In cross country, the Ballard Beavers needed to finish in fourth or better to qualify for state and were in position to do so with Meaghan McClure in 25th place and 50 meters from the finish line.

During the meet, held at Finn Hill Junior High School in Kirkland, Head Coach Bruce Drager shouted encouragement to his girl runners, informing them of their position and telling them to overtake the runners ahead of them.

McClure was 50 meters from the finish when she passed out from hyperventilation. If she had crossed the finish line, the Ballard girls would have earned a third place score.

With McClure out of the race, the next Ballard runner, in score, 43rd place, was figured in the Beavers total and this put them short of a team qualification. Ballard came within eight points of state.

Drager said he told McClure to catch two runners from Evergreen. "I told her to go too hard," he said.

The good news is Ballard's top girl runner, Bridget Berg took eighth place with a time of 19:50. She will represent the team at state.

Despite the team loss, Drager was pleased with his girls. "They ran the best they have run all season. Berg did real well. She will be a real star," he said D.

The other top Beavers include Maron McCash, Maddy Lee, Andrea Porter Smith, Erin Philbeck and Ribika Hailenarium.

The boys team failed to qualify for districts. Two boys, Alex Barkley and Andrew Hamilton went as individuals.

Barkley finished in 12th place with a time of 16.49 and will represent the Beavers at state. "He ran well," said Drager. The Ballard coach predicts his boys could be the top team in KingCo next year.

Redmond, Eastlake, Mountain View and Woodinville girls teams finished first through fourth respectively to advance to state. For the boys, it was Redmond, Roosevelt, Heritage and Bothell.

The Ballard girls team qualified for districts finishing third at the KingCo Championships the week before.