One expected outcome. One surprise. Three "almosts." That summarizes last Wednesday's 2007 Metro League cross country championship meet for West Seattle and Chief Sealth high schools at Lincoln Park.

West Seattle junior Kyle MacDonald delivered what was expected, and what he expected of himself. Following in the footsteps of Stephanie Honan in 2005 and Kylen Johnson in 2006, MacDonald became the lone runner from his school to advance to the postseason. MacDonald's tactical 22d place was well within the top thirty cutoff for advancing to the SeaKing District meet next Thursday [tomorrow] at Lake Sammamish State Park. His time of 17:28.6 was his second sub-17:30 race in a row.

The Chief Sealth boys' team produced the surprise. Riding the strength of junior Bryce Rainwater, Chief Sealth claimed ninth place by a scant six points, 282-288, dropping Ingraham into the Metro League basement that Sealth had occupied since 2005. Rainwater finished 15 places ahead of the first Ingraham runner in a personal record 18:04.

Rainwater accounted for one of the "almosts" as well. His 33rd place missed the postseason cutoff by three places and 11.9 seconds. Senior teammate Claudia Jacob was similarly close. She finished 35th in the girls' race, albeit 44 seconds shy, in 22:09.6.

Finally, the West Seattle boys' team ambushed Eastside Catholic - almost. Third-year coach Christopher Silvernale's team fell short of seventh place by a mere eight points, 208-216. It was not for want of effort. Four of his team's five scoring runners ran personal bests. Silvernale, twice a former West Seattle High School team captain himself, saw his senior co-captains set the example. Jacob Nauss ran a memorable 18:38.7 for 42d in his final varsity race, and Jack Hilton, 19:56.4 for 53d. In between were sophomores Cooper Sinai-Yunker, 47th in 18:54.7 and Eli Swedlow, 52d in 19:49.4. This was Sinai-Yunker's first trip under nineteen minutes.

With the exception of MacDonald, runners from West Seattle will compete in tomorrow's All-Comers race to end the season.

The previous week:

The Flying Scotsman:

- a) Liddell, Eric. British Olympian, winner of the 400 meter run at the 1924 Olympic Games, subject of the Oscar-winning 1981 movie, "Chariots of Fire."

- b) Steam locomotive. Built 1923, famed for its non-stop express service on the London-Edinburgh run, first steam locomotive to hit 100 mph, Nov. 30, 1934.

- c) MacDonald, Kyle. Since 2005, noted cross country runner at West Seattle High School.

MacDonald capped his five-meet Metro League regular season with his fifth top 10 finish, a scorching 6th place in 17:22.5. The increasingly race-savvy MacDonald overtook two Bishop Blanchet runners in the last mile and lowered his personal record at Lincoln Park by 25.5 seconds.

In that regard, he was not alone. The tempo of last Wednesday's six-team race fully anticipated today's Metro League Championship meet. Vying for the team's seven varsity slots, West Seattle's Cooper Sinai-Yunker (23d), Eli Swedlow (27th), senior co-captain Jack Hilton (28th), Ryan Burt (29th), and Lars Stromberg (30th) all lowered personal records by decrements ranging from 26.5 seconds to a whopping 1:25! Senior co-captain Jacob Nauss finished 25th.

Chief Sealth junior Bryce Rainwater finished a commendable 16th in 18:13.5, while teammate Daniel Perrine split West Seattle's Nauss and Swedlow to finish 26th. The freshman lowered his personal record by 12 seconds.

The West Seattle girls' team was overwhelmed by superior teams from Bishop Blanchet, Bainbridge Island, Nathan Hale, and Ingraham. Nevertheless, Vanda Szabo, Alyssa Harris, and Corinne Kleeberger all set personal records, as freshman Szabo raced to No. 1 on the team for the first time.

Claudia Jacob, running for an incomplete Chief Sealth team, astounded her coach by knocking 1:26 off her personal record. She and the rest of the league will try to win entry into the postseason this afternoon, again at Lincoln Park.

This is the final cross country report by John Leonard for this year. He can be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com