Eisenhower edges Panthers by 12 points

By AARON COE

Herald Writer

PASCO — For years Snohomish and Marysville-Pilchuck have been battling for Western Conference 4A supremacy and often for state titles.

Snohomish got the better of Marysville-Pilchuck Saturday at the Class 4A state meet at Sun Willows Golf Course, but it was Eisenhower that edged the Panthers for the state title.

Snohomish, which won state titles in 1995 and 1996, finished just 12 points out of first place. M-P, which won the state championship in 1998 and was second to Eisenhower in 1999, finished a distant third.

The Panthers were led by the sixth-place finish of Amanda Mowers, a spectacular freshman who was beaten only by juniors and seniors.

"It’s pretty exciting, because I have three more years to go," Mowers said. "It’s great, because we worked so hard together as a team to get here."

The only thing stronger than Eisenhower was the wind that blew across the course. It was not uncommon for runners to be a full minute slower than they were a year ago.

The biggest gusts came at the worst possible place on the course. The final incline on the 3.1-mile course is evil enough, but the winds caused many legs to turn to Jell-O down the final stretch. Several competitors were barely able to walk across the finish line, and some even crawled. Dark clouds hovered over Pasco during the early races, but were chased away by the gusts.

To avoid these winds, runners tried to duck behind other competitors and use them as shields. This led to some feet entangling while the runners tried to stay in tight packs.

Marysville-Pilchuck’s Camille Connelly was accidentally tripped by another runner, but the senior managed to pull herself up and finish eighth. Teammate Amber Simkins finished two seconds behind Connelly to claim ninth place.

"I figured we could finish anywhere between first and fifth," M-P coach Julie Coburn said. "There were so many variables. There were people going down everywhere."

Snohomish’s Jessica Culnane, who has battled injuries all season, finished 21st. Teammates Shelby Campbell and Mary Malgesini crossed the finish line almost simultaneously to finish 38th and 39th, respectively. Jennifer Moreno, who was 48th, finished just 13 seconds behind Campbell and Malgesini.

"I think we could have done better, but we did OK," Culnane said. "The wind was a big factor. I felt like I was running on a treadmill."

Shorewood’s Celia MacLean, who won the Wesco 4A meet two weeks ago, placed 11th, just ahead of Edmonds-Woodway’s Kelsey McCallum, who was 12th.

It took a while for a Stanwood runner to cross the finish line in the Class 3A race, but when it finally happened, the Spartans came across in bunches to win a fourth-place trophy.

Corri Roark, who is usually Stanwood’s No. 3 runner, was the first Spartan — but the 37th runner overall — to finish the race. Erica Preboski, Chenoa Urness, Trina Dutton and Danielle Fure all crossed the line within the next 23 seconds. Stanwood’s sixth runner (the top five count toward the scoring total), Zoe Urness was only three seconds behind Fure.

South Whidbey’s Lisa dePender would have had good reason to let the wind affect her even more than most. But the senior, who suffers from asthma, managed a seventh-place finish to lead the Falcons to a second-place finish in Class 2A.

"This was a great way to end a career in running," said dePender. "I couldn’t have hoped for more. All the enthusiasm and hard work put in — we were destined to do this."

Julie Gabelein (27th), Sarah Degraaf (30th), freshman Malaena Hymas (33rd) and Kristen Smethurst (50th) also contributed to South Whidbey winning a trophy.

"Our goal was a top four finish," South Whidbey coach Doug Fulton said. "I’m very proud of the girls. We’ve got some young kids, so we’re pretty excited."