The Vashon Pirates ended their cross country season on a high note this past week, as student Ella Yarkin raced in the WIAA State Championship in Pasco in her fastest time on that course.

Yarkin ran the race on Nov. 9 for the third year in a row and ran the course this year in 22 minutes and 20 seconds, placing in the middle of the large pack of 1A High Schools. Yarkin joined four other Nisqually League qualifiers at the starting line to represent the league of six schools, racing in front of a crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic onlookers.

While this season has ended for Yarkin, she looks forward to her senior year at Vashon High School and will be joined by her younger sister, Madeline, in the fall of 2020.

Prior to the state meet, the team took on the annual challenge of running the “Dock2Dock” on Nov. 7, running from the gate at the Tahlequah dock north along the highway to the gate at the north end dock.

The Dock2Dock is a longtime island tradition. While not a formal “race,” the Pirate runners can cap their season with a feeling of accomplishment. Some ran the entire 13.5 miles and others ran portions of the distance, racking up 210 miles on 20 pairs of shoes. Thirteen Pirate runners made the entire distance, with senior Sean Robertson, junior Ursa Medeiros and freshman Ben Larson leading the charge in one hour and 38 minutes.

— Laura Johnson is the Vashon Island High School Cross County coach.