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It was a typical Seattle morning—drizzling, damp, and melancholy—when Bellevue High’s varsity cross-country team arrived at Lakewood High School. Quickly scampering to the refuge of their somewhat water-free tent, they settled down in an attempt to save their energy. But despite the weather, the team was buzzing with excitement, ready to compete in the 42nd annual of the Hole in the Wall Invitational—a cross-country invite bringing the best high school runners from across the Northwest to race an all-out 5k over grass, gravel, hills, and (this year) quite a lot of mud. And the unique name?
“It's called Hole in the Wall because there used to be a hole in a fence, but now it’s just a lame pillar with a wooden beam on top,” senior Karis Washington said.
First up to race was freshman Jillian Dreher was up first at 2:30 p.m. in the Women’s Varsity Gold race, where despite the deteriorating conditions, she set a personal record in 12 seconds, running 20:14. An hour later, senior Natasha Parakh ran a 17-second season’s best in the Women’s Varsity Silver race, running 20:59, despite stating that she “felt like how I feel driving in traffic because of how stuck I was between people” (her race had 258 runners).
Between the girls’ and boys’ races, the sun momentarily fought its way through the murky canvas of gray that had so far been blanketing the runners, and the rain ceased tentatively. Alas, it was a false hope—by the time the final two varsity races of the day began, the clouds had once more enveloped Arlington, and the rain promptly resumed its steady bombardment. Parts of the course were visibly turning from packed dirt into a muddy Slip-n-Slide, and pools of icy water gathered on the tent’s sagging roof. Yet the poor conditions didn’t seem to matter—the Men’s Varsity Silver and Varsity Bronze races both featured multiple Bellevue racers who set personal bests. Senior Bryce Schuler led the boys in the Silver race with a personal record in 18:04 (an average of 5:48 per mile), while senior Liam McCarthy placed first for Bellevue in Bronze, running 18:53.
"Luckily the course was in good enough condition for fast races even though it was the last race of the day," senior Thomas Faisandier said. Faisandier ran 18:58 in the Bronze race for an 18-second personal best.
Other standout performances include senior Hunter Howes running 19:58 and breaking the 20-minute barrier for the first time in his high school career (though freshman Kian Wilson one-upped him five hours later by running four-tenths of a second faster), and freshman Claire Wyatt’s season record of 23:15, which dropped a minute and a half off her personal best.
Despite the chilling conditions, Bellevue runners managed to set many seasonal and personal records and are looking forward to taking on what the rest of the season has to offer.
Link to results: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/252564
