The look of district champions was no Halloween disguise as the girls’ Vashon High School cross country team ran to win the West Central District III Championship last Saturday at American Lake in Lakewood.

Competing against rivals Seattle Christian, Bellevue Christian and Klahowya to advance to the state championship, the Pirates left them all in the (muddy) dust with a low score of 46.

After 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of racing, Vashon sophomore Selena Mildon beat a Port Townsend runner to the line by .02 seconds to set the stage for all five scoring Pirates to finish in a tight pack, within 43 seconds of each other, with five scoring Pirate runners in the top 12.

Following Selena across the line for the Pirates were Aria Mildon, Jessica Merritt, Jane Oswald, Kate Atwell, Annie Muller and Anna Ripley. Three girls set personal bests for the season, with Merritt, Muller and Ripley besting their 5k times.

The final score was Vashon 46, Seattle Christian 76, Bellevue Christian 77, Klahowya 79, Port Townsend 100 and Charles Wright 118.  Sophomore Muller displaced scoring runners from both Seattle Christian and Bellevue Christian, with senior Ripley displacing two scoring runners from Bellevue Christian to increase Vashon’s scoring lead.

The Pirates will now travel to Pasco for Saturday’s state championship. The last time the Pirates were district champions was in 2005, when the team went on to place fifth in Pasco.

In the boys’ cross country race, the Pirates also finished in a tight group, with only 71 seconds separating the first Pirate runner, Isaac Hughes, from the fifth, Henry Kenoyer.  The tight grouping was the best of any boys’ teams in their district.

While the boys’ team did not advance to State, three Pirates raced to new personal bests over the course. Leading the Pirates across the line was sophomore Isaac Hughes, followed by Hunter Justis, Quinn Weber, Aaron Kitchener, Henry Kenoyer, Nathan Williams and Joe Shugart.

Personal bests were set by Hughes, Kitchener and Kenoyer. The Pirate boys did come away with a convincing win in the team yell competition, with their trademark “Pirate/Slay” chant and blood curdling scream.

— Bruce Cyra assists with the cross country team.