PASCO — North Kitsap Vikings girls and boys harriers achieved their preseason goal, making the trek to Pasco for the Class 4A Cross Country Meet Saturday afternoon at Sun Willows Golf Course. The girls brought home a 10th place finish out of 16 teams overall attending the race. The boys finished in 13th place overall.

Sophomore Annelise Weinmann finished 24th with a time of 19:50.

“She had a really good day. She was one of those individuals who really stepped it up,” said Vikings coach Lee Hodin. “She ran a good race.”

Senior Kelly Cates captured 64th place with a time of 20:39. Hilary Leonard took 66th place clocking a time of 20:41. Other Vikings runners competing at state included Jennifer Gregg (90th), Kendall Rock (96th), Shawna Williams (120th), and Katie Tertocha (140th).

Hodin said the girls squad has been overshadowed by the success of the boys team this year.

“Throughout the season, the boys have gotten more attention and more credit than the girls have,” he said. “They’ve had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get where they are. They put in so much work and battled. To see them get where they are, it’s all due to their maximum effort. It says quite a bit about who they are.”

The team camaraderie the girls team exuded throughout the season played a role in the success they had, Hodin said.

“They ran for each other,” he said. “Whenever they needed motivation, all they had to do was look at their teammates running next to them.”

In boys action, Vikings runners had a goal of finishing in the Top 10 teams in state. But the Vikings didn’t reach their specific objective, placing 13th overall.

“We didn’t quite get a Top 10 finish that we wanted to. We hoped for a little more but the entire boys team put forth a performance they can be proud of,” Hodin said. “They ran as a team. We ran with a pack mentality. We just didn’t have the front runners that could score points to get us in the Top 10.”

Paul Coulter ran the fastest of any Viking, taking 61st overall and clocking a time of 17:12. Senior Ray Reedy wasn’t far behind nabbing 67th with a time of 17:18. North’s other state competitors included Tyler Spear (96th), Tabor Reedy (99th), Nick Cameron (105th), Joel Brose (119th) and Lars Blazina (124th).

Hodin said the boys squad showed its mettle against one of the tougher courses in Washington.

“This is a tough, true course,” he said. “Whatever a runner gets here for a time, they properly earned. Our guys were willing to put everything on the line against a competitive field.”