Julian-Blake Cowan’s primary goal this fall is to chase down a state cross country championship.

After last Saturday’s prestigious Sunfair Invitational in Yakima, the Auburn Riverside High senior knows at least one guy he’ll have to catch.

Cowan finished a solid second in the race against other No. 1 runners on the challenging 3.0-mile course in Franklin Park. He crossed the line in 15 minutes, 32.2 seconds, leaving him ahead of everyone else and behind only Andrew Gonzales of Southridge. Gonzales won in 15:23.9.

The two standouts are quite familiar with each other. In last year’s Class 3A state cross country meet in Pasco (both schools have moved up to 4A since then), Gonzales beat Cowan to the wire by one second to take fourth place. At the Star Track state meet this past spring, they split: Cowan took seventh in the 1,600 meters, while Gonzales was 12th; Gonzales finished fourth in the 3,200, with Cowan eighth.

Riverside junior Kenny Krotzer finished seventh in the race against No. 2 runners, logging a 16:37.8. His performance and that of Cowan helped the Ravens take 10th place with 99 points.

Gig Harbor won with 36, and Tahoma, AR’s stablemate in the South Puget Sound League North Division, was second with 39.

Jefferson finished 33rd with 238 points, Enumclaw was 53rd with 339, and Auburn was 54th with 341.

On the girls side, Jefferson placed 15th with 128 points, Auburn Riverside was 23rd with 256, and Enumclaw was 31st with 198. Auburn did not compete in the girls meet.