The senior now runs for Camas because of what he called a family decision. In the moments before the race started, he exchanged handshakes and joked with his former Union teammates.
“It was really bittersweet because I made some great relationships with Union,” Said Guermali said. “The whole team, I still love them today. I still hang out with a lot of them. The coaching at Union was exceptional. But just personal reasons involving moving to other houses made it harder for us to stay at Union.”
Also last year, Yacine would never have been in the lead pack of a varsity race. The sophomore hadn’t broken 19 minutes until this season. Tuesday, he stuck with his older brother as they pulled away from Union’s Tristan Robins and Jordan Moore over the second half of the race.
“He’s like a role model,” Yacine Guermali said. “Having him there to push me, I don’t give up.”
Said enjoys his brother’s company in a lead pack.
“I train with my brother all the time,” he said. “I feel that we’re stronger as a unit rather than individually.”
Camas coach Laurie Porter said the Guermali brothers have galvanized the boys team. With the district championship in two weeks, the Papermakers are thinking big.
“My hopes are pretty high for the boys,” Porter said. “(The Guermalis) have really brought everybody else up. They’re all like brothers.”
Hopes are also high for the Camas girls team, which beat Union 25-33 Tuesday in a clash between two of the area’s top girls teams.
Alissa Pudlitzke won Tuesday’s race in 18:25. The senior used a mid-race surge to pull away from Union’s Alexis Fuller, who finished second in 18:43.
“I was going to run based on how I felt,” Pudlitzke said. “I felt really good. I said, ‘this is my opportunity, so I’m going to take it. It turned out really well, so I’m happy I took that chance.”
Fuller, also a senior, has run against Pudlitzke since they were on the Evergreen Storm track club in middle school.
“It’s nice to have a familiar face to know that’s around your pace in a race.” Fuller said. “It helps you when you don’t really know the other competitors.”
Camas freshman Emma Jenkins stayed with Fuller much of the race and finished third in 18:50. Mountain View’s Savannah Craig placed fourth in 19:16.
At Tuesday’s meet, runners began to focus on districts, where the top two teams and top 10 individuals advance to state.
“This is a good midweek preview, but we’re really looking toward districts with the stakes being so high,” Union coach Scott Eschels said.
