Ortiz Wins District Title, Colville Boys Finish Second at NEA Cross-Country Championships

Malik Ortiz’s season has been nothing short of impressive this year, and he is still adding to his trophy case. Ortiz captured the individual district championship Saturday, Oct. 24, leading the Crimson Hawks boys cross country team to a narrow second-place finish at the Northeast A League District Championships at Riverside High School. Ortiz dominated the boys 5,000-meter race, crossing the finish line in 15 minutes, 42.1 seconds, nearly 53 seconds ahead of runner-up Mercury Bergquist of Medical Lake, who finished in 16:34.8.

Malik has registered the No. 9 fastest time in the State 1A ranks, a 15:39 mark set back on Sept. 12, and has remained remarkably consistent this season, running races under the 16-minute mark on several occasions. Despite Ortiz’s victory, and three Colville runners finishing among the top seven, Medical Lake edged the Crimson Hawks for the team championship, 35- 39. Lakeside finished third with 61 points, followed by Riverside with 97. Colville senior Reese Titus turned in a personal-best performance of 17:36.3 to finish sixth, while freshman Joel Johnson followed closely in seventh with a personal-best time of 17:41.6. Senior Jerrin Patrick added an 11thplace finish in a personal-best 17:52.3, while freshman Noah Magee rounded out Colville’s scoring five with a personal-best 18:06.7, good for 14th place. The Crimson Hawks’ freshman James Daeschler placed 15th in 18:17.6 and senior Isaac Ballance taking 17th in a personal-best 18:23.3.

Colville’s top five runners combined for a time of 1:26:59, just 13.9 seconds behind Medical Lake’s combined time of 1:26:45.1. Medical Lake placed three runners in the top four, with Steven Shotts finishing third in 16:47.3 and Nathon Dennler fourth in 17:13.7. On the girls side, Colville sophomore Paxton Jones led the Crimson Hawks with a third-place finish, recording a personal-best time of 20:56.1 in the 5,000-meter race. Freshman Lilly Kaschmitter also delivered a strong showing, finishing seventh overall in 21:20.9, giving Colville two runners among the top seven. Junior Amaryllis Nokes finished 18th with a personal-best 23:04.1, followed by junior McKenzie Mitchell in 23rd at 25:31.2.

Junior Nadia Crawford completed Colville’s scoring five with a personal-best time of 25:39.0, placing 24th. Sophomore Gracee Suiter finished 25th in 25:47.0. The Crimson Hawks girls placed fourth in the team standings with 75 points. Medical Lake claimed the girls team championship with 36 points, followed by Riverside with 52, and Lakeside with 55. Medical Lake sophomore Aya McNeill won the girls individual championship in 19:32.9, followed by Lakeside senior Ava Meusy in 20:51.8.