A pair of juniors represented the Borderites at the 2026 WIAA State Cross Country Championships in Pasco on Saturday.
Carrie Balback became the first Blaine girl to run at state since 2019. She finished the 5K course with a time of 22 minutes and 34 seconds. She placed 79th of 153 runners who competed in the 1A girls category at state.
Emmanuel Rios-Martinez, who ran at state last season, finished with a time of 17 minutes and 12 seconds — a 59-second improvement over his time at state last year.
Rios-Martinez placed 36th of 153 runners in the 1A boys category. It’s the highest placement for a Blaine cross country athlete since 2012, said head coach Roberto Aguilera Jr.
Aguilera said that as a coach, it was great to see two of his athletes competing so hard at state.
At the beginning of the season, Balback set high expectations for herself, Aguilera said. One of those was to qualify for state.
He said he hopes that Balback will come back next season hungrier, now that she’s experienced a state meet.
Rios-Martinez “showed true grit on that course,” Aguilera said.
He said that the course is an especially difficult one, as it’s rarely flat. The course features lots of rolling hills that humble a lot of runners.
Despite the difficult course, Rios-Martinez competed hard and showed how much he’s grown since Aguilera began coaching him when he was a freshman, Aguilera said.
“I haven’t seen him race like that in a long time,” Aguilera said.
He said that Rios-Martinez will have a good shot at placing in the top 16 next year, which would earn him a spot on the podium.
Both Rios-Martinez and Balback will return next year with the opportunity to qualify for state, and to help lead the boys and girls teams to their first state appearance since 2012, he said.
“I’m all for this future here with these two, and everybody else on the team,” Aguilera said.
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