The "Run-Down": All-League (Hockinson Meadows)

 

This course definitely feels like home as we have run more times than any other course the past three years - by far! The weather was perfect! Temperature in the 60's, and the breeze faded from moderate to almost non-existent by the time races started.

 

Our two Junior Future Varsity gals Sydney Hickey and Serene Dunn were the first Panthers to toe the starting line. Not only that, but they were also the first two athletes to cross the finish line during the meet! Sydney took the lead early and never looked back. She navigated the 5000 meter course in a Black PR time of 24:31, exhibiting the most graceful running form of all the competitors in her race. Even from a quarter a mile away, it was visibly evident by her poetic motion that she was the class of the field. Her margin of victory was nearly two minutes; her closest competitor was her teammate Serene. Serene also made a statement with her efficient stride, proving that she has worked hard on her strength and running form. The ribbon earning 1-2 finish by the Panther girls was a great way to start the meet for Washougal.

 

For the Future Varsity boys, Mark Morris decided to move their 6^th and 7^th runners down to this level for a 1-2 finish. This kept the Panthers from grabbing 2 ribbons (top five) in this race, so Sophomore Blake Roberts was presented a well-deserved make-shift ribbon the next day for his 6^th place finish. This was his finest race of the season. Fellow Sophomore Jacob Bowen was 4^th while a pair of our seniors Darian Tierney and Jake Meyers rounded out our top five. Jake also ran a PR on any course with a time of 21:01. Jacob's time of 19:30 was a phenomenal 2:33 faster than last year here! Hopefully he has plans to improve that much more for next year. Freshman Jordon Hogewoning also ran a Black PR by 10 seconds. Had Mark Morris run the top two finishers at their normal level, the panthers would have been just a few points shy of posting the best team score.

 

Next up was the varsity girls. With Mark Morris only placing 4 gals on the starting line, the Panthers became the overwhelming favorites before the timing clock started ticking. Our steady paced race plan did not start to prove we were the favorites as until the first 800 meters was completed. At that time, the lead Panthers started to move into the top 10, and establish 5 of the top 20 places. When all was said and done, Panthers captured 5 of the top 11 slots, and easily got all seven into the top 20. Sydney's effort from the previous race would have made it 8 of the top 20. Individually, it looked like lead runner Sophomore Karina Miller would have to settle for 6^th place early on. However, she did an incredible job of holding her pace and moving up through the race, capturing a solid 4^th place. Not only did she run a Black Course PR (21:31), but it was a PR for ANY Course! She was the only girl of the day to accomplish that feat, while simultaneously proving she was healthy and prepared for next week's big District meet. Junior Paige Roberts ran a solid race with a Black PR of 21:58 and placed 7^th place, and then the barrages of Panthers captured 9^th, 10^th and 11^th. Freshman Meredith Collins continues to make a name for herself by leading that pack; next was Junior Hannah Wright running the second best XC race of her life (despite having a damaged racing shoe) with a 41 second Black PR, and then Freshman Yaneli Martinez followed with gutsy 22:50. The team scores after Mark Morris' incomplete team was filtered out gave the Panthers a score of 28; the next team was RA Long with double that!

 

Following the excitement of the dominating performance by our girls, the Panther guys approached the starting line with their game faces on. Seniors Isaac Stinchfield and Sean Eustis pushed the pace early with 4 monarchs in hot pursuit. Junior Thomas Normandeau move smoothly from 10^th to 7^th in the second half mile, eventually bursting away from Monarch #4 to place 6^th. Sean's winning time of 16:18 was not far from Dylan Croeni's course record; Isaac managed the third fastest time ever on the course with 16:21. Sophomore Nicolas Velardi proved he can perform under pressure and placed 13^th, one higher than his pre-race league ranking. Freshman Collin Manning's solid performance rounded out the top 5 for the Panthers to help the team to a competitive 2^nd to the Monarchs. Junior Anthony Velardi tossed in a Black PR of 15 seconds to complete the highlights for the boys.

 

We finished the day with 10 ribbons in the paws of our panthers, one less than Mark Morris Monarchs. Had they not run 2 varsity boys at the JV level, we would have swung that to a 2 ribbon advantage. Our district meet allows us to travel up to Olympia, to Evergreen State College. We will be leaving early in the morning. Girls race at 1:40; Boys at 2:20.

 

  

Coach Terry L. Howard

 

line scores will come later: