Omak High School’s girls’ cross country team found it will not be an easy road to state this year, finishing third at the Tonasket Invitational Sept. 13.
     Chelan, ranked sixth in a pre-season poll, easily won the girls’ title with 36 points.
     Cascade, which was not ranked, slipped ahead of Omak, which was ranked No. 9, to take second, 62-64.
     Chiara Rose-Witt led the girls, returning for her fourth year with a shot at her third trip to the state meet. At Tonasket, she finished eighth in a time that improved by 33 seconds her effort from last year.
     She will lead a team of 16 girls that includes returning varsity runners Rachael Kraske, Danielle Pecha and Gus Rose-Witt along with top additions Ashley Barker, Nicole Statler and Marcy Harris, reported coach Melodie Pecha.
     Gus Rose-Witt improved three minutes, 24 seconds over her time at Tonasket last year while Danielle Pecha improved 57 seconds.
     Barker, third for the team, and Statler, who was the fifth runner, are both freshmen moving up to a distance twice what they ran last year in middle school.
     Harris, a sophomore, ran her first-ever cross country race.
     The Caribou Trail League only sends two teams to state, Pecha said, adding there are four strong teams within the league.
     Pecha will be assisted again this year by Kayla Wells.
     On the boys’ side, Chelan’s Chase Anderson set a new course record of 15 minutes, 15 seconds, according to meet director Bob Thornton.
     Omak freshman Michael Goble was the Pioneers’ top male, finishing 11th.
     Host Tonasket was led by Veronica Puente for the girls, taking fifth in 20:27, and Peter Williams for the boys, who was seventh in 17:33.
     Showing improvement for the Omak boys included Josh Gray improving 3:17, and Dustin Johnson, improving 1:02.
     Senior Brandon Black was the team’s second runner. Jason Hammers, in his first race, was the Omak’s fifth runner.
     Omak and Tonasket travel to the Mid-Basin Invitation Saturday, Sept. 20, in Moses Lake. Both teams will compete at Liberty Bell Tuesday, Sept. 23.
     Tonasket Invitational Results
     Boys’ team scores: 1, Chelan 44. 2, Lake Roosevelt 62. 3, Tonasket 67. 4, Cascade 105. 5, Oroville 114. 6, Omak 143.
     Individuals: 1. Chase Anderson, Chelan, 15:15 (course record). 2. Nick Ribera, LR, 15:55. 3. Raven Berman, Chelan, 16:26. 4. Jake Whitten, Cascade, 16:59. 5. Jonathon Barry, LR, 17:12.
     6. Tanner Loe, LR, 17:28. 7. Peter Williams, Tonasket, 17:33. 8. Luke Groen, Cascade, 17:37. 9. Cyrus Desmarais, Chelan, 17:46. 10. Niles Desmarais, Chelan, 17:49.
     11. Michael Goble, Omak, 17:50. 12. Damon Halvorsen, Tonasket, 17:56. 13. David Peters, Oroville, 18:15. 14. Brandon Black, Omak, 18:18. 15. Spencer Podkranic, Tonasket, 18:21.
     16. Tyler Monroe, Tonasket, 18:21. 17. Matt Gschiel, Tonasket, 18:28. 18. Ryan Rosenau, Cascade, 18:30. 19. Corey McCrarey, Tonasket, 18:36. 20. Brandon Funston, Oroville, 18:42.
     21. Hank Burton, Chelan, 18:44. 22. Ian Wyantt, Chelan, 18:46. 23. Jessie Shockley, Chelan, 18:56. 24. Bill Passmore, LR, 18:57. 25. Jesse Adkins, LR, 18:58.
     26. Duke Sykes, Oroville, 18:58. 27. Brian Sykes, Oroville, 19:00. 28. Zack Speiker, Oroville, 19:01. 29. Kramer Carlson, LR, 19:01. 30. Tomek Stefanaik, Tonasket, 19:02.
     31. Kellen Sauer, Tonasket, 19:15. 32. Trey Jensen, Tonasket, 19:16. 33. Keith Rosenbaun, LR, 19:17. 34. Issac Iverson, Oroville, 20:01. 35. Dustin Johnson, Omak, 20:12.
     36. Ben Lambuth, Cascade, 20:16. 37. Josh Gray, Omak, 20:20. 38. Daylon Dick, LR, 20:42. 39. Chase Lemons, Cascade, 21:09. 40. Jake Ryan, Chelan, 21:11.
     41. Alex Kelly, Oroville, 21:12. 42. Matt Ives, LR, 22:42. 43. Jacob Cleveland, LR, 24:06. 44. Conner Thompson, Oroville, 24:40. 45. Nathan Haney, Oroville, 28:57. 46. Jason Hammers, Omak, 31:14.
     Girls’ team scores: 1, Chelan 36. 2, Cascade 62. 3, Omak 64.
     Individuals: 1. Kim Barry, Lake Roosevelt, 18:46. 2. Haley Zeigh, Cascade, 19:11. 3. Gaby Guillen, Chelan, 19:59. 4. Lyndsey Fox, Chelan, 20:11. 5. Veronica Puente, Tonasket, 20:27.
     6. Mari Schramm, Chelan, 20:41. 7. Hilary Nunn, Cascade, 20:50. 8. Chiara Rose-Witt, Omak, 21:37. 9. Solin Castro, Chelan, 21:53. 10. Rachael Kraske, Omak, 22:15.
     11. Ashlee Barker, Omak, 22:27. 12. Hannah Hasinger, Cascade, 22:27. 13. Adeena Cleman, Tonasket, 22:40. 14. Sarah Wasketwitz, Chelan, 22:53. 15. Kari Ann Clausen, Chelan, 23:02.
     16. Maddi Knaub, Chelan, 23:06. 17. Danielle Pecha, Omak, 23:17. 18. Nicole Statler, Omak, 23:23. 19. Kaley Graybear, Cascade, 23:39. 20. Marcy Harris, Omak, 23:48.
     21. Alisha Dodge, Chelan, 23:48. 22. Lilly Deitrich, Cascade, 23:56. 23. Hannah Ziegler, Cascade, 24:06. 24. Cody Knaub, Chelan, 24:22. 25. Kaylene Gregory, LR, 24:55.
     26. Gus Rose-Witt, Omak, 25:26. 27. Adrianna Sharp, Tonasket, 25:43. 28.Kyra Wyantt, Chelan, 26:06. 29. Jane Horlebein, Chelan, 26:26. 30. Reinna Quick, Oroville, 26:47.
     31. Natalie Cowan, Cascade, 27:07. 32. Jade Sargent, Omak, 27:46. 33. Michelle Reynolds, Omak, 27:57. 34. Tanesha Mills, LR, 27:58. 35. Georgia Lamb, Omak, 27:58. 36. Whitney Norlund, Omak, 30:45. 37. Caralee Henry, Omak, 31:52.
     Middle school boys: 1, Clancy Michell, Liberty Bell, 9:03.02. 2, Liam Daily, Liberty Bell, 9:03.65. 3, Brian Pecha, Omak, 9:25. 4, Taylor Woodruff, Liberty Bell, 9:26. 5, Jake Davie, Liberty Bell, 10:27.
     6, Joe Hausman, Liberty Bell, 10:51. 7, Morgan O'Dell, Omak, 10:53. 8, Jason Hill, Omak, 11:56. 9, Ryan Thompson, Omak, 12:17. 10, Josiah Lamb, Omak, 12:57.
     Middle school girls: 1, Keya Fasthorse, Nespelem, 10:05. 2, Rebecca Dykes, Omak, 10:39. 3, Kennedy Duck, Omak, 11:48. 4, Mady Sandoval, Omak, 11:53. 5, Jalisa Mills, Nespelem, 11:57.