MARYSVILLE — To get where he wanted to go as a senior, Jeff Bastian had to think like a freshman.
After a promising initial cross country season at Glacier Peak High School in 2007, Bastian struggled to improve his times and seemed to plateau as a distance runner. But on Saturday, Bastian — now a Glacier Peak senior — reverted to the race strategy he used back in ‘07.
The result: An aggressive Bastian ran the fastest time of his life, and one of the best in the state this season.
Using a fast early pace, Bastian put pressure on his opponents and pulled away over the final mile to win the Western Conference 3A boys championship race at Lakewood High. He finished the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) course in 15 minutes, 42.82 seconds, breaking his personal record for that distance by about 23 seconds.
“I ran really well my freshman year,” Bastian said, “and what I used to do then was go out hard and hold on as much as I can (at the end). So that was my gameplan, to go out hard from the beginning and hold on.”
Bastian did more than merely hold on. He finished strong and beat the second-fastest finisher, his Glacier Peak teammate Sean White, by nearly 18 seconds. Bastian ran the fourth-fastest 5K time by a 3A runner in the state this season, according to Athletic.net.
Despite Glacier Peak’s 1-2 individual finish, the Everett Seagulls won the team title. Sparked by third-place finisher Angelo Comeaux (16:07.77) and fourth-place finisher Mason Newton, Everett scored 47 points, beating the Grizzlies by three points. Everett coach Bruce Overstreet said his team ran as well as he expected.
“We want to just keep rolling — keep the thing going,” Overstreet said.
All 3A teams advanced to next weekend’s district meet at South Whidbey High. Everett and Glacier Peak will go head-to-head again, with state-meet berths up for grabs. The Seagulls plan to follow their team motto, MIH (Make It Happen), and earn a trip to the state championships in Pasco.
Wesco 4A boys championships: Jackson snares fifth straight team title; Cascade’s Campbell wins race
With several runners getting their first taste of varsity competition this year, the Jackson High cross country team needed time to adjust and gain confidence. Now the revamped Timberwolves are surging into the most important stretch of the season.
Seven Jackson runners finished among the top 23 and the Timberwolves blew away the competition to win the Wesco 4A team championship. It’s the fifth straight league title for Jackson, ranked 4A No. 5 in the state coaches’ poll.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Jackson coach Eric Hruschka. “It’s unusual for any school to win more than about three (consecutive division titles).”
Ignited by senior Sean Roe (third place), junior Blake Nelson (fourth), junior Jacob Atkinson (seventh), junior Nick Calacat (ninth) and junior Collin Holman (13th), Jackson scored 36 points, beating second-place Lake Stevens by 54 points.
“We ran our best race of the season,” Hruschka said.
Cascade High senior Aaron Campbell also had his most outstanding race of the year. He won the Wesco 4A individual championship with a time of 15:57.29, his season-best by 2.56 seconds. Snohomish’s Jared Lehning (16:15.90) was runnerup.
Sporting hot pink running shoes with purple laces, Campbell was motivated by the presence of his mentor: 2010 Cascade graduate and current Western Washington University runner Dylan Hopper. Hopper shouted encouragement to Campbell at several points during the race.
“When he’s there he runs around and just yells at me and it pushes me a lot harder,” Campbell said of Hopper, who won a league title on the same course in 2009.
“He was (Cascade’s) captain for three years and he’s kind of my inspiration,” Campbell added. “When he’s here I want to make sure I live up to (Hopper’s standards).”
The top eight teams and top 40 individuals in the Wesco 4A race advanced to next weekend’s district meet.
Cascade Conference boys championships: Coupeville’s King cruises to victory; Cedarcrest edges A. Murphy for team title
A few hours before he arrived to compete in the Cascade Conference championships, Coupeville High senior Tyler King did a 5-mile training run. He saved plenty of energy for his afternoon race.
Setting an aggressive pace and looking strong from start to finish, King won the conference title in 15:58.69. It was essentially another training exercise for King, said Oak Harbor coach Eric Peterson, who coaches King as part of a cooperative sports agreement between 1A Coupeville and 3A Oak Harbor.
“His performance was good,” Peterson said. “It was exactly what we wanted to do.”
King’s time was far slower than his 5K season best of 15:24.81. He ran that scorching time on Oct. 14 at the North County Invitational. It’s the sixth-fastest time in the state this season, regardless of classification, according to Athletic.net.
King has received recruiting interest from the University of Colorado, the University of Washington and the University of Portland.
Archbishop Murphy’s Conner Ballew was runnerup in the Cascade Conference race. He and teammate Sam Holeman (fourth place) helped the Wildcats finish second in the team standings. Cedarcrest (53 points) edged Murphy (55 points) for the team title.
All 2A and 1A teams advanced to districts next week.
At Lakewood High School
3.1 miles
For complete results go to www.Athletic.net
Wesco 4A boys
Top 8 teams and top 40 individuals advanced to district meet
Team scores
1. Jackson 36 points, 2. Lake Stevens 90, 3. Cascade 110, 4. Kamiak 129, 5. Snohomish 134, 6. Stanwood 167, 7. Arlington 178, 8. Edmonds-Woodway 178, 9. Marysville-Pilchuck 192, 10. Monroe 246, 11. Mariner 331.
Top-five individuals for top eight teams
Jackson: 3. Roe 16:20.50, 4. Nelson 16:27.69, 7. Atkinson 16:41.06, 9. Calacat 16:44.79, 13. Holman 17:06.93.
Lake Stevens: 11. Nettleton 16:59.58, 12. Schmitt 17:02.90, 20. Nicol 17:23.82, 21. Bush 17:25.40, 26. Kilburn 17:32.45.
Cascade: 1. Campbell 15:57.29, 8. Statham 16:41.65, 14. Wiedmer 17:07.24, 42. Bartee 18:07.15, 46. Olson 18:16.00.
Kamiak: 5. Bradford 16:30.61, 17. Davis 17:17.55, 25. Behrens 17:31.49, 38. Carter 17:59.85, 45. Lagerkrans 18:12.18.
Snohomish: 2. Lehning 16:15.90, 29. Fairhurst 17:40.59, 32. Ohlsen 17:45.95, 34. Greenmum 17:49.44, 37. Sager 17:57.35.
Stanwood: 22. Nieman 17:25.82, 27. Howard 17:39.08, 31. Losee 17:45.10, 36. Donohue 17:57.14, 52. Sandquist 18:21.97.
Arlington: 15. Clark 17:07.43, 24. Swanson 17:30.60, 33. Wren 17:49.13, 55. Fure 18:24.26, 57. Bosket 18:28.20.
Edmonds-Woodway: 10. Thompson 16:47.10, 19. Griffing 17:23.04, 28. Springer 17:39.93, 60. Haldeman 18:31.54, 69. Webster 18:50.35.
Other top-40 individuals
6. Wood (Monroe) 16:40.64, 16. Sherk (Jackson) 17:12.54, 18. Standiford (M-P) 17:21.78, 23. Austin (Jackson) 17:26.30, 30. Klick (LS) 17:41.35, 35. Kundu (M-P) 17:56.05, 39. Perry (Snohomish) 18:00.36, 40. Mina (LS) 18:01.53.
Wesco 3A boys
All teams advanced to district meet
Team scores
1. Everett 47 points, 2. Glacier Peak 50, 3. Shorewood 88, 4. Shorecrest 109, 5. Oak Harbor 123, 6. Meadowdale 124, 7. Mountlake Terrace 133, 8. Lynnwood 238.
Top-five individuals for top four teams
Everett: 3. Comeaux 16:07.77, 4. Newton 16:45.14, 12. Dowdle 17:16.18, 13. Hauck 17:22.59, 15. Gebert 17:28.05.
Glacier Peak: 1. Bastian 15:42.82, 2. White 16:00.61, 10. Dittmann 17:07.46, 17. Smith 17:36.44, 20. Helm 17:46.21.
Shorewood: 9. Stephens 17:02.65, 14. Sutherland 17:23.88, 16. Ball 17:30.49, 18. Wilkins 17:41.37, 31. Levy 18:42.64.
Shorecrest: 7. Tekle 16:53.07, 8. Osborne 17:00.79, 27. Cleppe 18:05.69, 33. Officer 18:44.64, 34. Gniffke 18:46.04.
Other top-20 individuals
5. Reith (OH) 16:46.12, 6. Crichlow (Meadowdale) 16:46.35, 11. Pearce (MT) 17:13.10, 19. Overstreet (Everett) 17:41.57.
Cascade Conference boys
All teams advanced to district meet
Team scores
1. Cedarcrest 53 points, 2. Archbishop Murphy 55, 3. Lakewood 63, 4. King’s 83, 5. Granite Falls 137, 6. South Whidbey 153, 7. Sultan 170.
Top-five individuals for top three teams
Cedarcrest: 8. Montgomery 17:17.38, 10. Orndorf 17:18.57, 12. Linnerooth 17:27.36, 13. Denison 17:31.64, 15. Wanichek 17:44.68.
Archbishop Murphy: 2. Ballew 16:13.73, 4. Holeman 16:29.30, 14. Loutsis 17:43.48, 17. Hyatt 17:53.53, 23. Filley 18:13.07.
Lakewood: 5. Tresch 16:51.59, 6. Mugrage 17:00.48, 7. Jensen 17:02.79, 21. Espinoza 18:07.46, 29. Dreyer 18:15.84.
Other top-20 individuals
1. King (Coupeville) 15:58.69, 3. Emmons (King’s) 16:27.35, 9. Mow (GF) 17:17.60, 11. Saari (SW) 17:19.98, 16. Dams (Cedarcrest) 17:52.00, 18. Yu (King’s) 18:04.07, 19. Clemens (King’s) 18:04.71, 20. Bryson (King’s) 18:05.64.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam and follow Cane on Twitter at MikeCaneHerald.
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