MARYSVILLE — The win streak is still alive, but not without a little adversity.
The South Whidbey girls cross country team got a solid race from freshman Emily Martin and the Falcons held on to defeat the reigning 1A state champion King’s for their fourth straight Cascade Conference championship.
Normally the Falcons No. 6 runner, Martin stepped into the No. 5 role and ran a personal best 20 minutes, 55 seconds finishing as the Falcons fifth-best runner — 12th overall — and helping South Whidbey defeat King’s by six points (42 to 48) Saturday on a wet and muddy course at Lakewood High School.
“Emily stepped up and ran a great race,” South Whidbey head coach Doug Fulton said.
Martin took over the No. 5 position usually held by Chantal White, who was taken out of the race at about the mile and a quarter mark after having asthma problems.
“They’re a very tight group. When a couple of them have off days then the rest of them step up,” Fulton said of his girls team.
Caroline Hubel led the Falcons with a fifth-place finish, and Cassie Bosman placed second behind her for sixth place, as South Whidbey finished with five runners within the top 12.
“Our ability is all about the same, so we pretty much stay together for most of the race,” Habel said.
The Falcons came into the race ranked No. 2 in the latest 2A state coaches’ poll but Fulton said the end result wasn’t one of his team’s better efforts.
“It wasn’t our best effort of the year but we hung on,” South Whidbey head coach Doug Fulton said.
The Knights were led by meet-winner Olivia Thomas. The junior took first with a time of 19:23.
Thomas, who took second in state last year, won her second straight conference title after finishing fifth as a freshman.
“King’s ran solid, they’re well coached and they ran well,” Fulton said.
A pair of Cedarcrest freshmen, Cara Strodel and Jessica Beam, took second and third, respectively.
Monroe’s Davis, Snohomish see hard work pay off in victories
Hard work was a key contributor noted by the winners of the Wesco North championship.
Monroe’s Lyndy Davis bettered her fourth-place finish from a year ago by winning the Wesco North title with a time of 18:53.
Davis’ time on Saturday was also the top time of any of the girls finishers and the senior says that’s due to the hard work and dedication she put in during the offseason.
“After the (2007) track season I decided I was going to give my all to running, so I put a lot of effort in the summer. This is definitely not just the beginning, I want a whole lifetime of running,” Davis said, holding flowers that her uncle gave her after making true on a promise that she thought was a joke.
“I was joking with him last night and I said that I wanted flowers and chocolate when I went through the line — and he gave them to me,” Davis said.
Davis finished ahead of last year’s runner-up, Snohomish’s Ellie Bonner, who led a Snohomish attack that featured four Panthers runners in the top 10.
“We ran pretty well. Our top five were right where we wanted them to be,” Snohomish head coach Dan Parker said.
Once again “hard work” was at the forefront of victory.
“I think we’re one of the hardest working teams out there,” Parker said, noting that the team spends a lot of time in the weight room during the offseason.
Led by freshman Lacey Wagner, Lake Stevens finished second.
Monroe took third, besting Marysville-Pilchuck by five points.
Jackson win’s first South championship in three years
Shelly Davis replaced her knee and elbow pads this fall with some running shoes and the change paid off.
The sophomore from Kamiak, who played volleyball as a freshman, finished first in the Wesco South meet to lead Kamiak to second place in the South championships.
Jackson’s Allison Ponce finished second and the Timberwolves won their first South title since 2003.
“It was a really good race. I’m really proud of the girls. It feels good (winning the South). We haven’t won Wesco in awhile,” Jackson senior Emilie Fruland said after her eighth-place finish.
At Lakewood H.S.
3.1 miles (5,000 meters)
For complete results, go to www.watfxc.com
Cascade Conference
Team scores—1. South Whidbey 42, 2. King’s 48, 3. Cedarcrest 80, 4. Lakewood 100, 5. Archbishop Murphy 105, 6. Granite Falls 136.
South Whidbey—5. Habel 20:36, 6. Ca. Bosman 20:37, 8. Johnson 20:40, 11. Co. Bosman 20:54, 12. Martin 20:55.
King’s—1. Thomas 19:23, 7. Eslinger 20:38, 10. Thompson 20:50, 13. Hamm 20:57, 17. Northey 21:14.
Cedarcrest—2. Strodel 19:53, 3. Beam 20:26, 9. Bunker 20:40, 31. Gunderson 22:23, 42. Bawden 24:36.
Other top 15 finishers—4. Moran (AM) 20:31, 14. Nation (LW) 21:03, 15. Dunn (LW) 21:08.
Wesco North
Team scores—1. Snohomish 41, 2. Lake Stevens 68, 3. Monroe 80, 4. Marysville-Pilchuck 85, 5. Oak Harbor 123, 6. Arlington 173, 7. Stanwood 179, 8. Cascade 236, 9. Everett 240.
Snohomish—2. Bonner 19:06, 8. Fairbanks 19:38, 9. Whybark 19:38, 10. Condon 19:39, 12. Bastian 19:54.
Lake Stevens—3. Wagner 19:11, 6. Bywater 19:30, 7. Minor 19:34, 19. Minor 20:41, 33. Miller 21:24.
Monroe—1. Davis 18:53, 13. Ohlsen 20:01, 18. Cragerud 20:38, 22. Schmeck 20:55, 26. Smargiassi 21:11.
Other top 15 finishers—4. Smollack (OH) 19:16, 5. Nemra (MP) 19:19, 11. Verma (Stan) 19:45, 14. Huschka (C) 20:12, 15. Ainsworth (MP) 20:16.
Wesco South
Team scores—1. Jackson 43, 2. Kamiak 60, 3. Shorewood 69, 4. Edmonds-Woodway 113, 5. Mountlake Terrace 162, 6. Meadowdale 164, 7. Shorecrest 168, 8. Lynnwood 186, 9. Mariner 238.
Jackson—2. Ponce 19:45, 5. Houck 19:59, 8. Fruland 20:37, 13. Becker 21:06, 15. Nelson 21:15.
Kamiak—1. Davis 19:29, 4. Moore 19:48, 7. Closs 20:14, 20. Hambrecht 21:44, 28. Shay 22:33.
Shorewood—3. Johnson 19:46, 9. Levy 20:44, 12. Osborne 21:06, 18. Geary 21:27, 27. Evans 22:21.
Other top 15 finishers—6. Ali (L), 10. Rink (MT) 21:00, 11. Lee (EW) 21:03, 14. Kratz (Mea) 21:09.
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