File photo – Eureka’s Ian Bennett

A pair of H-DNL cross country runners are headed to the state championships after big showings at Saturday’s North Coast Section meet at Hayward High School.

Eureka’s Ian Bennett and Fortuna’s Collin Stockwell each qualified for next weekend’s prestigious race after placing in the top 10 in Division 4 at Hayward.

Bennett led the local charge with a sixth-place finish in a time of 16 minutes, 4.6 seconds, with Stockwell just four spots back in 10th (16:11.5).

It could have been three, but H-DNL champion West Wood of McKinleyville was forced to pull out after coming down sick.

He wasn’t the only local miss out on the big NCS meet.

The Arcata girls were missing two of their top runners, including league champion Ai-Lan McGoldrick, who was unable to make the trip for personal reasons, and Raven Alvarez (sick).

Arcata’s Vivian Gerstein led the local charge with a 33rd place finish in a time of 20:44.7.

Without McGoldrick and Alvarez, the Tigers finished 10th as a team.

“Things like that happen. There’s nothing you can do about it,” Arcata head coach James Washington said. “But the good thing is they all gave 110 percent, and the second good thing is they’re all coming back and they got the experience of a big meet.”

Freshman Alauna Thompson also had a big showing, finishing 38th, while fellow freshman Zoe Macknicki was 51st.

“From the beginning of the season to the end of the season, Alauna was the most improved of the group, along with Zoe,” Washington said.

Another freshman, Charlotte Leonard, placed 62nd to lead the way for the Eureka girls, who finished 14th as a team.

Fortuna was 17th, led by yet another freshman Ella Owsley.

The Eureka boys placed 11th in their event one spot ahead of Arcata, with Fortuna in 15th.

According to Eureka head coach Matt Messner, Bennett ran a good strategic race.

“He went out aggressive, but not too aggressive,” Messner said. “He put himself in the right position.”

Stockwell, meanwhile started out more conservative before making a move with a strong finish.

Arcata’s Jude Ortega was third best on the day for the H-DNL in 22nd, with Eureka’s Jayden Thayer 44th and Arcata’s Miles Johnson 49th.