Edmonds-Woodway boys place 3rd at Hole in the Wall Invite (video)

ARLINGTON — While pushing himself to a massive personal best, Deyago Peraza said he definitely felt the physical pain.

But for the Edmonds-Woodway senior, the drive to prove himself among elite competition outweighed any temporary discomfort.

Peraza ran the best race of his young cross-country career Saturday afternoon, earning a fourth-place finish out of 272 runners in the upper-division varsity boys race at the prestigious 35th annual Hole in the Wall Invitational.

“It hurt,” Peraza said. “It really hurt. But just going into the race seeing these top guys and reading about them every week, I want to be one of those guys. So you’ve just gotta push during the race, and it’ll lead you to great things.”

Peraza ran the 5,000-meter course at Lakewood High School in 15 minutes, 14.2 seconds to finish among the top runners in one of the Pacific Northwest’s biggest annual prep cross-country meets.

After posting a personal best in last week’s Twilight Invitational in Marysville, Peraza bettered that time by nearly 30 seconds Saturday. His performance helped the Warriors to a third-place finish in the meet’s team standings.

“I think I’m stronger now than I (was) last year and in past weeks,” Peraza said. “I’m just trying to push myself more and more, and just trying to see where I’m at and see how strong I am.”

Peraza’s time Saturday ranks second in the state’s 3A classification this season and fifth in the state regardless of classification, according to Athletic.net.

It’s just the latest success in what’s been a rapid rise for the second-year distance runner.

One of Peraza’s passions growing up was baseball. But after not making the Edmonds-Woodway baseball team as a sophomore, his mother encouraged him to turn out for track and field.

Peraza quickly found success as a distance runner that spring, then joined the cross-country team last fall as a junior.

“That’s where I really fell in love with running and just started dropping big times,” he said.

“He’s a tremendous talent,” Warriors cross-country coach Al Bonney said. “He’s a tremendously hard worker. That’s the combination that really makes you good. … It takes talent to be up there, but really it’s about work. And he works really hard.”

Edmonds-Woodway’s Lucas Lacambra placed 12th and teammate Dylan Hartono finished 13th in another strong showing for the talented and senior-laden Warriors. The senior trio of Peraza, Lacambra and Hartono each placed in the top 30 at last year’s 3A state meet, leading Edmonds-Woodway to a fourth-place team finish.

“We take turns kind of beating each others’ butts in practice,” Peraza said. “But just knowing you have those guys there to run with and motivate you, it’s really appreciated and it makes us stronger each day.”

KING’S JUNIOR PLACES THIRD IN TOP GIRLS RACE

Naomi Smith had been looking forward to this race for an entire year.

After winning the lower-division varsity girls race at last year’s Hole in the Wall Invitational, the King’s junior received a rare chance Saturday to compete against some of the state’s best.

Smith took full advantage of the opportunity to challenge herself against elite runners from bigger schools, posting a personal-best time of 17:27.9 to earn third place in the upper-division varsity girls race.

“I was super excited to run against girls I’ve heard about, like Taylor Roe (and) Julia David-Smith,” she said. “That was just super exciting, especially to be up front with them. I’m from 1A, so I don’t get to see those girls a lot.”

It was a rare challenge for Smith, who has dominated most of her races this season. She said the uptick in competition Saturday helped elevate her performance to new heights.

After setting a personal best in last week’s Twilight Invitational, Smith bettered that time by nearly 43 seconds Saturday. Her new personal best is the top-ranked time in the state’s 1A classification by more than 30 seconds and ranks second in the state regardless of classification, according to Athletic.net.

“So far this season, she’s been untested, even against some really good competition,” King’s coach Rod Wilcox said. “… It’s hard to run huge (times) when you’re always in the front, so she needed (this). The only way we can challenge her in practice is to run with the guys, so this is as good as that.”

Wilcox said Smith, who placed seventh in the 1A state meet last year as a sophomore, currently would be ranked fourth on the King’s boys team.

“I’d like to get the boys better than that,” he said with a laugh. “But if she’s going to keep being that good, I guess I’m OK with that too.”

Wilcox said Smith’s success stems from her relentless work ethic.

“She is so self-motivated in her offseason training,” he said. “And then in-season, it’s all I can do to make sure she’s not overdoing it, because she will do everything. … She’s definitely put in the miles.”

OTHER TOP LOCAL FINISHERS

Lake Stevens senior and two-time 4A cross-country state champion Taylor Roe placed seventh in the upper-division varsity girls race with a time of 17:58.5.

Glacier Peak took third place in the upper-division varsity girls team standings, led by junior Aviry Stratton and senior Samantha Boyle. Stratton placed 16th and Boyle finished 19th.

WOODINVILLE RUNNER SETS MEET RECORD

Woodinville senior Luke Houser crossed the line in 14:57.2 to win the upper-division varsity boys race and set both a meet and course record.

Issaquah sophomore Julia David-Smith won the upper-division varsity girls race with a time of 17:16.4.

Houser’s record-setting time is the fastest boys time in the state this season regardless of classification. David-Smith’s winning time is the fastest girls time in the state.

Saturday’s Hole in the Wall Invitational featured 15 of the top 20 girls times in the state this season, and 12 of the state’s top 20 boys times.

More than 100 high schools participated in this year’s meet. Teams from across the state converged on the Lakewood campus for the annual event, as well as squads from Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, California and Arizona.

“I think because the community puts on such a good meet, people know they’re going to come here and the course is going to be fair and we’re going to think about things that allow the runners to race at their best here,” Lakewood coach Jeff Sowards said.

“Word kind of gets out,” he added. “We have some key people in other states who have come and had a good time, and they pass the word. It’s fun to have people from Arizona to Alaska here today.”