Last Thursday the Vashon cross country team parked its bus and walked onto the ferry, headed to a meet at Lincoln Park, right by the Fauntleroy ferry dock.

The hosting school was Seattle Christian, and Vashon competed against five Nisqually League schools.

Middle school runner Jeffrey Parrish started things off by placing near the top in the 1.8-mile race, which he ran in 12:42.

Next up in the boys JV race, the Pirates put out a full team that shows a lot of promise for the future. The highlight was when freshman Aaron Kitchener set a 30-second personal record with a time of 24:22 in the 3.1-mile course.

In the girls JV and varsity race, it was sophomore Maddi Groen who led the way for the  Pirates, finishing in 22:46.

Overall the girls had a great showing as a team. The boys varsity race saw personal records set by Nathan Williams, who as a freshman is establishing himself as the number-two varsity runner for the Pirates. Philip Vandevanter, Codi Williams and Magnus Walgren also set personal records. Ryan Krug led the way with a time of 19:31.

Overall the boys are starting to pick up the pace as a varsity team.

The next event for the team will be the eighth-annual ferry dock to ferry dock 13.5-mile run/relay event to benefit the cross country program this Saturday. A shuttle bus will pick runners up at the north end at 7:15 a.m.

— Kevin Ross is a cross country coach at Vashon High School