The Mercer Island cross country teams traveled to Sammamish on Wedesday, Sept. 26 for a KingCo meet against the Totems and Mount Si.

In the girls race, freshman Ella Green finished fifth overall in 22:08, the highest placing for a Mercer Island girl. Kaya McRuer was sixth in 22:37, Adrienne Suhm finished in eighth place in 23 minutes, Rhiannon Holmes was ninth in 23:26 and Kristine Meline finished in 23:45 in 11th place. Hayley Elston finished in 16th place in 24:09, followed by Eugenie Morton in 17th place in 24:49. Isabel Christy was 19th, Ellen Wen 20th, Teresa Vu 22nd and Megan Guedel 24th. Bailey Sheehan completed the race in 25th place, followed by Abby Jones in 34th, Mariana Rivera in 36th and Emma VanOrden in 37th. Jamie Vanderwall, a freshman, finished in 39th place in 35:40.

In the boys race, Derek Sims, a sophomore, finished in eighth place in 19:01. Teammate Steve Woolston finished in 10th in 19:11, followed by Teddy Larkin in 19:13. Jacob Jenkins was 15th overall in 19:27, with Wescott Sharples in 16th place in 19:28. Jason McRuer finished in 24th, Alexander Hoffman in 27th and Ezekiel Larson in 30th. Travis Gallatin was 37th, Luke Bohlinger 39th and Jonathan Costa 40th overall. Noah Talerman was 42nd, Matthew Look was 43rd, Stuart Burke 44th, Benjamin Shanafelt 45th, Nick Seto 46th, Michael Bantle 48th and Peter Battisti finished in 49th place.

The Islanders will travel to Portland, Ore. this weekend for the Nike Pre-National event, featuring some of the top runners from the regional area. Mercer Island will host Bellevue and Juanita on Wednesday, Oct. 3 in the next KingCo meet. The meet begins at 4 p.m. at Luther Burbank Park.