Members of the Pirates women’s cross-country team were crowned district champions Saturday for the second year in a row, and the team qualified to race at the state meet in Pasco this weekend.

Joining the team on the trip east from the men’s team will be sophomore Gianno Waller, who raced to fifth place in the men’s varsity race at districts last weekend and is the first men’s team Pirate to qualify for state in five years.

Saturday’s meet at American Lake golf course befitted Halloween horror with its stormy, wet and muddy challenges, but the women Pirates showed their true grit to fashion a pearl of victory by scoring 45 points to second place Klahowa’s 64 and placed three runners in the top 10.

The Pirates were able to pull off their successful win by placing their top five scoring racers within a span of only 56 seconds, compared to three and a half minutes for Klahowya. The team has been practicing team bunch-running for two years now, and it pays off in the important races, forcing opponents to race against a daunting tide of green and yellow.

Freshman Lucy Boyle scored first for the Pirates in sixth place, followed by juniors Jessica Merritt, Selena Mildon, Eva Anderson and Annie Muller. The varsity was filled out by Aria Mildon and Natalie VanDevanter in 19th and 25th places. Joining the top seven on the trip to Pasco will be alternates Jane Oswald and Taryin Mulvhill.

The State Championships will be held on Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7, at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

— Bruce Cyra is an island runner and supports the VHS cross-country teams.