Pope John Paul II (JPII) Cross-Country
JPII Student-Athlete Team Accomplishments In Cross-Country
Background
The JPII boys cross-country team was formed in 2011. The first girl’s team was created in 2018. Both teams are relatively new on the Washington State High School Cross-Country scene.
Program Highlights
The JPII Girls team won the Washington State Cross Championships in their second year in 2019. They repeated as state champions for a second consecutive season in 2021. In 2022, the Lady Eagles won their third consecutive state championship. There were no state championships held in 2020 on the state course due to the COVID Pandemic.
The girl's team were also Washington State Academic State Champions in 2018, 2021, and 2022. This means the girls had the highest team GPA in the State of Washington within their sport and division.
The JPII Boys team has placed second four consecutive years at the state cross-country championships. However, they also finished as the number one team in the state in their division (1B) for four consecutive years. The 1B and 2B schools compete in the same state championship event in cross-country.
The boy's team has won distinguished or outstanding academic awards over the last several years from the WIAA.
JPII runs against the larger schools in the state cross-country championships. This is not the case with other sports at the 1B level. The other sports have separate state championship events.
There were no district or state championships held in cross-country in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. However, both teams led the state in their division time-wise on the athletic.net system.
Boys Cross Country
Sea-Tac League Champions
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
District Champions
2019, 2021, 2022
Sea-Tac League Sportsmanship Team Of The Year
2019, 2020
Qualified For The State Championships
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
State Team Podium Placings (Top four teams in the state make the podium)
2nd place 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 (The first 1B team in the State of Washingon all three years. The 1B/2B state championships are combined in cross-country, unlike all other 1B sports)
Girls Cross Country
Sea-Tac League Sportsmanship Team Of The Year
2019, 2020
Sea-Tac League Champions
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
District Champions
2019, 2021, 2022
Qualified For The State Championships
2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Washington State Champions
2019, 2021, 2022
Washington State Academic Champions
2018, 2021, 2022
Combined Boys and Girls Team Accomplishments
Combined, the JPII Boy's and Girls Cross-Country teams have won 12 Sea-Tac League championships, qualified for the state championships ten times, won six district championships, won three state cross-country championships, and had four runner-up finishes, and was blessed with three State High School Academic state championships.
Special Mention
The JV team was terrific in 2021. They won the JV invitational at one of the largest meets in Western Washington, finishing ahead of all schools regardless of state classification as a 1B school. The group was one of the best teams in the district overall, which was an outstanding accomplishment for a young team.
The 2020 Pandemic Year
Both teams led the state time-wise on athletic.net in their division with no hope of a state championship meet. They trained hard and were focused even without a district or state championship meet on the horizon.
I bring these accomplishments up to recognize the fantastic work our student-athletes put in, even knowing a state meet would not happen.
The Pandemic teams showed heart, determination, and grit, absolutely knowing there would be no final exam for them to show how hard they worked.
I will never forget the 2020 team. The JPII boys and girls teams were two of the greatest teams I’ve ever coached, maybe the greatest of all, because of the incredible character they displayed in the most significant societal challenge in generations.
The JPII Pandemic teams never gave up. They became role models for us adults on how to handle adversity.
Blessings,
Coach Weber
Philippians 4:13
The girls won the combined 1B/2B State Cross-Country Championship in 2019, their second year with a team. The 2019 state championship team was the first state athletic championship in any sport at JPII. You can read about the JPII girl's historic first state championship here:
https://www.coachweber.org/Pope-John-State-Champions.html?unique=16447538348803798
The JPII Girls team won the state cross-country championship in 2021 again, their second consecutive state cross-country championship on the state course. Due to the pandemic, no state cross-country championship was held in 2020 in Pasco, Wa.
The JPII girls won the Academic State championship in 2018, their first year as a team. The ladies followed up with another academic state championship in 2021. The academic state championship in 2018 was the first in school history. The academic state championship is awarded to the school with the highest combined team GPA.
The JPII Boys have finished second at state for three consecutive years in 2018, 2019, and 2021. There was no state championship cross-country race on the state course in 2020. The boys run against larger schools in the state championships. They were the number one 1B school in the state championships for three consecutive years.
