SPSL 4A SUB-DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY MEET

• WHAT: District-qualifying race involving all 18 South Puget Sound League schools.

• WHEN: Thursday.

• WHERE: Fort Steilacoom Park.

• TIME: Girls 2:30 p.m., boys 3:15 p.m. (JV races to follow, girls 3:45, boys 4:30.)

• AT STAKE: The top 10 teams and the top 50 individuals, whether they’re part of a qualifying team or not, move on to the West Central District meet.

• DEFENDING CHAMPIONS: Boys team: Tahoma. Girls team: Jefferson. Boys individual: Rob Webster Jr., Puyallup, 15:39.02 (graduated). Girls individual: Erika Martin, Curtis, 19:22.63 (returning).

• TEAMS TO WATCH: Boys — Tahoma, Auburn Riverside. Girls — Tahoma, Auburn Riverside, Jefferson, Curtis.

• Individuals to watch: Boys: Julian-Blake Cowan, Auburn Riverside. Everyone else is going for second. Girls: Erika Martin, Curtis. Four underclass runners finished behind her last year, and all of them are returning. But Martin was 23 seconds in front of the field in 2007.

• WHAT’S NEXT: The West Central District meet — known as the Westside Cross Country Classic — is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1, at American Lake Golf Course in Tacoma. Racing begins at 10:30 a.m. The 4A girls race starts at 1:30 p.m.; the 4A boys go at 3 p.m.