The 2008 cross country season wrapped up last Saturday with the Bellevue High School boys team taking third in the WIAA championships.

The event, at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, saw Bellevue’s Joel Ambo lead the Wolverines by finishing 15th overall with a time of 16:08.

The Bellevue girls took ninth place and were led by Emilie Gilbert, who finished 26th.

“It was a terrific day for us,” said Bellevue coach John Hill, whose wife coached the Mercer Island girls team to a first-place finish in 3A.

It was also the first time in Bellevue High School history that both the girls and boys teams qualified for the state meet in the same season.

The Interlake boys team finished 13th in the 2A race, led by the 60th-place finish of sophomore Max Crowell. Although the Saints girls team did not qualify, Brooke Niemann, an Interlake sophomore, finished 57th overall in 20:44. Her teammate, freshman Summer Hanson, finished 97th.

Newport finished 14th in the girls 4A meet. It was the 15th-straight year the Knights girls team has qualified for the state meet.

The Bellevue Christian boys finished in eighth place, while the girls finished in fifth. Viking’s senior Terra Oldham received the Class 1A Sportsmanship Award.

Bellevue-area top-50 (all-state) finishers

Boys

Class 4A – none

Class 3A – Joel Ambo, 11, Bellevue (15th, 16:08); Dmitrij Petters, 12, Bellevue (22nd, 16:16); Taylor Mesojednik, 12, Bellevue (43rd, 16:35).

Class 2A – none

Class 1A – Andrew Van Ness, 12, Bellevue Christian (29th, 17:28); Steve Koster, 12, Bellevue Christian (39th, 17:40).

Girls

Class 4A – none

Class 3A – Emilie Gilbert, 12, Bellevue (26th, 19:41); Melanie Luis, 11, Bellevue (41st, 19:58).

Class 2A – none

Class 1A – Terra Oldham, 12, Bellevue Christian (24th, 20:51); Allison Hussey, 11, Bellevue Christian (25th, 20:52); Bree Oldham, 9, Bellevue Christian (34th, 21:09)