah Hennen Fourth at 4A state as a freshman (18:26.1). My board badge says the rank undersells her — Steilacoom is where she proves it.
- Kian Compton 15:05.9 — six-tenths off Lanese's freshman mark. The Yakima speed question gets answered on a neutral course.
- Asher Pepin Leads a Curtis boys squad ranked four deep (37–48). The board flagged their Mook-aided times — this is the grain-of-salt test, live. Featured in my 2025 Season in Review.
- Ciana Johnson Owns the sixth-fastest time in this meet's history (18:08.7) and a 17:35.6 5K best. She knows this course better than anyone in the field.
- Max Dower One of four Tides on the board (91–98) — "the realest boys number in the state." Featured in my 2025 Season in Review.
Also in the Gold races: Sally Davis (Issaquah #11) · Sophia Rogers (Battle Ground #13) · Stejer Franklin & Aaron Pooler (Mead #31/#35) · Jaycee Jenkins (Kamiakin #7) · Lenorah McGarty (Redmond #8).
From My 2025–26 Coverage
The field, already in frame
Full race galleries are free but email-gated — join the list at the gallery gate and you'll get the Steilacoom selects the moment they drop.
Course Notes — Fort Steilacoom Park
Lakes' home, everyone's test
This is Lakes High School's stomping ground, not mine — but it's one of the most spectator- and photographer-friendly courses in the state. What to know going in:
- TerrainMostly flat, but not honest-flat — a tough hill at about 1.5 miles and another around 2. The course is mostly exposed to the elements; whatever the weather is doing, the course is doing it too.
- TacticsWatch the field at mile 1, near the silos — that's where the race tells you how it's shaping up. The hills decide who actually has it over the final mile.
- SpectatingThe best spot-your-runner course around: the loop brings athletes past the same area three or four times. Team tents anchor the start and finish, and the finishing area is a hotspot for parents, coaches, and teammates all day.
- FinishThe finishing straight is a net-downhill grass runway lined with fans — fast times die on the hills and get reborn in the chute.
- LightThe Gold Varsity races run at 2:00 PM in the day's hardest light — exposed course, high sun. The morning JV races get the soft stuff.
Post-Race
The Documentary Gallery
Coverage pending — selects drop within 72h of the final race
Photos from the 2026 Ft. Steilacoom Invitational will be published here within 72 hours of the final race — a curated set of selects telling the story of the meet as I found it. This is not a bib-searchable volume archive, and inclusion isn't guaranteed. Personal use licensing; media and commercial use by arrangement.
Gallery Opens Post-RaceNeed certainty instead of luck? Book guaranteed coverage before race day →
Straight Answers
FAQ
Will there be photos of every athlete at this meet?
No. Coverage is editorial and follows the story of the race, not the roster. Guaranteed photos of a specific athlete require a private commission booked before race day.
How do I guarantee photos of my athlete?
Book a Guaranteed Coverage Commission above. Commissions are capped per meet and close when slots fill or 48 hours before the gun — whichever comes first.
When does the documentary gallery go live?
Curated selects publish within 72 hours of the final race. The gallery button on this page activates automatically when they're up.
Can I use the photos commercially?
Gallery images are licensed for personal use. Media, school, and commercial licensing is available — get in touch through the main site.
When are the varsity races?
Varsity runs in three flights — Bronze (12:40/12:47 PM), Silver (1:20/1:27 PM), and Gold (2:00/2:07 PM), boys then girls. The Gold races carry the state-ranked fields. Full schedule in Race Intel above.
Who are the runners to watch at the 2026 Ft. Steilacoom Invitational?
Olympia sophomore Quenton Lanese — the 4A state runner-up as a freshman — headlines a Gold Varsity boys race with Eisenhower's Kian Compton and Curtis's Asher Pepin. The girls' Gold race stacks five of the state's top 11 returners: Charlotte White (Curtis), Elin Beeler (Lake Washington), Kate Westfall (Camas), Leah Hennen (Olympia), and Sally Davis (Issaquah).
