BATTLE GROUND — Not even an accidental detour could derail the Camas boys cross country team.
Meanwhile, Halle Jenkins kept the girls district title in the family.
On a sunny Thursday at Lewisville Park, the results of the 4A District Cross County Championships were scenic from a Camas point of view.
Led by repeat champion Daniel Maton, the Papermakers boys team swept the top five places for a perfect score of 15 points.
That came despite three of its runners taking a wrong turn midway through the race. It was only a slight detour, not enough to shake a team ranked No. 1 in the 4A state coaches rankings.
“All year, we knew we had potential,” said Jackson Lyne who finished second, 13 seconds behind Maton. “But the biggest key for us right now is not getting too ahead of ourselves. We’re focusing on training day in and day out.”
Maton and Lyne ran together for most of the race. But Maton pulled away over the final half-mile to win in 15 minutes, 53 seconds, a 17-second improvement from his winning time last year.
In Maton, last year’s 4A state runner-up, Camas has a top contender for an individual title at the state meet Nov. 3 in Pasco.
But this year’s Papermakers also have the depth to vie for what would be the boys program’s first state title. Behind Maton and Lyne, Sam Geiger (16:13), Spencer Twyman (16:21) and Luc Utheza (16:27) rounded out the top five on Thursday.
“Most of the guys improved a lot, basically everybody did,” Maton said. “I improved myself, I just haven’t shown it yet. … I don’t think anybody in the state has five sub-16 guys. So I think we’re pretty set.”
Lyne said a key moment this season came Oct. 6 at the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational in Lakewood. Maton missed that race to take the SAT test, but Camas still placed four runners in the top 50 of a loaded field of nearly 300.
“I challenged the guys on the team, that this is a moment for us to really step up,” Lyne said. “I think if we have that same mentality the next couple of races, we’ll be fine.”
Camas heads to the bi-district Westside Classic on Oct. 27 and the state meet on a runner’s high after Thursday’s 15-point sweep.
“It gives us that confidence going into bi-districts that we can do this,” Geiger said. “This is the year we can win state.”
For the third straight year, the 4A district title belongs to a runner named Jenkins.
Thursday, Camas junior Halle Jenkins cruised to the district title. Her winning time of 18:55 was 29 seconds faster than runner-up Aspen Ashcraft of Camas.
Jenkins is the younger sister of two-time district champ Emma Jenkins, who is Washington State’s top runner as a freshman.
“I really look up to her,” Halle Jenkens said. “It motivates me to do better because I want to be as good as she is.”
With five runners in the top eight, Camas easily won the team title with 24 points.
With four of seven runners at last year’s state meet having graduated, this looked to be a rebuilding year for No. 4-ranked Camas. But a program that has finished no worse than second in state the past seven years always sets its sights high.
“Having a younger team, Aspen and I want to lead them,” Jenkins said. “We weren’t expecting to be that good this year. But the freshmen really stepped up their game. I think we have a chance at state.”
Behind Ashcraft, Isabella Abbruzzese of Skyview placed third, Haylee Brodahl of Union was fourth and Presley Timmons of Skyview was fifth.
Camas placed sixth through ninth, with Ashley McKinstry, Elizabeth Nilles, Camryn Mock and Jenna Lukowiak helping secure the team title for the Papermakers.
Camas doesn’t have a senior in its top seven. That has meant juniors Jenkins and Ashcraft have taken on a leadership role.
“It’s creating an environment where they know it’s fun,” Ashcraft said. “It’s not just running, it’s a team environment. We make sure that everyone is included in having fun.”
4A DISTRICT MEET
At Lewisville Park; 5,000 meters
Team scores — Camas 15, Heritage 59, Battle Ground 73, Skyview 106, Union 113.
Individual champion — Daniel Maton (Camas) 15:53.
CAMAS — 1, Daniel Maton 15:53; 2, Jackson Lyne 16:06; 3, Sam Geiger 16:13; 4, Spencer Twyman 16:21; 5, Luc Utheza 16:27.
HERITAGE — 6, Ryan Cibart 16:38; 9, Vincenzo Robles 17:21; 11, Braedon Sitmmann 17:36; 14, Justin Cibart 16:38; 19, Kyler Spiller 18:01.
BATTLE GROUND — 8, Kyle Ganoung 17:11; 12, Nate Cooper 17:46; 13, Eli Kissinger 17:51; 18, Max Cunningham 17:59; 22, Beau Kissinger 18:05.
SKYVIEW — 15, Dylan Terry 17:55; 16, Andrew Thurston 17:56; 20, Vik Sahgal 18:02; 27, Hunter Davenport 18:21; 28, Jonathan Riley 18:29.
UNION — 17, Cameron Lantagne 17:58; 21, Andres Solorzano 18:04; 24, Jonah Mack 18:18; 25, Stewart Johnson 18:18; 26, Mikie Connell 18:18.
4A DISTRICT MEET
At Lewisville Park; 5,000 meters
Team scores — Camas 24, Skyview 55, Union 57, Battle Ground 130, Heritage 132.
Individual champion — Halle Jenkins (Camas) 18:55.
CAMAS — 1, Halle Jenkins 18:55; 2, Aspen Ashcraft 19:24; 6, Ashley McKinstry 20:13; 7, Elizabeth Nilles 20:21; 8, Camryn Mock 20:24.
SKYVIEW — 3, Isabella Abbruzzese 19:41; 5, Presley Timmons 20:12; 13, Samantha Williams 21:12; 14, Phoebe Abbruzzese 21:14; 20, Emily Norton 22:33.
UNION — 4, Haylee Brodahl 20:02; 10, Serena Smith 20:42; 12, Kiley O’Brien 21:07; 15, Emily Rosenkranz 21:20; 16, Brooklyn Baldwin 21:35.
BATTLE GROUND — 19, Alena Stevens 22:29; 24, Kendra Matson 23:38; 26, Allison Marlin 24:11; 30, Nova Gomulkiewicz 25:00; 31, Sierra Smith 25:43.
HERITAGE — 23, Christina Blinsman 23:14; 25, Piper Lemon 23:58; 27, Bellora Robles 24:19; 28, Emilie Sitmann 24:20; 29, Kaylee McDonald 24:21.
