KingCo Conference XC · Race Day Complete
KingCo Class Races
Race Selects 2026
- Event
- KingCo Class Races 5K Preview — High School Cross Country
- Date
- Location
- Lake Sammamish State Park, Issaquah, Washington
- Photographer
- Russell Moore — Documentary Sports Photographer
- Coverage
- Curated documentary selects gallery live (ShootProof) + full written race recap
- Field
- 13 KingCo Conference programs — grade-level heats, freshmen through seniors
From Lake Sammamish · September 10
The day, in frame
Guaranteed Lens Time
Missed in the selects?
Lock the next gun.
KingCo coverage was purely editorial: chasing lead packs, surges, and the story of the day. If you want guaranteed, multi-checkpoint documentation dedicated solely to your athlete, private commissions are now booking for Leagues, Districts, and State.
Strictly limited athlete slots per meet · 25% ($87.50) of every $350+ commission directly benefits the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association (WSCCCA) Scholarship Fund.
Report of Operations — Complete
The race ran.
The selects are live.
The full event is in the can — every race, every team, from the first gun to the last chute. The 2026 KingCo Class Races ran Thursday, September 10 at Lake Sammamish State Park, and the curated documentary selects are live now.
What I shot is the meet itself — the leader committing at the hairpin, the freshman closing on tired legs, the chute at the moment form gives out. No volume dump, no 2,000-frame archive: a tight set of frames that tell the story of the day as I found it.
Your athlete might be in it — the only guarantee was a pre-race commission. The full written recap puts the day in context: grade-race winners, breakout performances, and the storylines carrying into October.
- EditorialCoverage followed the narrative of the race — no roster obligations.
- CuratedA tight set of selects, not a volume archive. Every frame earned its place.
- DeliveredGallery live within 72 hours of the final gun — plus a full recap on the blog.
Coverage Delivered — Gallery + Recap
The curated selects from Lake Sammamish are live in the race gallery — every heat, every team, the story of the meet in frames. The written recap covers the grade-race winners and the names that mattered on opening day.
2026 Season — Field Analysis
New course.
Familiar field.
Every athlete below came in with verified credentials — and the lens found them at Lake Sammamish. Read the recap for how each heat unfolded.
- Aubrey Wilems Defending KingCo 4A champion (18:18) and defending WIAA 4A state champion — 18:06 at Pasco as a sophomore, then a state 800m title on the track.
- Gaby Chencheva 18:35.1 on the board — the second Wolf inside the girls' top 20, behind Wilems. Eastlake's one-two punch remains the class of the conference.
- Sally Davis Led Issaquah to the 2025 KingCo 4A team title by two points over Eastlake — then the WIAA 4A state team championship two weeks later.
- Grace Ding Sub-2:17 over 800m and a 5:09 miler on the track. The short-course class-race heats rewarded exactly her brand of speed. Verified Athlete Profile →
- Bella Heczey Scored on Mercer Island's back-to-back 3A state title team as a freshman; 11:13 over 3200m on the track. The Islanders' next wave.
- Jake Powell Ran on the Islanders' back-to-back 3A state title team as a freshman, then clocked 9:09.33 over 3000m at the Oregon Relays this spring.
- Finn Bunker 15:39.2 on the board and a 1:57 800m this spring. The senior anchor of the back-to-back 3A champs.
Also on the radar: Rizah Despres & Ella Zhang (Mercer Island — both on the 3A state podium in 2025).
Course Notes — Lake Sammamish State Park
Scouted. Settled.
First race at this venue for Russell Moore Photography — the pre-race scouting notes preserved below, settled against what actually happened on September 10.
- FormatGrade-level class races ran as billed — every heat its own race with its own podium: speed over strength, rust off, statements made. Exactly the meet the conference needed to open the season.
- TerrainFlat, fast park loops on grass and gravel along the Lake Sammamish shore. No hills to hide in — positioning decided early, moves made on the turns, as scouted.
- LightThe 4 PM first gun delivered late-summer evening light dropping toward the lake through the later heats — the best frames of the day came late, as predicted.
- Full reportGrade-race winners, breakout performances, and the story of each heat in the written recap: Read the KingCo Class Races recap →
Direct Gallery Access
The Curated Selects
Galleries live — curated selects published
Photos from the 2026 KingCo Class Races are live on ShootProof — a curated set of selects telling the story of the meet, published within 72 hours of the final gun. This is an editorial selection, not a bib-searchable volume archive. Personal use licensing; media and commercial licensing available by inquiry.
Open ShootProof Gallery →Need guaranteed coverage of your runner next time? Private Commissions are booking now for Leagues & Districts →
Field Index
13 KingCo Programs
Direct Answers
FAQ
Are there photos of every athlete from the 2026 KingCo Class Races?
No. Coverage was editorial and followed the story of the race, not the roster — the published gallery is a curated set of selects from the meet as a whole, not a complete archive of every athlete who toed the line. Guaranteed photos of a specific athlete at a future meet require a private commission booked before race day.
Where are the photos from the 2026 KingCo Class Races?
Right here — the curated documentary selects are live in the ShootProof gallery above, published within 72 hours of the final race. The full written recap with the day's results and storylines is on the blog.
How do I guarantee photos of my athlete at a future meet?
Book a Guaranteed Coverage Commission in advance. Commissions are capped per meet and close when slots fill or 48 hours before the gun — whichever comes first. This meet's slots are closed; Russell is currently booking 2026 season coverage through Leagues and Districts.
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.
What is the class-races format?
Every grade races its own heat — freshmen through seniors line up separately over a short course instead of the usual varsity/JV flights. It's the conference's season-opening benchmark.
Who won at the 2026 KingCo Class Races?
Read the full race recap for grade-race winners, breakout performances, and the story of each heat — headlined by the conference's verified ones-to-watch, including defending 4A state champion Aubrey Wilems of Eastlake.
Does any of my commission fee go anywhere besides your business?
Yes. For every commission booked at $350 or more directly through russell-moore.com, 25% — $87.50 per booking — goes directly to the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association (WSCCCA) Coaches Scholarship Fund. This applies across Russell's 2026 season coverage, through Leagues and Districts.
