By NATHAN WHALEN

Special to The Record

South Whidbey’s Reed Atwood brought home the 1A state girls cross country championship that took place Saturday at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

Atwood, who is a sophomore, was one of two South Whidbey runners who claimed podium spots at the state meet. Senior Rowan Jung placed third in the 1A boys race. The Falcons boys team placed sixth while the girls team placed 13th.

“We knew she was going to be in the hunt,” coach Doug Fulton said of Atwood.

Atwood, who placed fifth at state in 2024 as a freshman, said she started pulling away from other runners about one mile into the race and led the rest of the way. She ran the 5K course in 18:51, which was more than 30 seconds faster than the second-place runner.

“Going into it, I was feeling strong with my ranking. I felt strong with my training,” Atwood said. “This year was fun to come out on top.”

Fulton said Jung came from behind to place third in a very competitive race.

“I think it’s the most competitive it’s ever been,” Jung said about the 1A boys race. He said he was in fifth place about a mile into the race. By the second mile, he dropped to sixth place before passing several runners to finish third. “I was super happy about that.”

Sun Willows has hosted the state cross country state meet for years. It’s a grass course with rolling hills. Fulton said Jung is a good hill runner.

Atwood’s performance at state was the third fastest state course time in South Whidbey High School history and 35th all-time at the state level. She holds the 5K school record of 17:59, which she earned at the Bellevue Invite that took place Sept. 27.

Jung’s performance was also the fastest state course time in school history, and 28th overall for state cross country runners. He also set the all-time school record of 15:16 at Hole in the Wall that took place Oct. 11 at Lakewood High School near Arlington.

Both the boys and girls teams came up a little short of their goals at the state meet in terms of team performance. The boys team wanted a podium finish in the top four and the girls team wanted to finish in the top 10.

“It was a great experience for the kids,” Fulton said.

South Whidbey runners travel to Spokane this weekend to compete in the Nike Cross Regionals Northwest that takes place Nov. 14 and 15 at the Spokane Polo Grounds. The meet draws high school runners from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming.

South Whidbey runners Atwood, Jung, Asher Stadler, Ash Kline, Milo Acosta and Arlo McLachlan are making the trip to Spokane to compete.

South Whidbey student Rowan Jung placed third in the cross country championship.

Reed Atwood stands at the top of the podium following the race.