PROSSER — Ephrata High School’s cross country teams turned in a commanding performance Thursday, Oct. 16, sweeping both the boys’ and girls’ varsity races in a Central Washington Athletic Conference tri-meet in Prosser. 

In both divisions, the Tigers used late-race surges and tight pack running to lock down the victories.

“Coming into the meet, we knew Quincy boys and Prosser girls were going to present a great challenge for our team,” said Ephrata coach Lyndsy Roberts. “Both have strong front runners and a solid supporting pack. It took great races from our entire team to come out with the league win. In a lot of instances, it was the last 300 meters that truly decided the race and swung it to our favor.”

In team scoring, the Ephrata girls posted winning low scores of 15-44 against Quincy and 23-32 against Prosser. The Tigers’ top five finished within just over four minutes of each other, averaging 21:07 per runner for a team total of 1:45:37.

Sophomore Savannah Harper led the way with a personal-record time of 19 minutes, 21 seconds over the 5-kilometer course, followed by Hannah Malone in 19:28.14 and Rebecca Wiser in 20:08.34. Seniors Sunnie Neff (23:09.57) and freshman Annabelle Adams (23:29.55, PR) rounded out the scoring pack.

“Sunnie and Annabelle were the key runners for our girls team,” Roberts said. “Without their efforts we don’t walk away with a league win. I was ecstatic with their times, but more importantly with their effort. They stepped up big time.”

The Ephrata boys also commanded their races, edging Quincy, 26-33, and sweeping past Prosser, 15-50. The Tigers’ top five posted a team time of 1:24:58, averaging 16:59 per runner.

Sophomore Caleb Fitts clocked a personal-record 16:32.96 to lead Ephrata, followed by Niko Diaz (16:48.57), Maddax Iverson (16:54.36), Cooper Black (17:01.69, PR), and Cale Fronsman (17:40.72).

“On the boys side, fast finishes were the focal point of the race,” Roberts said. “Numerous athletes found themselves side by side with opposing teams and more often than not Ephrata came out on top. Caleb Fitts and Maddax Iverson in particular had memorable finishing kicks that secured the win.”

Roberts said the sweep gives his athletes a spark heading into the final stretch of the season.

“This was a huge mental boost for our runners to show they can run and compete with anyone if they have a strong mindset and goal to achieve,” he said.

Up next for the Tigers, East Valley (Yakima) and Grandview come to town for Ephrata's lone home appearance of the season, and their final race before districts. The league contest will be at Lakeview Golf and Country Club on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m.

Roberts said the meet will give athletes the chance to compete in front of a home crowd and fine-tune their race strategy ahead of postseason competition.“Our athletes are running with more and more confidence and are ready to finish the season strong,” he said.