Capital High School was an outlier as the only Thurston County school in a cross country meet with all Lewis County schools at Centralia’s Fort Borst Park.
But the Cougars weren’t outliers on the course as the boys finished in first place above Winlock, Centralia and W.F. West, while the girls took third in the meet behind three top-10 runners.
Senior Oliver Schrader crossed the finish line in first place in the boys’ race with a time of 18:26.87. According to Schrader’s Athletic Net profile, he hasn’t competed in cross country since 2022 when he was an eighth grader at Griffin Middle School. He won Wednesday’s race, his first 5K, by about three seconds.
Senior Owen Teuteberg took fifth place at 19:57.16, just ahead of junior teammate Skyler Hirsch in a photo finish. Sophomore Declan Keller finished in eighth place at 20:29.50, and junior James Carmony posted a ninth-place time at 20:31.39. Six other Cougars finished in the top 20.
Senior Bella Lang was Capital’s top finisher in the girls race, earning sixth place at 24:12.44. Freshman Emma Lamont shined with a seventh-place time of 24:19.52, and junior Avey Garner took eighth at 24:24.32. Junior Serenia Thibodeaux set a new lifetime best at 24:59.96 to finish in 12th. Senior Sarah Wimsett (18th at 26:42.58) and sophomore Vanessa Pearson (19th at 26:50.64) also ranked in the top 20.
Capital’s next meet is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19 as the Cougars will participate in the Fort Steilacoom Invitational.
