Three Evergreens compete at State Cross Country meet

D.C. Everest sent three runners to compete at the WIAA State Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Juniors Kathryn Merritt and Morgan Pagel qualified on the girls side, while junior Will VanSlyke was Everest’s sole representative on the boys side. All three of these athletes also represented D.C. Everest at State in 2025.
VanSlyke has been a top runner in the region all season, winning the Varsity Boys race at the WVC meet and then winning his sectional race by 12 seconds. On the 31st, VanSlyke proved to also be one of the top runners in the state, as he stayed in the top ten for much of the race. His finishing time of 16:00.9 earned him 12th overall.
VanSlyke improved on his performance at State last year, where he placed 40th with a time of 16:33.5.
VanSlyke started running when he was in elementary school, but not because he was in love with the sport. VanSlyke said, though, that said love for cross country grew tremendously as he continued doing it.

“My mom started running with me the summer going into fifth grade, she half-forced me to do it,” VanSlyke said. “After sixth grade I started to like it more, partially because I was fast. I loved the way running felt. It’s freeing, it feels amazing.”
To prepare his body for cross country, not only has VanSlyke restructured his diet and schedule, he’s also had to accommodate for the tough training schedule by dropping other sporting passions over the years.
“Going into my freshman year I had to give up soccer,” Vanslyke said, “which I did since I was probably five years old. I want to pursue this going into college, so this year I also gave up hockey which I’d been doing since I was four. The consistency of running six days a week, not missing a single day, you sacrifice time and energy. The sport is simple in practice, difficult in what you have to sacrifice.”
While VanSlyke isn’t able to take part in as many competitive sports, he is still very involved outside of cross country and track. He’s a member of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and Math Club. Outside of school, he also likes to fish, cook, and play video games with friends.
Kathryn Merritt and Morgan Pagel qualified for State after posting the third and fourth best times among non-team qualifiers during sectionals, placing fourth and fifth overall. At State, Pagel’s time of 19:30.7 placed her in 57th out of 184 finishers. Merritt’s time of 19:47.5 placed her in 84th, a top half result.
Allisha Blanchette, the head girls cross country coach at D.C. Everest, said what makes Pagel and Merritt stand out as athletes is how willing they are to take the lead in their own preparations.
“These are the girls you don’t have to convince to run,” Blanchette said. “They show up and they say, ‘what should we do today, how much are we doing today.’ They’re self motivated, competitive, and willing to put in the work. There’s no secret to success in running, you just have to do the work and these two are hard workers.”
Merritt, as well as Pagel, has been in cross country since middle school and said that what drew her to the sport and keeps her in it were her families both at home and on the track.
“Both my parents ran all throughout high school and college, so they influenced me,” Merritt said. “[Cross country] is fun and the people are nice to hang out with so that’s why I continue.”
Merritt and Pagel said that training for cross country and doing work for upper level classes keeps their plates full, but that the Everest cross country program gives them opportunities to get involved with the community in various ways.
“We help with all our community service events,” Pagel said. “Last year we rang the bell outside of Festival Foods for the Salvation Army, did little kid races at IMAGINE and were counselors for our girls running camp.”
Blanchette said that, given both Pagel and Merritt qualified for State last year, they might have the physical goal of improving their times. Pagel and Merritt each said, though, that their main goal was to have fun and enjoy the moment.
“You only get to do something like this once a year,” Merritt said, “and it’s not guaranteed that you will get to do it again.”