Ballew climbs higher on the podium
Published 10:11 pm Saturday, November 6, 2010
PASCO — Technically, Conner Ballew was on the state-meet awards podium last year. But after rising 11 notches higher this time around, Ballew feels much more content.
In a race where he hung with the leaders until the final half-mile, the Archbishop Murphy High School senior finished third on Saturday in the 2A boys event during the 2010 state cross country championships at Sun Willows Golf Course. Ballew’s time on the 3.1-mile (5-kilometer) course was 15 minutes, 43 seconds — his personal record by far.
However, Sehome senior Scott Carlyle successfully defended his individual title, winning in 15:31. Washougal senior Dylan Croeni, who finished a second after Carlyle, was the runnerup.
“Two and a quarter (miles into the race) I was right with them,” Ballew said. “The last half-mile, I’d say, they broke away. But this time my mental effort was so much better than before.”
Ballew was referring to his district-meet duel against Carlyle a week ago, when Carlyle pulled away from Ballew at the end. On Saturday, Ballew kept fighting even after Carlyle and Croeni made their moves.
“My kick at the end was good, especially. There was no one to catch,” Ballew said, smiling, “but my time was good.”
Last year at the 2A state meet Ballew finished 14th in 16:29, 46 seconds slower than he ran this time. As one of last year’s top 16 individual placers, Ballew climbed onto the crowded awards podium with 15 other runners. But placing third on Saturday and accepting his medal closer to the middle of the same podium was much more fulfilling, he said.
Race winner Carlyle helped No. 1-ranked Sehome (92 points) win the team title. Cedarcrest (199 points) finished sixth. The Red Wolves’ fastest runner was junior Mitchell Montgomery, who took 25th in 16:34.
Other top local finishers included Lakewood senior Trent Tresch (21st, 16:30) and Archbishop Murphy junior Sam Holeman (26th, 16:34).
3A boys: Glacier Peak’s Bastian takes fourth place
Until a couple weeks ago, Jeff Bastian had never run a 5-kilometer race in less than 16 minutes. Now he makes it look easy.
On Saturday, Bastian, a Glacier Peak High senior, ran a sub-16 minute time in a 5K race for the third straight week and finished fourth in the 3A boys state championships. Bastian’s time, 15:25, is his best yet — about 18 seconds faster than he ran in a victory at the Western Conference 3A championships on Oct. 23 and 25 seconds faster than his winning time Oct. 30 at the district meet.
“It feels amazing,” said Bastian. “All of the (previous) years I kind of just got stuck (and stopped improving) but this year to really just keep moving like I did and keep pushing — I’m very, very glad.”
Looking for extra motivation during the race, Bastian thought about a grueling workout he did this summer while running a route near Mount Constitution on Orcas Island. The run included a 1,000-foot elevation gain over the final 1.5 miles, he said.
On Saturday, Bastian thought: “If I can push as hard as I did then, I will do well and I’ll be proud of how I ran.”
It worked.
Bastian and his teammate Sean White (16th place, 16:05) helped Glacier Peak finish ninth out of 16 teams in the 3A standings. The top local team was Everett High, which was ranked No. 8 going into the race and finished eighth.
“The guys ran solid,” Everett coach Bruce Overstreet said.
The Seagulls’ leader was senior Angelo Comeaux, who placed 10th in 15:53. Overstreet praised another Everett senior, Michael Hauck (50th place). Hauck improved significantly every year, Overstreet said, going from running times in the 24-minute range when he was a freshman to a personal-record of 16:43 on Saturday.
Nationally ranked North Central (43 points) won the 3A boys team title. Shadle Park’s Nathan Weitz was the individual winner.
4A boys: Three top-20 local individuals
In the 4A boys race, Jackson’s Blake Nelson (12th place, 15:52), Snohomish’s Jared Lehning (15th, 15:55) and Cascade’s Aaron Campbell (17th, 15:56) all finished among the top 20 individuals in an event that featured 145 runners.
Lehning, a senior, ran a 5K in less than 16 minutes for the first time, Snohomish coach David LeWarne said. It was an unlikely breakthrough, considering Lehning was sick most of the week with stomach flu, didn’t eat much and was significantly dehydrated. But Lehning refused to fall short of his goals.
“He was on a mission,” LeWarne said.
Jackson’s Nelson helped the seventh-ranked Timberwolves (204 points) finish ninth in the team standings. Lake Stevens was 16th.
Top-ranked Eisenhower (73 points) won the 4A boys team title, and Lewis &Clark senior Kenji Bierig won the race in 15:09.
Note: Jackson coach Eric Hruschka was named 4A state coach of the year on Friday.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam and follow Cane on Twitter at MikeCaneHerald.
