LAKEWOOD — Seattle’s Talia Randle has it in the bag — literally.

The grocery bagger from Metropolitan Market at Magnolia proved Oct. 12 that she is the state’s top grocery bagger, outpacing eight other competitors for the state title in the Best Bagger Battle.

Roman Agne, representing Central Market Poulsbo, placed second; Luke Netjes of Rosauers Supermarkets in Spokane placed third.

The event, Oct. 12 at the McGavick Conference Center at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood, is sponsored by the Washington Food Industry Association Education Foundation. Each year, grocers from all over the state send their best grocery store baggers to compete in the challenge.

This is the second win in a row for Metropolitan Market, which is currently also home to the national bagging champ, Candice Lastimado, a bagger in the West Seattle store.

As the state champion, Randle will receive a $2,000 cash prize and an all-expense paid trip to compete in February at the 2017 National Grocers Association National Best Bagging Championship in Las Vegas. If she wins, Randle would be the fourth national champion from Washington state in five years.

“We are so proud of all nine finalists who work so hard every day to provide outstanding customer service to shoppers all across Washington state,” said Jan Gee, president and CEO of the Washington Food Industry Association. “You can just tell how much pride they take in their work and how much care they take in helping customers. We are so grateful for the support of all of the participating grocers and sponsors, without whom this event would not be possible.”

Gee added, “This is another exciting year for us, with another national championship on the line. We are excited to support Talia as she moves on to the national competition and will be cheering for her later this winter.”

Each year, grocery baggers of all ages are encouraged to participate and must spend more than 25 percent of their working hours bagging groceries as a regularly assigned duty.

Participants in the Best Bagger Battle compete in two rounds: the first, filling paper bags with groceries and the second, using reusable bags. Baggers are judged on a variety of factors, including overall speed time, bag building technique (damaged items, placement of crushable items, etc.) and style, attitude and appearance.

The WFIA Education Foundation supports five programs through scholarships, including a retail management certificate program; food industry management program; food industry executive program; retail leadership journey; and “Today’s Managers, Tomorrow’s Leaders” Seminar. Since the WFIA Education Foundation was founded in 2012, more than $20,000 has been awarded to individuals in the grocery industry seeking to improve themselves and the companies who employ them.

Founded in 1899, the WFIA represents the state’s independent grocers.