WHIDBEY ISLAND, Washington (STPNS) -- You can add Greeley, Col. and Springfield, Ore. to the list of places cross-country has taken Kyle King.

The Coupeville High School graduate, currently a sophomore at Eastern Washington University, finished 18th at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships in Greeley Saturday, Oct. 31, covering an 8,000-meter course in 26 minutes, 51.7 seconds. The top finisher for his squad, which claimed fifth place in the nine-team meet, he and his teammates were on a plane and out of snow-encrusted Colorado shortly after the race finished.



He then closed out his season by placing a somewhat disappointing 120th on Nov. 14 at the NCAA West Regional Championships. Running in slightly balmier conditions in Springfield, he finished a 10,000-meter course in 33:38.29. While it was an improvement from last season, when he placed 157th, it wasn't a big enough jump to qualify him for the NCAA Championships.

Three other standout Coupeville High School sports alumni have taken their games to a higher level.

Soccer sensation Geoff Wacker and gridiron gladiators Casey Larson and Steven McDonald are all competing for college teams this season. Larson has rambled for a team-leading 481 yards and three touchdowns for the University of Puget Sound, McDonald is playing tough defense while wearing a Pacific Lutheran University jersey and Wacker has started 14 games for George Fox University in Oregon.