The Issaquah Eagles and Skyline Spartans girls Cross Country teams made their respective presences felt at the 2014 Class 4A girls state Cross Country meet.

The Eagles captured a second place finish as a team (91 points) and the Spartans earned a fourth place finish (163 points) on Nov. 8 in Pasco. The highest individual places in the Class 4A meet from the Issaquah/Sammamish region consisted of Maizy Brewer (Skyline-fifth place) Cayla Seligman (Issaquah-12th place), Sami Corman (Issaquah-13th place), Pia Richards (Eastlake-14th place) and Kenna Clawson (Issaquah-19th place).

I have covered high school athletics for the past nine years and Cross Country is without a doubt one of the most grueling sports physically as well as mentally I’ve ever encountered. The amount of self discipline, sacrifice and dedication it takes to be successful is impressive. These athletes will themselves to stellar performances by exhibiting an abundance of intestinal fortitude. The state meet may have been last weekend but the foundation for each athlete was built during the off-season. Earlier this year Eastlake Wolves runner Grace Johnson said she ran between six to 10 miles per day, five days a week over the summer in preparation for the 2014 season.

That is the kind of work ethic and mindset it takes in order to be a successful  distance runner. Running 50 miles a week sounds like a daunting task to me but its something Cross Country runners in the Issaquah and Sammamish regions embrace wholeheartedly. Typically, there isn’t large crowds of fans hovering around the finish line at the majority of the meets but that doesn’t matter to the multitude of athletes across Washington who put everything they have into their chosen sport of Cross Country. Nothing bothers these runners, they just keep on running.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com