South Whidbey freshman Kaia Swegler Richmond finished fifth at the Nike Hole In The Wall XC Invitational at Lakewood High School on Oct. 7.

South Whidbey was among the smallest schools at the 80-team meet, but Swegler Richmond managed to run the 5,000-meter course in 19 minutes and 44 seconds. Two other Falcon girls also finished in the top 30. First-year runner Alexandra Kurtz placed 24th with a time of 20 minutes 44 seconds, while senior Elizabeth Donnelly finished close behind in 26th after finishing in 20:48.5.

Sophomore Michael Cepowski finished ninth overall in the freshman/sophomore race with a time of 17 minutes and 37 seconds, while freshman Thomas Simms placed 27th overall after running the course in 18 minutes and 34 seconds.

The Falcons also competed against two teams from the Cascade Conference — Cedarcrest and King’s — in a 2.4-mile meet on Oct. 11 at King’s High School. South Whidbey’s boys team finished second, while the girls were third.

Swegler Richmond finished third in the meet with a time of 15:23.52, while Falcon junior Callahan Yale led the boys with a fifth place finish and time of 13 minutes 19 seconds.

Kurtz placed 10th with a time of 16 minutes and 22 seconds, while Donnelly, Cepowski freshman Serena McLain also finished in the top 15 in their respective races.

South Whidbey is competing in the Cascade Conference Championships at Blue Heron Gold Course in Duvall on Oct. 19.