The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

PASCO -WP Cross Country coach Dan Nechedom said he was pleased with the team's performance on what he calls a deceptively tough course at the Oct. 4 Pasco Bulldog XC Invite. "I was pleased with performances, and I think they were, too. We're watching a few little injuries and bugaboos as the mileage and strength training stack up again this week, but I think they're doing well and enjoying their progress," said Nechedom.

Emily Adams placed third in the small schools women's race with a time of 21:09.8. Emily followed Lucy Eggleston of Asotin who came in at 20:09.3 and first place runner Tracy Melville of Lind-Ritzville who crossed the finish in an impressive 18:59.3.

Landon Callas was first of the WP mens runners in, placing 33rd among small schools runners with a time of 19:40.5. Callas was followed by Skylar Wood (21:40.2), Robert Walsh (22:39.9), Tom House (22:58.9) and Joe Leamy (23:06.5).

"This course is deceptive because it the lack of major hills makes it look easy enough. Even though it's all soft-surface running, it is anything but simple. There is maybe a 40-foot elevation difference from lowest to the highest points, but you gain and lose that elevation five times, with some smaller bumps in between," said Nechedom. "We spent some time this last week working on running by feel rather than by pace so they'd have a better gauge of their performance in a race. It was a good idea, especially since this is the course for the district championships."