Cross country | Mercer Island fall sports previews

After solid regular season performances, the girls team won the KingCo meet, took second at SeaKing districts and was seventh overall as a team at the state meet. The boys team finished third at the KingCo meet and took 11th as a team at districts.

COACHES: Erica Hill and Tony Scaringi

NUMBER OF ATHLETES: 130

LAST SEASON: After solid regular season performances, the girls team won the KingCo meet, took second at SeaKing districts and was seventh overall as a team at the state meet. The boys team finished third at the KingCo meet and took 11th as a team at districts.

STRENGTHS: “We have a deep pool of runners, on the boys and girls side,” said head coach Tony Scaringi. “We have a lot of sophomores, juniors and freshman, but a good number of seniors, too. We’re deeper than in the past.”

“There are a lot of upperclassmen on the boys team; the girls lost a lot of seniors last year,” said the coach. “But we have a lot of incoming freshmen who ran on the middle school team, and that’s really a testament to their program there.”

FOCUS: “We’re doing a lot of strengthening work this year,” said Scaringi. “Cross country by nature is a sport with injuries, but we’re working on making good habits.”

CAPTAINS: Seniors Kyle Weiss, Matt Wotipka, Kaya McRuer, Izzie Christy, Thomas Brown, Ari Phillips, and juniors Sarah Bjarnason and Alida Scalzo.

MEET TO WATCH: “We have three home meets this year at Luther Burbank Park,” said the coach. “We’re also going to Nike Pre-Nationals in Portland at the end of September. It features all of the top teams from the area, the western U.S., really.”