Kamiak freshman Roe wins state 4A cross country title

PASCO — Kamiak freshman Taylor Roe has dreamed about winning the state cross country meet.

Saturday afternoon, Roe’s dream came true.

In her first-ever Washington State Cross Country Championships run, Roe finished first overall by more than eight seconds in the 4A girls run to clinch a state championship.

“Woah, this is real. I’ve dreamed about it,” Roe said. “Every time in practice when I was getting tired I was like, ‘Do you want to be a state champion or not?’ But to be able to come out and do it is amazing.”

Roe took the lead by the second mile and never looked back in the 3.2-mile race at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, finishing with a time of 17 minutes, 56.1 seconds.

“She’s a tremendously talented kid and knew what she was about out there today and executed it well,” Kamiak head coach Charley LeWarne said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to go. Of course, it doesn’t always go that way.”

LeWarne was excited for Roe, who was the champion in the 13-14 year old U.S. Junior Olympics in cross country. The Kamiak coach knew he had a special runner coming in Roe and said she has more than lived up to the hype despite having a few nerves before the big race.

In fact, he had a goal in mind for Roe in the run.

“To run well and compete well and enjoy herself out there, which I hope she did,” LeWarne said. “I don’t know that, if you ask her that question, she might have a different answer of what the goal is.”

Indeed, Roe did.

Winning was always the goal.

“It was super important,” she said. “I knew I wanted to do it. My sister made it to state as a freshman. I was able to come here when I was younger and thought, ‘This would be super cool to come here.’ That was before my running took off. But I knew I wanted to come here when I was in high school.

“I’m just super excited. This is what I love. I love running. It’s amazing. I’m excited for next year. I’m so nervous. There’s three more years.”

Roe was the top finisher for a Kamiak team that placed fifth in the team standings with 170 points. Junior Katherine Slack finished 29th overall and senior Nicole Vijgen placed 48th for the Knights.

Sharing the experience with her teammates made the day all the more special for Roe.

“It was super fun and I’m grateful that I was able to come with my teammates because this is the first time in 13 years we’ve been able to come,” Roe said. “It feels great to be here with them. It’s definitely a lot more fun because it’s not just me. It’s our whole team being here.”

“It’s always better to have a team here, because you have a different dynamic,” LeWarne said. “You have other people that are depending on you, but are making you better. I think the girls are really cognizant of that — that everyone is bringing something different to the table. It’s been a tremendous ride with this bunch. It’s a special group of girls.”

The next fastest person after Roe in the 4A girls race was Mt. Si’s Hannah Waskom, who finished with a time of 18:04.2.

Girls roundup

Mariner’s Abbie Steinhauer notched a top-15 finish for the Marauders. The junior placed 12th with a time of 18:23.0. Steinhauer’s Wesco rival Emily Donnelly of Monroe finished 27th (19:03.0) and Snohomish senior Kyla Shade (19:26.2) was 36th.

There was lots of Wesco representation on the 3A girls podium for the awards. Aside from the Edmonds-Woodway and Glacier Peak runners, Lynnwood sisters Mikayla and Malia Pivec finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in their final state run together. Malia (18:40.8), a junior, edged her elder sister Mikayla (18:46.4) by about six seconds.

Katherine Walter, a senior from Mountlake Terrace, placed 15th for the Hawks — who finished sixth in the team standings with 157 points. Fellow senior Ella Schroth (29th) and junior Katherine Gustafson (47th) helped pace Mountlake Terrace.

In the 2A race, Shorecrest freshman Lillian Visser finished eighth overall with a time of 19:17.8. Fellow Scots freshman Lauren Block (20:02.0) was 27th.

Closely behind Visser was Lakewood’s Lilly Whitehead. The Cougars’ senior placed 12th (19:21.3).

Alicia Krivanek of Cedarcrest finished 19th to lead the Red Wolves, who finished ninth in the team standings.