On the surface, it doesn’t seem like a distance runner who won two state championships in May has anything left to prove.
But Kyle King’s quest is more complicated than most.
King, a senior at Coupeville High School, pulled off a distance double last spring by winning the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races at the Class 1A state meet. But since small-school athletes tend to get less attention than their large-school peers, runners like King get overlooked in favor of competitors like Joey Bywater of Lake Stevens, who completed the distance double at the Class 4A meet last spring.
However, this cross country season King is proving he can challenge anyone in the state, regardless of classification.
King had a huge breakthrough Sept. 29 when he beat Bywater by one second at the Mount Baker Invite. King, who runs cross country for Oak Harbor High because Coupeville doesn’t have a team, stayed close to Bywater for most of the race and passed him with about 20 meters to go.
“It tells me that I am (ready). It raised my confidence,” King said. “It showed me I can hang with the big dogs.”
As the postseason nears, King seems primed to join Snohomish County runners Bywater, Yon Yilma of Edmonds-Woodway and Kyle Van Santen of Lake Stevens as athletes who can contend for a Class 4A state cross country title.
The 4A District 1 meet is Oct. 27 and the state championships are Nov. 3 in Pasco.
King, a two-time state cross country meet qualifier, was 35th in Pasco in 2006, finishing behind Bywater (second), Yilma (11th) and Van Santen (14th).
Said Oak Harbor cross country coach Eric Peterson: “This is the year (King) wants to make a statement and show he can run with those guys.”
Shoulder injury ends Gunter’s season
Arlington quarterback Brandon Gunter will miss the rest of the football season after suffering a shoulder injury Friday in the Eagles’ 18-14 loss to Lake Stevens. The senior led Arlington in passing and rushing. Gunter suffered a separation and a ligament tear in his right (throwing) shoulder while getting tackled in the first quarter.
“They’re taking it hard,” Arlington coach Tim Tramp said of his players, “but we all understand that (injuries are) a part of the game. On a lot of teams you would see guys fold up the tent, but we didn’t do that.”
Sophomore Jake Parduhn filled in for Gunter Friday and will be Arlington’s new starting quarterback, Tramp said.
Edmonds-Woodway’s Wafer catching on
With 20 receptions for just under 400 yards and six touchdowns this season, Antoinne Wafer of the Edmonds-Woodway football team has been one of the county’s most productive receivers. He caught three passes Friday in a victory over Kamiak, including a one-handed grab over the middle that shows he’s been paying attention in practice.
“My receiver/DB coach (Pat White) throws us balls every day,” Wafer said. “We go out and do these drills and he always throws these balls either high and behind you or low and behind you.”
By Mike Cane, Herald Writer
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