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| WIAA Washington State Meet
Sun Willows Golf Course, Pasco WA
Saturday November 7, 2009
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Keep it East: Spokane schools still streaking
US#8 Ferris extends GSL win streak to 22 years, US#9 North Central four-peats
Meet story by Dave Devine, DyeStat ESPN RISE
Photos by James Thomas, sunfairrun.com
 The state of Washington is no stranger to high-powered, late autumn cross country matchups on the Sun Willows Golf Course. There have been multiple cases of nationally-ranked squads banging elbows over hill and dale at the annual state meet, but the 2009 edition offered a pair of captivating matchups pitting highly-ranked teams from opposite sides of the state which, in both cases, had yet to meet this season. The US#25 Shadle Park girls of Spokane confronting the US#15 Glacier Peak girls of Snohomish, just north of Seattle, in the 3A Girls race served as an undercard of sorts to the heavyweight 4A bout between the US#2 Henry Jackson boys of Everett, also north of Seattle, and the US#8 Joel Ferris boys of, yes—Spokane. West versus East…Seattle versus Spokane…these are storylines which run deep in Washington harrier history. Adding to the drama was the feeling that with such a talented team from the west in the form of the Jackson boys, perhaps, just maybe, this would be the year a western squad ended the 21-year stranglehold teams from the Greater Spokane League have had on the large school state trophy.
Add in the US#9-ranked North Central boys hunting their fourth straight 3A state title, the US#36 Eastlake girls trying to repeat in 4A on the strength of a tight-knit pack, and 4A star Shane Moskowitz seeking redemption for a disappointing loss in 2008, and the slate was packed with races holding national implications.
Boys 4A: Moskowitz makes up for 2008
 The 4A boys race was the final event of the day, and a recall at the start after the runners had crested the first rise only delayed the action and heightened the anticipation. A fallen runner in the middle of the pack had apparently taken down several others, and the rapid-fire shots from the starter let the disappearing field know they’d need to return to the line.
For fifteen long minutes the antsy runners performed striders and stretches to stay loose, eventually pulling on sweats and warm-ups as several runners spiked in the pile-up were patched and bandaged at the starting line. Underway once again, the race quickly devolved into two competitions: Shane Moskowitz (left) versus the clock, and Jackson versus Ferris.
As the race streamed by, spectators alternated between cheering wildly for the orange-clad Moskowitz as he assailed the course with dialed-in focus, and performing mental math as they numbered the red singlets of Ferris against the white and green Jackson kits.
Moskowitz, who had been outkicked in 2008 by Redmond junior Mack Young, left nothing to chance in 2009.
“Last year I focused on going with 1200 to go in every race,” he said, “and at State that didn’t work. So I was not going to let that happen again. I wanted to make it hard the whole time.”
While he clearly tired in the final mile, Moskowitz still charged home in a new course record of 15:06, fastest since the Sun Willows course was lengthened from 3 miles to 5k in 1998. Gig Harbor senior Conner Peloquin charged gamely home for runner-up honors in 15:22. Moskowitz had hoped to break 15 minutes, but the win and the privilege of taking down Adam Tenforde's 15:10 mark from 1998 nonetheless left him teary-eyed and smiling.
“I really wanted it last year and it didn’t happen,” the Oklahoma State signee said, “so I’m really overwhelmed and excited. Coming in, I was going to try to go with 2 miles to go, but the first 400 felt like they were trying to make it more strategic, so from then on I just went for it. With 3 miles to go I went and tried to hang on as long as I could…I didn’t break 15, but I’m still really excited.”
Ferris keeps the streak alive, toppling US#2 Jackson
Equally excited in the post-race paddock was Ferris top gun Adam Thorne. Although he missed a hoped-for individual title with his third place, 15:31, effort, Thorne had helped engineer a convincing 68-100 upset of the US#2 Jackson squad with his gutsy run.
“They were ranked in front of us,” Thorne said, trying to ward off the embraces of his excited teammates long enough to comment, “but we were always confident we could win it. We knew we’d have to run well, but we knew we could win. There was never any doubt in our minds.”
 Thorne, who fronted a 34-second spread between the Ferris top 5, echoed the sentiment of longtime Washington observers who’d responded to Jackson’s favored status with a cautionary note: Ferris coach Mike Hadway always has his team ready to compete at State.
2009 was no exception.
“Every single year,” Thorne said, “he gets us ready for the big race.”
Hadway appreciated the acknowledgement of his preparation skills by his senior leader, but deferred to the effort of his young charges as an explanation for the triumph.
“I told them last night, ‘It’s not about Jackson, it’s just about us winning the state meet. You’ve got to run your best and the winning will take care of itself if you do that.’ And it did … State is always the most important part of our season. It’s just hard to lose State—to me that’s even bigger than Nike Nationals.”
Hadway didn’t deny an underlying motivation of continuing a 21-year streak of schools from the Greater Spokane League winning the large school title. Referencing the close fraternity of Spokane coaches and the ribbing he’d receive for allowing the trophy to head west, he joked, “For the last two months I’ve been thinking, ‘Man, I don’t want to be the first coach that loses this to a Westside school.’ I told them, ‘Hey guys, I don’t want to let that trophy on the Jackson bus back to Seattle, because they’re not going to let me back into Spokane if I lose this.’”
Thorne, who wasn’t even born the last time a team from outside his league took home the trophy, had his own take on the importance of keeping the Spokane streak alive.
“I tried not to think about it; we tried not to talk about it much. But there’s pressure, and then there’s—dude, the Westside hasn’t won it since the Soviet Union was still going on.”
And after Saturday’s heroics by Ferris, the West side still hasn’t solved the Spokane riddle.
Girls 4A: Eastlake repeats, Dailey breaks through as #3 all-time
 The 4A girls race held less drama, but no less excitement, for the girls of US#36 Eastlake and individual winner Anna Dailey of Garfield.
Dailey joined a three-girl breakaway group midrace which included herself, Stanwood junior Minna Fields, and Redmond senior Devin McMahon. From there, the Garfield senior simply tried to hold on as Fields and McMahon variously pushed the pace. McMahon, in particular, threw in a late surge which threatened to break the race open.
Dailey—who’d faced the Redmond runner multiple times this year—willed herself to stay in contact. “I just tell myself, ‘I’m going to stay with her, I’m going to stay with her.’ And I repeat that and try to do it.”
As Dailey recovered and started to roll, McMahon faded, eventually finishing third in 18:23, with Fields second in 18:17. Dailey only seemed to grow stronger, streaming down the homestretch with a sizable lead and the day’s first clocking under 18 minutes.
“I just felt really good,” she said afterward, “and I’ve run with all of them before…with 800 to go I thought, ‘I can do this. I like going fast.”
Her 17:58 victory left her trailing only Megan O'Reilly (17:35-2005) and Brie Felnagle (17:53-2004) on the all-time course list.
The team battle was unfolding well behind Dailey, as Eastlake’s #1 Chelea Orr crossed in 15th place (19:00) to lead a 1-5 split of 45 seconds which provided the scoring power to turn back Tahoma, 100-124.
“Coming into it,” Eastlake coach Troy Anderson said, “we had a few girls who were banged up, and we knew we had to have a lot of girls who would step up and have good races, and that’s what works—it’s all about the pack.”
Stepping from the podium with his team’s second straight 4A trophy, he acknowledged, “We don’t have a super frontrunner, but I’d rather get a whole team here than one star, and getting the trophy is even better.”
Boys 3A: Ben Johnston steps to the fore, leading NC four-peat
 The US#9 North Central boys, also of Spokane, had a streak of their own to extend in the 3A classification. Having won three-straight state titles with a team comprised largely of the pieces which won the Nike Cross National title in 2008, North Central was looking to get it done without key graduated seniors and a re-tooled squad featuring new faces in the lineup.
Behind individual winner and senior standout Ben Johnston, the Indians didn’t miss a beat.
Johnston, fourth in 2008, ascended to the top of the podium after a midrace battle with Seattle Prep’s Drew O'Donoghue-McDonald (right) which Johnston effectively ended with a push from 400 meters out.
“Ben started going,” O'Donoghue-McDonald said, “and I stayed with him and we kind of dropped the pack. And then we started battling from there, and he got me the last 400 when I ran out of gas.”
“It felt like no one wanted to lead it,” Johnston said, “and it seemed a bit slow, so I decided to go out and see what I could do, and it worked out.”
For Johnston, his first individual state title was sweetened by the opportunity to lead his team to a four-peat in the wake of the national championship year. North Central’s 47 points, with a team average of 15:45, was well clear of runner-up Peninsula’s 118.
“It’s definitely been a journey to carve out our own identity,” Johnston said, “because those guys left such a big one. But we’ve come together as a family.”
Girls 3A: Neale takes individual title, Shadle Park claims team crown
The girls of Shadle Park and Glacier Peak, each having risen to prominence in 2009 with runners new to the Washington scene, have also gelled impressively into close-knit units. Observers knew their 3A girls battle would be a close one, and it didn’t disappoint.
 Glacier Peak’s ninth grade star, Amy-Eloise Neale, drew first blood with a 1-point starter after a spirited stretch run against fellow freshman Katie Knight (left) of North Central left the two contestants a second apart (18:08-18:09).
The former age-group star, who’s had more than one track race come down to a dive at the tape, felt confident in her kick entering the homestretch.
“I’ve done a lot of races where it was really close,” she said. “It could have gone either way…pretty much all I knew was that there were five good girls out there who’d run strong times.”
While Neale opened up daylight on Knight in the closing meters, the team outcome was less clearly delineated as runners poured into the chute. Shadle Park was fronted by a 4-5 finish from senior Andrea Nelson (18:37) and freshman Kendra Weitz (18:38), but after Glacier Peak squeezed three more in between Shadle’s 3rd and 4th, and crossed five before Shadle, the outcome became less clear.
In the end, Shadle Park had triumphed, 59-67, adding to the day’s trophy haul for the city of Spokane and continuing an unbeaten season which has seen them steadily ascend the rankings.
“We were really evenly matched,” Shadle #1 Andrea Nelson said, “so we knew we just had to get in and each of us had to run the best races we’ve run all season and that’s what we did.”
The senior had twice won individual state titles for Shadle Park, but this was her first team trophy.
“This team title is more than I could ever ask for,” she said. “It’s so much better than I would ever imagine.”
Coach Bob Isitt could only smile and nod when he heard those comments.
“I asked her a few weeks ago, ‘Which would you prefer if you had to choose—individual championship or team championship.’ She said, ‘That’s a hard one, I don’t know if I can answer that.’ She came up to me afterwards bawling, saying, ‘Mr. Isitt, this is far better.’ She's just a team-oriented gal.”
Isitt, too, was enjoying the feel of the team trophy in his hands. Cradling the golden award with the heavy wooden base, he beamed, “The weight off the shoulders is gone. This weight? This is a pleasure to have.”
2A – 1A – B/2B – Sehome, King’s and NW Christian-Lacey girls all 4-peat
Maddie Meyers victory in 1A leaves her 2nd fastest girl overall
 If there was a prevailing trend in the smaller classification contests, it was the tendency of teammates to sweep the top two places in the various races. In three of the six—Boys B, Girls 1A and Girls 2A—dynamic duos from the same squad streamed across first and second. Additionally, all three girls’ races featured 4-peats, as the Sehome girls claimed their fourth straight title in 2A, the King’s girls added number four in 1A, and the Northwest Christian-Lacey girls pulled the same feat in B/2B.
As has been the case since the last major reclassification ('05-'06), 2A was dominated by District 1 teams. Entering the meet, 14 of the 24 trophies had gone to the District, including sweeping the top 2 on both sides every year but one (District 7 school Riverside was 2nd in the '06 girls race). This year brought little change to that trend. In what has become an annual ping pong match, the 2008 runner-up Burlington-Edison boys reclaimed the title they won in ’07 and ’06 when they topped rival Sehome, 57-85, behind Tyler Williams’ third place, 16:01 effort. Sehome could claim the individual champion in junior Scott Carlyle, but his 15:47 1-point starter wasn’t enough to propel his defending champ squad back to the top of the podium.
The Sehome girls took home the winner’s trophy for the fourth straight year, but not without a stiff challenge by the front-loaded team from Kingston. Led by a 1-2 finish from the Roberts sisters, Kingston nearly pulled the upset, falling by only two points to the 3-time champs, 57-59. Senior and 2007 champ Ruby Roberts was first across the line in 18:06, with freshman sister Marina coming home 32 seconds behind, in 18:38.
“We didn’t really talk about [going 1-2],” the older Roberts said afterwards. “We just told each other to have our best races.”
The big story from 1A was the blistering time laid down by girls winner and defending champ Maddie Meyers (right). Running all alone, Meyers blazed an 18:01, which held up as fastest girl’s time until the final race of the day, when Anna Dailey cranked a 17:58 in the 4A race. Meyers was alone early on, and although she led a 1-2 finish by Northwest, freshman teammate Eliza Rice was more than a minute and a half behind with her second place 19:37 finish.
“I wanted to get under 18, and I was so close,” Meyers noted with a spent smile afterward. “I’m still really happy with what I ran … I have tons of friends up in the 3A and 4A, and they have really good times, so I wanted to be a good competitor and try to get up there.”
Three-time defending champs King's made it four in a row with an 83-110 victory over La Center.
The boys 1A race also featured a pair of fleet teammates, as Port Townsend juniors Bereket Piatt (16:10) and Habtamu Rubio (16:23) claimed the first two spots in their race. Piatt, runner-up in 2008 to then-senior teammate Quinton Decker, managed a similar sweep of the top two spots with Rubio by discussing the strategy before the race.
 “Maybe, I thought that might happen again,” Piatt said, “but we pushed and we talked yesterday about how we were going to run the whole race, and I’m just happy because what we planned happened.”
The 3 points with which Piatt and Rubio opened the team scoring wasn't quite enough though, as Nooksack Valley's Oliver Bear Don't Walk led his team over Port Townsend, 99-111, with his 4th-place, 16:38 finish.
Northwest Christian-Lacey swept the B races for the second straight year, as the boys successfully defended their 2008 title with 82 points, and the girls racked up their fourth straight title in the smallest classification with an impressive 28 points on the board.
Boys individual winner Lucas Graham (left) led yet another 1-2 effort from the same team, as his 16:25 victory fronted teammate Justin Holden across the line in 16:41.
Graham reflected the Christian nature of the school when he deferred congratulations for the victory to a higher power. “I just praise my Lord for giving me the strength to carry me through this race. It’s a tough course and everyone ran really great.”
Colfax sophomore Morgan Wilson torched the B/2B girls field by almost 50 seconds with her 18:36 clocking, but after that the NW Christian-Lacey squad started streaming in, placing 3 in the top 6 and 5 in the top 11. Their 28 points was the lowest winning team score among both genders across all classifications.
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