Jackson boys look to outrun the hype and the field at Saturday’s state cross country championships

Published 8:29 pm Thursday, November 5, 2009

A picture, the saying goes, is worth a thousand words.

For the Jackson High School boys cross country team, the most common words a certain 2008 photo brings to mind are likely frustration, anger and regret.

The image shows the Timberwolves at the award podium after last year’s Class 4A state championships. Jackson was ranked No. 1 going into the meet but finished second in the team standings. The squad’s runners felt they missed an incredible opportunity.

So last week, when Jackson assistant coach Pat Haller showed the nearly year-old podium photo to the team, it had a potent impact.

“That brought back real bad memories,” Jackson senior Mitchell Briggs said, “and pretty much we’re looking at it every night and (saying), ‘We’re not going to be that team again that got second.’”

Jackson can prove that on Saturday at the 2009 State Cross Country Championships. The meet at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco includes 11 races featuring more than 1,600 athletes who represent 244 schools.

Once again, Jackson is ranked No. 1 in the state coaches’ poll. But this time the T-wolves are even better. They scored a perfect sweep at the Wesco South Championships, won the District 1 title with five runners among the top eight finishers and are No. 1 in America according to the Nov. 2 Harrier Super 25 list and the Oct. 25 Milesplit Fab-15 National Rankings.

But Jackson understands those accolades mean nothing in the grand scheme. The team aims to perform its best this week, regardless of hype. At the 2008 state meet, Jackson learned “that we’re going to have to run our best on that day to even get in the game, and we didn’t do that last year,” Timberwolves coach Eric Hruschka said. “We need to run our best race of the season to even have a chance.”

He’s right. Jackson must contend with another one of the country’s elite squads. Ferris of Spokane was ranked No. 1 in a national preseason poll and is currently No. 9 in the Harrier Super 25.

Ferris, which decisively won its district meet last week, is one of several Spokane-area programs that have collectively dominated in Washington for two decades. Since 1988, big-school boys state titles have been won only by Mead, University and Ferris. Last year, Mead beat Jackson by eight points.

“They’ve come on (strong) three weeks in a row,” coach Hruschka said of Ferris, which had five of the top 16 individuals at the District 5-8 Championships.

The table is set for what should be an incredible showdown — or throwdown, as Hruschka called it — when the 4A boys race begins at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

“You’re talking about two top-five teams in the country going head to head,” said Hruschka. “It’s going to be huge. It’s very rare. It will be the best race in the United States (this week).”

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam