Pirate harriers qualified for the State Championships this past weekend, earning a trip to Pasco this coming Saturday.

With the temperature just over freezing at the Chambers Bay course in University Place on Oct. 28, the Pirate Women’s team ran to third place out of seven teams in their District 3 Championship race.

Pirate Captain Madeline Yarkin took fourth with Cecelia Guenther in seventh, followed by Emily Harrington, Amelia Medeiros and Emma Campbell. Personal bests over five kilometers were set by Guenther, Harrington and Medeiros.

The Pirate women will join East Jefferson and Klahowya at State.

An hour later, as the sun warmed the air, the Pirate men took to the course, where all six set season-best times. With only the first 14 spots available for State qualifying, Pirates Josh Healey and Cash Nowicki moved up through the field, outrunning the pre-race rankings to sixth and tenth positions, earning their tickets to Pasco.

Healey improved his 5k time to 17:03 and Nowicki to 17:25, the first two freshman over the finish line. They were followed by Brent Calhoun, Ronan Reed, Captain Oli Nielsen, and Henry Porter, scoring eighth out of the nine schools.

As a huge feather in the Pirate’s tricorn hat, the Women’s team took first place in the state for 1A schools for the Academic State Champions Award to be handed out in Pasco; it is anticipated that their grade point average of 3.99 is a new school record.

Bruce Cyra is the cross country coach for Vashon High School.