PASCO — Towering expectations can mess with an athlete’s mind. Olivia Thomas knows all about it.
Last year Thomas was the runner-up in the Class 1A girls race at the state cross country championships. The winner was a senior, which made Thomas the favorite this season.
A few days ago the junior from King’s High School started getting increasingly nervous leading up to this year’s state meet.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh! I have a race (Saturday) and all the expectations are on me, and everyone’s expecting me to do really well,” Thomas said.
Despite her worries, Thomas sure lived up to the hype.
Building a 50-meter lead after a mile, Thomas overcame pre-race anxiety and won the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) race by a massive margin. She completed the route at Sun Willows Golf Course in 19 minutes, 16 seconds, defeating the No. 2 finisher by 36 seconds.
Thomas, who lives in Bothell, set a quick pace that no foe matched. She completed the first mile in 6:07, passed the 2-mile mark at 12:22 and won decisively.
“She raced great, and she definitely did feel the pressure,” King’s coach Rod Wilcox said. “It was starting to get to her (this week) but I just told her, ‘Go out, have fun and see who’s gonna play with you. And if no one’s gonna play with you, go play alone.’”
Thomas’ solo act was part of a big-picture achievement. King’s won its second consecutive team championship. With all five of its scoring runners placing among the top 29 individuals, King’s tallied 70 points to beat second-place La Center (89 points).
The last time King’s won a girls team title and had the individual winner was 2002, when then-senior Rachel Strand placed first.
This year, King’s excelled because of Thomas, sophomore Morgan Hamm (12th, 20:33), sophomore Adele Eslinger (26th, 21:17), junior Lauresa Smith (28th, 21:19) and senior Megan Northey (29th, 21:22).
Hamm, the team’s sixth-best runner at one point this season, had the race of her life, Wilcox said. Last year Hamm, who lives in Edmonds, was 33rd overall in 21:46.
Thomas’ individual triumph wouldn’t have been as satisfying for her without a team crown to go with it, said Wilcox.
“She would not have wanted to win it if the team didn’t win,” he said. “She was much more worried about the team.”
1A boys
King’s did not qualify a team for the 1A boys race but it had three individuals who competed. The top performer was junior Brandon Dean, who placed 16th in 17:40. Last year Dean was 22nd in 17:56.
Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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