Cross Country
In the fall, the girls cross country team qualified for district championships. After their performance at the district race, sophomore Paige Stewart, freshman Sammy Connell and Grace Ding (she/her) qualified for the state championships. Ding said her teammates were constantly encouraging her throughout the entire season, which helped her succeed. Ding placed in the top 20 with a 5K time of 19:16 at the district cross country championships against the other KingCo schools, and at the WIAA state championships, Ding finished 33rd with a time of 19:35. Additionally, Ding said the team was able to participate in a relay race, which is rare for high school cross country. “At the Tahoma relay, it is a mile and a half. We placed in the top 10; we did really well and it was a really fun experience overall,” Ding said.
Crew
At the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships, junior Neve Gelatt (she/her) and her boatmates juniors Siena Anderson and Ariana Sutter, and sophomores Kristina Alyakin and Karlie Vince competed through time trials and semifinals in order to reach the final, in which they took fifth. “Overall, the experience was absolutely incredible. We were happily surprised by how well we did, especially since the northwest region is so different in climate to Florida. We are extremely thankful to have gone this year and to have the support from so many people,” Gelatt said. In the beginning of the spring season, crew set high but attainable goals early on: to win the district race and to make the finals at the regional championships. Junior Neve Gelatt (she/her) attributes crew’s success to the hard work the team put in throughout the season. The top four boats in each event qualify for nationals, which took place from June 6 to 9 in Sarasota, Florida. “Our boat is super hopeful and our goal is to make the A final, which is a culmination of the top 6-7 boats in the national competition of around 29 boats,” Gelatt said in anticipation of their race.
Gymnastics
This year, the gymnastics team won WIAA academic award, meaning that they had the highest cumulative GPA of all gymnastics teams in the state. Additionally, for the first time, the team had a co-op with Bothell in order to increase overall participation, combining the two teams in coaching and practice but competing separately. Returning sophomore gymnast Rohsha Ghazanfarpour (she/her) highlighted bond that the team shared, despite being from rival schools. “It’s technically an individual sport, but we’re always really supportive of each other and the environment is very uplifting. It’s a small team, but it’s good. It was a really nice way to get to know another school,” Ghazanforpour said. Ghazanforpour practiced gymnastics ages 3-10 before taking a break and starting again her freshman year. She said that a large issue for many gymnasts is the mental block that prohibits them from performing difficult moves. She said the welcoming environment of the team was important in helping her regain skills and confidence. “It’s a really tight knit community and if you’ve ever done gymnastics in your life, it’s really easy to get back into it. Or even if you haven’t done gymnastics or something along those lines, it’s pretty easy to learn,” Ghazanforpour said.
