PASCO – Fifth place isn’t all that bad, but Tyler Rapp knew he had more in him.
The Lakewood High School cross country runner was in fifth place approaching the final mile of the Class 2A boys state cross country meet Saturday at Sun Willows Golf Course. Fifth place felt all wrong because before the race ,Rapp believed he was a top-three guy.
It turns out he was right.
Rapp passed two runners over the final mile to grab third place, helping his Lakewood team finish second overall. The junior, who improved on his 12th-place 2003 performance, said he was determined to go all out to reach his goal.
“I feel like I was mentally more ready,” said Rapp, who took first last week at the District 1 meet. “I wanted it more than districts.”
Lakewood tallied 125 points to finish behind only East Valley (Yakima), which scored 109. It is Lakewood’s best finish since it won the state title in 1989, according to Cougars co-coach Jeff Sowards. Sowards coaches the team with Jon Murray.
Immediately after the race it was unclear whether Lakewood could win the championship. While Sowards waited for the results, he said his team had accomplished plenty, regardless.
“At this point, it doesn’t matter. They did everything they can to make it happen. We had some boys that ran really well.”
The rest of Lakewood’s top five included senior Nathan Zahn (28th, 17:20), sophomore Scott Skiles (35th, 17:27), and seniors Dane Betts (47th, 17:34) and Cullen Cantwell (52nd, 17:41).
Cantwell shattered his personal record on a 3.1-mile course by about 30 seconds, Sowards said. Zahn received a sportsmanship award for displaying spirit and congratulating opposing runners at the finish line.
After hoisting the team trophy with his teammates on the award stand, Rapp said he was proud Lakewood gave the competition a run for its money. “I was pretty thrilled about second place. We all ran excellent.”
Lakewood was 10th in 2003.
King’s placed sixth with 169 points. Senior Alex Croutworst paced the Knights, finishing eighth in 16:43.
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