Small island, big results: Orcas cross country takes five medals

By Darrell Kirk

Sounder contributor

The Orcas Island High School cross country team proved that size doesn’t determine success, winning first place as a team in the JV Boys 3 division at a recent meet hosted by Sehome.

Competing against 148 runners from schools including Shorewood, Bothell, King’s, Seattle Prep, and Monroe, the Vikings took several of the top spots despite being one of the smallest teams with just seven athletes.

“We did really well as a team,” said Coach Matthew Tong. “These guys ran their butts off. Everybody ran under 13. The whole team.”

The team’s success stems from the unique advantages of their small-island environment.

“Having a small team is really beneficial in this sort of sport, especially when we’re all so together in our fitness levels and in our goals,” explained runner Kai Gilliam.

Individual performances were impressive across the board. Kai Park, whose father Dennis Park is a new science teacher at the school, finished fourth after strategically studying the course beforehand.

Drew Nunez, a sophomore running his second year, battled through the challenging course to claim 10th place.

“As a sophomore, this is my second time running this race. This hill is just killer and insane. The lactic acid in my legs was building up, but I still pushed through. I was huffing and puffing at the end, but I got 10th place, so I’m pretty proud of that,” Nunez said.

Gabriel Chapman finished 17th out of 148 runners, while Tom Malo overcame injury concerns to finish 19th.

Chapman reflected on the challenging competition: “It was such a difficult race with so many people, and the competition can be so steep. I believe the whole team put in tremendous work, and I can’t wait for the next race.”

When asked about what changed for him this year as an upperclassman, Chapman replied: “Coming in as an upperclassman now, competing against all the underclassmen, it feels like a different animal. You have people looking at you and trying to get you in the race, so you have to look out more for people trying to pass you and take you down.”

Max Peterson contributed to the team’s success with a strong finish in an earlier race. Team member Hugh Kirk attended the meet to support his teammates despite being sidelined with an injury.

Tong also highlighted the advantages of coaching a small team: “Having a small team makes coaching much easier because there’s a lot of ability to do one-on-one time. The students and athletes are bonding on a deeper level and motivating each other. They do a lot of the work themselves, and we just guide them and support them to help them achieve what they want to achieve, which is incredible.”

Coach Christopher Barry added his praise for the team’s performance, highlighting the camaraderie.

“I can’t be prouder of these guys for showing the grit and determination to get out there and get it done,” he said.

Head Coach Sarah Gully, in her first year coaching on Orcas Island and coming from a small-town background, emphasized what makes Orcas Island special.

“What’s different here is that the support is so strong. Coach Christopher and I have talked about how accepting it is immediately. As soon as you’re a part of the island, it’s like the whole island is with you. It’s been awesome, and it happened so fast.”