PASCO — Neither coach knew for sure what was going on.
Al Bonney thought his Edmonds-Woodway Warriors team might be celebrating. So did Dan Parker, the coach of rival Glacier Peak.
Instead, both coaches were surprised when, after an hour-and-a-half delay, the team results for the Washington State Cross Country 3A Girls Championship were announced. In the end, Parker and his Grizzlies were atop the podium with a team title over Bonney Lake and the Warriors.
By a single point: 112 to 113.
“I thought Edmonds-Woodway won when I was watching the race,” said Parker, the Grizzlies’ head coach. “I thought we could be second or third. We talked ahead of time and even though Ballard (which finished third) was ranked No. 1, we felt like we had a tougher top three and it was simply our backside people were going to have to do well for us to win it. That’s, essentially, the way it turned out.”
Edmonds-Woodway got strong finishes from a pair of first-time state participants. Sophomore Yukino Parle placed second overall with a time of 18 minutes, 8.8 seconds and teammate Olivia Meader-Yetter, a freshman, was right behind her in fourth (18:26.9) at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
“They’re tough,” Parker said of Edmonds-Woodway. “Their freshman runner stepped up like crazy today and ran a courageous, terrific race. And (Parle) did too. They were superb.”
Heidi Smith was the top finisher for Glacier Peak at 10th overall (18:53.5). But several of her Grizzlies’ teammates weren’t far behind, including freshman Brooke Wallace (19th), Natalie Church (21st) and Erin Boyle (36th).
All of which thought they’d be celebrating a second-place finish.
“We were really surprised,” said Wallace. “We finished thinking we were second the whole time. We were like, ‘We definitely got second.’ Then the news got to us that we won by a point and it got crazy.”
Added Boyle: “We thought Edmonds-Woodway definitely had it.”
However, after a delay in posting the results, word began to spread that it was the Grizzlies that were the state champions. A parent came over to inform the team and the jumping and celebrating began.
“We’re so excited,” Boyle said. “We were not expecting this at all. At the beginning of the season we weren’t very strong because we were missing girls from injuries and we were sick. Then we came into the end of the season and got a lot stronger. We were so excited. We were all screaming up and down. We were crying we were so happy.”
“I didn’t believe it when I first found out,” Church said. “We thought we would probably make the podium but I don’t think any of us expected to win.”
It was the third title in four years for Glacier Peak, which placed third last season. It was one of the more emotional ones for Parker, who praised his team for battling injuries — and the accompanying adversity — all season.
“Sometimes I think I know what I’m doing, but then I go, ‘No. No I don’t.’ It’s the kids,” Parker said. “… It’s gratifying that this is what it all comes to. They were blown away when they found out they won. This one kind of choked me up. It was an amazing journey, and it was hard. But they did the work — they believed it — all the way through.”
Parker went down the line complimenting his team, starting with Boyle — a junior running in just her third race of the season after missing most of the year with a pre-stress fracture.
“Erin Boyle just kept getting better,” Parker said. “She was 30-something today in the race which is amazing, considering where she came from. We trained her in the pool all the way up until league. She wants to swim more now. More swimming, less running. She stepped up huge today.”
On the next spot on the podium was Edmonds-Woodway. The finish was initially tough for Bonney and the Warriors but the coach praised his team for a strong — and memorable — race.
“One point,” Bonney said. “It’s exciting, in that we have not been to state with the girls in a decade. They ran a heck of a race. We just lost by one point. Glacier Peak, they’ve been the queens for a long time. Kudos to them.
“The only painful part about it is I would have rather lost by 10, or 12, or 15,” Bonney continued. “One point just hurts. But I’m so proud of the kids.”
The Grizzlies congratulated their Wesco 3A South rival on the finish, admitting some surprise that they were able to top them in the end.
“They’re great girls and it’s fun to race against them,” Smith said. “They did awesome out there today. It just came down to one point.”
Junior Sydney Boland finished 35th overall for Edmonds-Woodway and Susan Kim (50th) also helped lead the Warriors.
“They made up their mind last year that they were going to get here and do well and they did,” Bonney said. “They certainly did.”
Edmonds-Woodway fields a young team featuring one junior, one sophomore and three freshmen.
“I told our girls I had three runners that would finish higher than anyone else’s three runners. I don’t think Edmonds-Woodway got that message because they had three girls that were up there,” Parker said. “Seeing that, I expected, ‘Second, third — we’ll be satisfied with that.’”
Parle and Meader-Yetter were near the front of the pack for the entire five-kilometer race. The duo have the future looking bright for the Warriors.
“Olivia is coming on. Those two are going to be together and they’re going to be a hard combo to beat in the future,” Bonney said. “It’s going to be fun to see.”
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