Ilwaco junior Sammy Lloyd (22:21.79) competes in the men’s 5,000-meter race.

ILWACO — On an unseasonably hot fall day, eight high school cross country teams and 15 middle school squads converged for the annual Black Lake Race last week.

Around 3:30 P.M., as the middle-school teams took their mark at the starting line, afternoon temperatures hovered near 80, roughly 20 degrees above the seasonal average.

Despite the near-record temperatures, several local runners turned in top-5 finishes, including Ilwaco 8th-grader Elsa Linquist (10:51.8) who finished in first place among 47 runners in the 1.3-mile middle school race. Astoria 6th-grader Ravyn Hano (11:34.4) was second, followed by Neah-Kah-Nie 6th-grader Juna Stewart (11:46.55). The Naselle top finisher was 7th-grader Kenzie Larson (11:50.23), in sixth.

In the boys 1.3-mile middle school race, Hoquiam 8th-grader Caleb Gudino finished first (9:10.42), followed by Ocosta 8th-grader Kristar Ashby (9:13.86) and Neah-Kah-Nie Keegan Roddy (9:23.98), among 88 runners. The Ilwaco top finisher was 8th grader Mason Harrell (10:06.13), in 11th place. The Naselle top finisher was Bowen Burkhalter (10:35.83), in 19th place.

Varsity

Following the middle-school race, the womens varsity runners took their turn on the 5,000-meter course, with Ilwaco sophomore Nora Soule finishing in second place (25:49.19), followed by Naselle 8th-grader Karsen Green in third (26:46.41), a personal record for Green. Ocosta junior Rebekah Stone (25:32.76) finished first overall among 12 women runners.

In the mens 5,000-meter varsity race, Naselle senior Derek Suomela finished fourth (20:36.05), narrowly edging Ilwaco senior Jacob Mathison (20:36.76), in fifth place. Adna senior Jordan Stout (18:58.58) finished first overall among 60 male runners.

Up next: Ilwaco XC will next participate in the Vernonia Invitational Thursday, Oct. 12 at Anderson Park in Vernonia.