Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Molly Van-Wagner photos  (click to enlarge) Glacier Peak High School's Amy-Eloise Neal (no. 500) won the state 3A cross county competition in Pasco. “The next three years is pretty exciting,” the freshman said. Below, she embraces a teammate at the end of the race. (click to enlarge) Molly Van Wagner photo  (click to enlarge) The Glacier Peak cross country team celebrates victory on the podium Saturday at the state meet in Pasco. Pictured (from left) are Sierra Wright, Brenna Condon, Stephanie Jones, Amy-Eloise Neale, Katie Bianchini, Sarah Whybark and Tara Kingston.   ADVERTISEMENT   All the stats For complete state meet results, go to www.jcrawford.net/ccmain.html.   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, November 8, 2009 Glacier Peak freshman overcomes jitters to win state in cross country By Mike Cane Herald Writer PASCO — Even five-time national champions get nervous. Despite coming into her first appearance at the Washington high school cross country championships with five Junior Olympic national track titles under her belt, Amy-Eloise Neale had serious pre-race anxiety Saturday. But Neale, a freshman at Glacier Peak High School of Snohomish, fought through the tension and held on to win the Class 3A girls race — the first of what she hopes will be four straight individual state titles. “It makes me think what I can do … the next three years. It's pretty exciting,” said Neale, who completed the 3.1-mile (5,000-meter) course in 18 minutes, 8 seconds during the 2009 State Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course. Neale used a strong finishing kick — one of her trademarks — in the final 100 meters to edge out runnerup Katie Knight of North Central, also a freshman, by 1 second. “It did make me nervous … There's more pressure” at high school state meets, which attract large crowds and media coverage, than at summer Junior Olympic events, Neale said of her pre-race jitters. Neale's coach always believed in her. “I know she's strong and she wanted it,” Glacier Peak head coach Dan Parker said. “She wrote a pre-race plan that was excellent. She stated it over and over again: ‘They're not going to take it away from me. I'm going to win this thing.'” Neale is the first individual state champion in any sport for Glacier Peak, a second-year school. Although Neale was thrilled with her victory, she and her teammates on the nationally ranked Glacier Peak team were disappointed to take second in the team standings behind Shadle Park of Spokane. Shadle Park scored 59 points, beating Glacier Peak by just eight points. In the current 3A state coaches' rankings, Glacier Peak is No. 1 and Shadle Park No. 2. In cross country, each team's five fastest runners score team points based on their placing. The lowest cumulative team score wins. Some runners qualify for state as individuals and their placements don't count in the team standings. After Neale, Glacier Peak's top finishers were freshman Katie Bianchini (18th overall, 11th among team-scoring runners), junior Brenna Condon (20th, 13th), junior Sarah Whybark (27th, 18th) and senior Stephanie Jones (33rd, 24th). Everett High School junior Chelsea Dowdell finished 11th overall. More than 1,600 athletes representing 244 schools competed in the state meet on a sometimes-sunny but windy day. Competitors traversed the hill-filled golf course route in 11 different races. Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Burglary suspect killed, Arlington homeowner arrested 2. Survivor: ‘I looked at all three of my friends’ 3. Safety long a concern for road involved in fatal wreck 4. First 747-8 Freighter sports new paint job 5. State budget's $2 billion hole will require deep cuts 6. Man arrested for murder in connection with body found in Arlington field 7. Coast Guard suspends search for body reportedly seen floating near Mukilteo dock 8. Sultan man declares 2012 governor bid 9. Whitcomb's 3-pointer helps Huskies stun BYU 10. Man, 97, reported missing in Everett 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Eat local this Thanksgiving • Mavericks moving on • Canada's Great Big Sea rolls into Edmonds • A. Murphy finishes 2nd in volleyball • Art Walk features music, demonstrations • EAT LOCAL: Getting the goods • Lynnwood HS history teacher Vic Bennet dies • Wildcats head to semis • CSO Chamber annual show slated Nov. 23 • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million