Skyview’s Williams makes major leap at Girls State XC

PASCO – Samantha Williams had just ran 5,000 meters, but that number wasn’t how she measured her journey.

The gap between 98 and five is what brought tears to the Skyview sophomore’s eyes on Saturday.

One year ago, Williams was way back in the pack, placing 98th at the WIAA State Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course.

Saturday, she was a year more experienced and light years faster. Williams blazed to a fifth-place finish in the 4A girls race with a time of 18 minutes, 29 seconds.

That was a personal-best by 11 seconds. For Williams, the leap from back of the pack to near the lead was measured in months of hard training.

“Coming here and seeing how far I’ve come, how all the work has paid off for me has made me beyond happy,” Williams said. “Just watching the improvement come after putting in all the work.”

Though Williams’ first state meet experience wasn’t a fast one, it was valuable. She learned many tips, including how to handle the hectic start where more than 150 runners stampede up a moderate hill in the first 300 meters.

“Getting out to a really fast start is important, especially in that first mile,” Williams said. “Even if it feels too fast, you can overcome it.”

After positioning herself well after the start, Williams kept telling herself she belonged right where she was, near the front of the pack.

“I remembered what my coaches told me about trusting my training and just running my race,” Williams said. “I’ve been training for this the whole season. It was the main goal, so just push through it. It’s only three miles. It will be over soon.”

Camas Girls Place Second

The Camas girls team placed second in the 4A team race for the third time in the past four years.

Senior Halle Jenkins placed 12th in 18:38, 16 seconds behind runner-up Natalie Razauskas of Richland. Nobody could keep pace with winner Julia David Smith of Issaquah, who won in 17:26.

Katelyn Flolo placed 28^th, Gracie Buzzell 31^st, Camryn Mock 35^th and Bella Distante 40^th to round out the Camas scoring runners.

The Papermakers’ team score of 107 was 21 points behind champion Redmond.

Hockinson’s Peterson third

Hockinson junior Allyson Peterson ran a personal best of 18:26 to place third in the 2A race. It completed a solid season that included a district title. She improved her state meet placing by five spots.

“I knew all those girls would be really strong,” Peterson said. “But I also knew I’ve been training for this since June. I’ve put in all the work and at this point there’s nothing I can do except leave it all out there. That’s what I did.”

Small School Success

Seton Catholic and Cedar Tree Christian are two of the newer, smaller schools in Clark County.

Both saw the foundations of their cross country programs strengthened on Saturday.

Lara Carrion earned the highest individual state finish in Seton Catholic history, placing third in the 1A race.

The sophomore finished in 18:50, knocking 43 seconds off her state meet time last year when she finished 10^th. Seton freshman Sara Cordova wasn’t far behind Carrion, placing 10^th.

“We are trying to keep our team going because it has been growing over the past few years,” Carrion said. “It’s crazy. I’m getting so excited for the years to come.”

Cross country is the hallmark sport at Cedar Tree Classical Christian, a school in Ridgefield.

Saturday, sophomore Suzie Johnson placed fifth in the 1B/2B race to earn her program’s highest state finish.

“Cross country is our only sport, so all of us work together,” Johnson said. “We have a real family bond, so we all push each other in every race.”

La Center had another solid showing in the 1A competition. The Wildcats placed third, earning a top-three finish for the third consecutive year.

La Center Senior Natasha Lewis had her best state meet, placing seventh in a season-best time of 19:05. She finishes her career having placed no worse than 15^th in four state meets.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

WIAA State Championships

At Sun Willows Golf Course, Pasco

5,000 meters

Class 4A

Team scores – 1, Redmond 86; 2, Camas 107; 3, Tahoma 113; 4, Eastlake 144; Also: 15, Skyview 323.

Individual champion – Julia David Smith (Issaquah) 17:26.

CAMAS – 12, Halle Jenkins 18:38;  27, Katelyn Flolo 19:03; 31, Gracie Buzzell 19:05;  35, Camryn Mock 19:09; 40, Bella Distante 19:12; 63, Ashley McKinstry 19:34; 87, Aspen Ashcraft 19:56.

SKYVIEW – 5, Samantha Williams 18:29; 74, Phoebe Abbruzzese 19:41; 131, Maia Luther 20:58; 139, Emily Norton 21:12; 141, Molly Clink 21:19; 145, Allison Yajko 21:35; 149, Kylie Christensen 21:58.

UNION – 111, Kylie O’Brien 20:24; 114, Brooklyn Baldwin 20:29.

Class 3A

Team scores – 1, North Central 20; 2, Holy Names Academy 84; 3, Bishop Blanchet 159; 4, Central Kitsap 174.

Individual champion – Allie Janke 17:26.

EVERGREEN – 110, Beatrice Le Gore 20:45.

FORT VANCOUVER – 54, Dani Buttrell 19:41; 118, Dhamar Campos 20:57.

KELSO – 151, Kyla Shoddy 22:02.

MOUNTAIN VIEW – 44, Jasmine Bates 19:33; 125, Jessica Fidler 21:08.

PRAIRIE – 10, Meri Dunford 18:33; 116, Lauren Sautter 20:53.

Class 2A

Team scores – 1, Ellensburg 83; 2, Bellingham 102; 3, Sehome 107; 4, West Valley-Spokane 107; Also: 11, Hockinson 244; 13, Washougal 288.

Individual champion – Leah Holmgren (Ellensburg) 18:16.

COLUMBIA RIVER – 56, Hannah Bailey 20:40; 128, Nolin Darling 22:32.

HOCKINSON – 3, Allyson Peterson 18:26; 66, Maddy Ritter 20:58; 80, Taylor Kopp 21:18; 91, Jordyn Gutridge 21:43; 105, Mei-Ling Hsu 22:01; 155, Anna Lee 27:30.

RIDGEFIELD – 88, Jane Kuebrich 21:38; 95, Grace Goode 21:48; 109, Shelby Fisher 22:06; 122, Ariel Griffith 22:29; 130, Sofia Solari 22:37.

R.A. LONG – 92, Miranda Lomax 21:46; 129, Kailey Baeudoin 22:34.

WASHOUGAL – 26, Sydnee Boothby 19:54; 32, Savea Mansfield 20:06; 72, Meryl Keeler 21:05; 137, Clara Best 23:07; 143; Daya Sathyaraj 23:41; 147; Kaylee Timmons 24:07; 153, Violet Hancock 25:43.

Class 1A

Team scores – 1, Deer Park 98; 2, Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls 107; 3, La Center 121; 4, Klahowya 135; Also: 7, Seton Catholic 109; 14, Columbia-White Salmon 301.

Individual champion – Alaina Stone (Colville) 17:39.

COLUMBIA-WHITE SALMON – 27, Joules Hope 19:58; 59, Danica Warren 21:05; 99, Lillian Nelson 21:55; 129, Ella Zimmerman 22:58; 137, Vera Flores 23:28; 143, Hannah Leon 24:25; 149, Mae Robison 26:16.

LA CENTER – 7, Natasha Lewis 19:05; 14, Roselynn Martin 19:23; 25, Tamsyn Lewis 19:49; 65, Makayla Hubler 21:11; 72, Lauren Fox 21:17; 108, Morgan Harris 22:25; 119, Alison Brown 22:45.

SETON CATHOLIC – 3, Lara Carrion 18:50; 10, Sara Cordova 19:13; 77, Abigail Wall 21:27; 93, Alexandra Traffalis 21:47; 101, Jerrica Pachl 21:56; 140, Sydney Clark 23:50; 144, Alexandria LaCorte 25:07.

STEVENSON – 22, Isabella Spencer 19:49.

Class 1B/2B

Team scores – 1, Pope John Paul 2 96; 2, Liberty Bell 102; 3, St. George’s 145; 4, Kettle Falls 148; 5, Cedar Tree Classical Christian 151.

Individual champion – Gabby Martin (Life Christian) 17:57.

CEDAR TREE CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN – 5, Suzie Johnson 20:03; 14, Maddy Black 20:41; 25, Marissa Williams 21:13; 53, Sarah Gourley 22:24; 107, Sydney Dean 25:41; 111, Elena Norquist 26:50; 112, Sara Bradshaw 26:50.