By CASEY OLSON, The Mirror

Running a cross country race in half-a-foot of mud isn’t real much fun.

But that’s just what the runners at the Junior Olympics Regional Meet in Sandy, Ore., had to deal with late last month.

And the Federal Way Track Club dealt with Mother Nature’s wrath a little bit better than most. The local cross country club finished with four individual champions and three team titles in Oregon.

“Sandy, Oregon, should have been named Muddy, Oregon, with five-plus inches of mud on the entire course,” said FWTC coach Daryl Genest.

Teams and individual runners from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington competed at the regional meet. Runners compete in one of ten, 2-year age group categories (9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18).

Federal Way brothers David and Jesse Goldstone won their respective age categories in Oregon, as did Tacoma residents Chloe Treleven and Patryce McWilliams.

David Goldstone won the boys 11-12 division by completing the 3,000-meter course in 10:43 and Jesse Goldstone won the boys 9-10 division by completing the same course in 11:50.

David Goldstone attends Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma and Jesse Goldstone goes to Spring Valley Montessori in Federal Way.

Treleven finished first in the highly-competitive 17-18 young women’s division. Treleven is a 17-year-old who attends Stadium High School. She completed the 5,000-meter course in 21:02.

McWilliams finished first in the girls 9-10 division in a time of 12:10. McWilliams’ run also helped the Federal Way Track Club’s 9-10 girls team win the regional title in Oregon.

Federal Way also brought home team titles in the girls 15-16 division and the 17-18 young men’s division.

The girls were led by the second-place finish from Sumner High School’s Ashlee Sincraugh, a fourth place from Bonney Lake’s Veronica Stinnett and a seventh-place finish from Auburn Riverside’s Kalee Cipra.

The 17-18 boys picked up a second from Lakes’ Seth Bridges, a third from Rogers’ Colby Peters and a fifth-place from Decatur High School senior Justin Helm.

All of the runners qualified for the Junior Olympics National Cross Country Championship Meet, which will be held at Rim Rock Park in Lawrence, Kan., later this month.

In total, the Federal Way Track Club will have 43 runners competing in the national meet and it will be the 15th consecutive time the club will be represented at the national meet.

The meet showcases the top athletes, ages 9 to 18, from across the United States. Over 2,500 cross country runners and 86 teams will compete for top honors.

Other Federal Way Track Club individuals who qualified for the national meet by finishing in the top-20 spots at regionals were Tacoma’s Constance Heerman (8th place, 17-18 girls), Vashon Island’s Maximo Mandl (eighth, 13-14 boys), Federal Way’s Jasmine Johnson (6th, 13-14 girls), Kent’s Ruben Riodan (5th, 11-12 boys), Auburn’s Cassidy Brown (6th, 11-12 girls), Federal Way’s Christine Carr (8th, 11-12 girls), Covington’s Terra McGinnis (9th, 11-12 girls), Redmond’s Alexander Lanser (4th, 9-10 boys) and Tacoma’s Zabrina Batch (7th, 9-10 girls).

Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com