WHAT a day to be an Eagle!! All 3 Issy runners had absolutely incredible races. After an evening filled with both glutenous and non-glutenous pasta, an architecturally unsound gingerbread house, and sledding (don’t ask), one could say that these kids were prepared to run pretty dang quick.

Highlights

Julia “I’ll have the Special K with a side of salmon” David Smith

STATE CHAMP, 17:26. Last year, she was 2nd in 18:01. Not much else to say aside from, she demolished it! Julia beat everyone by a minute (WOW), ran powerfully and competed with herself the whole way through. Ding dong, Julia ran strong!

Darwin “if I could warm up in Crocs, I would” Hanson

49th in 19:22 (PR!). Last year, she was 94th in 20:21…at this rate, she’ll be -41st by senior year! A well-earned improvement and race for this girl. Keep it going Darwinski!!

Liam “I own 8 onesies, and they’re life-changing” Heninger

46th in 16:12 (PR!). He was the 1st freshman in 4A and 2nd freshman over ALL classifications. His secret? Something along the lines of chocolate milk and a really good attitude.

Truly only positive remarks to say about this Issy XC State crew. With stellar positive attitude and gritty racing, they perfectly represented what it means to be an Issaquah Eagle.

Special shout-out to “manager” of the weekend, Jerry, for keeping the others in line and contributing to a swell time in Pasco. You’re awesome, Jerry!!

Thanks to everyone who drove all the way out to support. You guys brought some amazing energy that the meet wouldn’t have been the same without.

Good luck to those competing at NXR next weekend! Represent Issaquah well, and please make it easy for the parent chaperones 🙂

3 Issy runners earned their tickets to STATE!!!

Under perfect racing conditions, and with the potential of being the final race of the season, it was THE time to truly leave it all out there, no gas left in the tank, no regrets. Many of you took full advantage, ran confidently, and had the races of your lives.

Highlights

STATE QUALIFIERS

Darwin Hanson

Darwin ran relentlessly on Saturday. This girl knew what she wanted and went for it. Darwin consistently works hard and has an infectiously positive attitude. To say the least, she deserves this. We are all extremely psyched and happy for Miss. Darwinski!

Julia David Smith

In her usual composed and confident way, Julia took the Kingco win for the 3rd year in a row. She consistently dominates, and will be very exciting to see her matched up against other strong competitors this weekend. Go Julia go!

Liam Heninger

Liam earned first team all Kingco and State qualifier as a freshman. Very. Impressive. Liam is the only freshman boy to individually qualify from Kingco! It’s no surprise though, as Liam has what it takes, consistently gives his all, and is a fearless competitor.

Best of luck to Darwin, Julia and Liam this Saturday in Pasco!

Team Results

• Boys placed 5th – Scoring: Heninger 7, Imai-Takemura 21, Fuhs 25, Barran 26, Rosenkranz 27
• Girls placed 5th – Scoring: David Smith 1, Hanson 13, Ryan 23, Anna Jensen 35, Padmanabhan 42

Shout out to the seniors: Swathi Padmanabhan, Berry Chen, Tiffany Wung, Jasper Fuhs, Sam Rosenkranz, Torin Carmichael, and Conner Tobey, who all competed in their last XC race for Issaquah. Proud of all your hard work over the years and for being such positive influences on the team! We’ll miss you!!

Huge thanks to all the teammate and family supporters for bringing such incredible energy!! You guys are awesome.

See you all at Awards Night tomorrow at 7pm (Tuesday)!!! Remember to bring your laundered uniform in a bag with your name on it!

A solid final dual meet of the season! Way to push yourselves and give your best out there at St Edward (Edition II, revised). Saw some awesome Issy packs. Strong work, Eagles!

Highlights

V Boys

Took the win!

• Issaquah 26 – Scoring 5: Heninger 3, Barran 4, Imai-Takemura 5, Fuhs 6, Rosenkranz 8
• Inglemoor 47
• Redmond 61

JV Boys

Also won! and Konopka with his first individual win!! and a clean 1 – 4 Issy sweep!!! Incredible, boys!

• Issaquah 18 – Scoring 5: Konopka 1, Mascavage 2, Fulford 3, Chollman 4, Streams 8
• Inglemoor 43
• Redmond 78

V Girls

2nd place for the girls, David Smith with the individual win

• Redmond 21
• Issaquah 35 – Scoring 5: David Smith 1, Hanson 6, Ryan 8, Anna Jensen 9, Padmanabhan 11
• Inglemoor 85

And just like that, the season is nearly done. The time flew by almost as fast as you all run! Some of you have done 4 races in 10 days (that’s a lot), so it is normal to feel a bit worn out at this point. Luckily, you all have enough time to physically recover and mentally recharge before the next, and, for many of you, last meet of the season (*tear*). Keep doing your best to sleep, fuel, take care of any ailments, and do everything in your control to be in tip-top shape for this final stretch. You’ve put in the work, now be confident and trust yourselves out there, Issy.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Gwensday! (©️ Ben Dong)

$1 pancakes bigger than your face? Yep. Approximately 537 runners per race? Uh huh. PRs on PRs?? YOU BET. Hole in the Wall did not disappoint. Way to summon your eagle powers yesterday and race hard, Issaquah!

Highlights

Frosh/Soph Boys

After some mild confusion and an impostor trying to steal Jonathan’s 3rd place finish, the boys were indeed the Champions of the Frosh/Soph 1 boys race!

Scoring 5: Jonathan Liu 3, Wiederien 10, Delgadillo 13, Murphy 15, Mularoni 21

PRs for Liu, Wiederien, Delgadillo, Mularoni, Scheppat, Chollman, Konopka, Fulford and Bendt!

JV Boys

4th out of 45 teams – Scoring 5: Haas 17, Takeuchi 28, Geisser 33, Chin 35, Violette 51

PRs for Haas, Tak, Geisser, Chin, Tenace and Angell, and SRs for Violette and Mascavage!

V Boys

13th out of 52 teams – Scoring 5: Heninger 65, Fuhs 99, Barran 130, Imai-Takemura 133, C Tobey 170

PRs for Heninger, Fuhs, Barran, Imai-Takemura and Tobey!

V Girls

19th out of 42 teams – Scoring 5: David Smith 2, Hanson 92, Ryan 152, Anna Jensen 184, Padmanabhan 227

PRs for David Smith, Hanson, Ryan, Jensen, Wung and Nybonn, and a SR for Padmanabhan (that’s every quah gal in the race :O).

JV Girls

11th out of 21 teams – Scoring 5: Chen 41, Wood 73, Aja Jensen 74, Putnam 96, Greta Cavotta 106

PRs for Chen, Wood, Putnam and Patterson, and SR for Cavotta!

It was very impressive how well you all raced in the hoards of people. Navigating through races with so many bodies and elbows flying everywhere is an added challenge that take up extra energy. Regardless of the un-ideal conditions, majority of you still ran fast and/or PRed, which shows that you are adaptable and that there is still more to come for you all. So…let’s get after it Tuesday at St Edward!! Final dual meet of the season. PROCESS BEFORE OUTCOME. NO REGRETS. ICE. HAVE FUN 🙂

THANKS SO MUCH, fans, for cheering Issy on at this fun meet. Always appreciate the support.

PS: Coach Lizzzz wants to remind everyone to get in those ZZZ’s

On a crisp, sunny day at North Bend’s hottest frisbee golf course, we witnessed some strong Issy running! This “mini Kingco” meet featured us, Mt. Si, Bothell, Woodinville and North Creek. Twas a flat, fast, fun course, and it was great to see a bunch of you take advantage of it.

Highlights

JV Boys

Tied the win with Woodinville!

• Issaquah: 35 (Scoring 5: Angell 1, Konopka 4, Chollman 6, Heu-Weller 11, J Welsh 13)
• Woodinville: 35
• Bothell: 67
• North Creek: 109
• Mt. Si: 141

Fun race for these guys with a solid individual win and lifetime PR for Trent Angell and 3 freshmen (Konopka, Chollman, Heu-Weller) contributing to the score! Wooohooo! Exciting improvements for these guys with more to come.

Girls

Took the win!

• Issaquah: 38 (Scoring 5: David Smith 1, Hanson 5, Ryan 6, Anna Jensen 8, Chen 19)
• Mt. Si: 41
• Woodinville: 50
• Bothell: 112

Individual win for David Smith with Hanson, Ryan & Anna Jensen finishing in the top 10 and Chen top 20!

V Boys

Finished 3rd

• Mt Si: 30
• Woodinville: 38
• Issaquah: 65 (Scoring 5: Heninger 11, Fuhs 12, Imai-Takemura 13, Barran 14, Carmichael 15)
• Bothell: 109
• North Creek: 125

Had a strong pack of boys with Heninger, Fuhs, Imai-Takemura, Barran, Carmichael and Rosenkranz all in the top 20!

Overall, great performances today and execution of race plans. You guys did super well pushing and feeding off of each other in your packs. Way to run hard and support each other! Little reminder for you all – as it gets chillier (~60-deg and below), it is important that you bring and WEAR warm clothes, before your race. You will perform and feel much better in your race when your muscles are warm and happy even if you think you “feel fine” wearing shorts pre-race in 56-degree weather.

And THANKS to you fans who bundle up and support, regardless of the conditions outside ❤

WHAT A DAY TO BE AN EAGLE

Well that was fun! Whilst appreciating the scenic views from the majestic Chambers Bay, the Issy crew took advantage of the all around ideal conditions and had a stellar day.

Highlights

Major highlights in every single race. Some exceptional finishes and practically everyone PRed! WOO HOO!

Boys Varsity

5th (out of 45 teams) with a 29-second spread between the scoring 5 (Heninger, Barran, Fuhs, Imai-Takemura, Carmicheal). That is nuts! These guys have some SERIOUS depth.

Liam Heninger went sub 16 (15:53.7)! As a freshman! He can’t be stopped!

Girls Varsity

2nd (out of 31 teams)!! SO AWESOME ladies!!!! (Scoring 5: David Smith, Ryan, Hanson, Anna Jensen, Padmanabhan)

Julia David Smith took the win and went sub-17 (16:45)! Wowee!

Boys JV

2nd with a 23-second spread between the scoring 5 (Haas, Murphy, Takeuchi, Geisser, Wiederien)!!

Girls JV

3rd with an 8-second spread between the scoring 5 (Patterson, Roberts, Putnam, Wood, Greta Cavotta)! Craziness! These gals truly finished as a unit.

Boys JV Open

2nd with a 37-second spread between the scoring 5 (Tenace, Chin, Violette, Jordan, Huard)!

Cody Tenace was 2nd with a 17:40, 1:43 faster than last week! Break-through much?

All results

**Regarding the confusion over course distance: It was indeed closer to a 3 miles (for everyone; they did not alter the course for any of the races). However, xc courses are rarely, if ever, exactly 5k. The elements and conditions of every course varies too, so time is ultimately pretty arbitrary in xc. So please STOP freaking out about the numbers. They are just a rough estimate of where you’re at, and yes of course still get excited about PRs. Overall, the most important thing is that you are learning how to work together and compete, which is what prepares you for the post season when all that matters is place.

This is the best that these runners have looked all season. Everyone ran aggressively, was engaged and focused, confident, and when the pain kicked in, these kids didn’t back off – they embraced it and ran hard through the finish. On top of that, there was some serious pack synergy going on, meaning that this group is learning to run together and help each other out, which can lead to immense improvements for all! All of the coaches were very impressed and proud of what Issy did out there. Let’s keep it rolling into this week (regardless of if the wheel’s prophecy is that you survive the swim upstream or get eaten by a seagull 🙂 ).

Word on the street is that you all are having fun together, so that’s cool. Absolutely loving the vibes out there. Keep it up!

And of course, THANKS to all the fans who made the trek over to cheer on your fierce eagles!

PS: Thanks for cheering your coaches on in the community race 🙂 You guys made it fun!