What do you get every November when the state’s best high school distance runners flock to Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco?
It’s the hamster wheel of all hamster wheels, according to Snohomish High junior co-captain Amanda Stopa. That’s how she described the mental and physical grind of the state cross country championships, which begin at 10 a.m. today with the wheelchair event and finish nine races and about five hours later with the Class 4A boys race.
Stopa and the Panthers are set to take off at noon in the 4A girls race, when they will run for their third consecutive state title. Last year Snohomish set a state record by tallying just 31 points as its top five runners placed seventh, eighth, 10th, 11th and 13th. The middle three Stopa, senior Alyssa Modrell and sophomore Kara Sporrong are back to defend. The top newcomers are freshman Ellie Bonner and junior Rachel Forrest.
“They ran incredible last year at state,” Snohomish coach Dan Parker said of his girls team. “I don’t think that’s ever going to happen again, but you always shoot for that.”
Lofty goals create intense pressure and, like all great teams, Snohomish never runs for less than perfection.
“Those are the expectations,” Parker said, “and it’s good for ‘em to have expectations that high. And I don’t have to jump on them. I don’t have to say ‘Look what you’ve done.’ They know…they address it themselves.”
Modrell, who finished eighth in Pasco last year, has been visibly disappointed with her performance the past two races. She knows what she needs to do to return to form today, Parker said.
“It’s all about confidence. She just needs one good race. She’s always run well at state, ever since she was a freshman.” Starting with her freshman year, Modrell has finished 38th, 27th and eighth in Pasco.
“It’s not like she’s racing bad. She’s taking the pace out and she’s driving after it. She’s just losing some mental focus along the way and some confidence.”
Then there’s the competition.
Snohomish knows its main rival well. The Panthers have been ranked second in the state behind No. 1 Bellarmine Prep most of the year, although Snohomish recently fell to third behind new No. 2 Gig Harbor in the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association poll.
Bellarmine finished a distant second last year in Pasco but it returns a strong group spearheaded by senior Brie Felnagle, who won by 13 seconds last fall at Sun Willows.
Snohomish must pack its five runners tight to emerge with a three-peat, and Parker said he is happy with the Panthers’ progress in that area over the last few weeks. He hopes his team’s depth will make the difference on the mostly open, flat Pasco course, which is much different than the Lakewood and South Whidbey routes Snohomish has traversed the past two weekends.
Stopa anticipates the challenge.
“I don’t doubt Bellarmine Prep,” she said, “because they’re awesome. But we can pull it together. I know we can.”
Here is a look at some of the other local runners expected to do well today.
Class 2A Boys
The Lakewood boys will surely improve on last year’s 10th-place finish and possibly challenge for a state title. Junior Tyler Rapp, senior Nathan Zahn and sophomore Scott Skiles have boosted the Cougars to decisive Cascade Conference and District 1 victories the past two weeks. Lakewood is currently ranked No. 1 in the state coaches poll, ahead of Chelan (third last year) and Cashmere, the 2003 state champ.
Class 4A Boys
Kamiak’s Kelly Spady said he’s chasing a state title after placing 10th last year. His chances look good, considering he rolled to a 12-second triumph last weekend at the district meet in Langley. Also, six of the nine runners that finished ahead of him last year have graduated.
One of the returning runners who finished ahead of Spady last year is Jackson’s Jeff Helmer. The junior was the area’s top 4A boys runner in 2003, placing sixth, but he continues to rebound from a hip flexor injury that prevented him from running until the second week of October. Helmer was fourth at districts.
Edmonds-Woodway’s Derry Betts has finished second behind Spady the past two weeks. The junior said he is peaking in time for the state meet, where he finished 24th in 2003.
After failing to advance to the state meet last fall for the first time in nine years, the Snohomish boys team is looking to continue its revival. The seventh-ranked Panthers won the District 1 championship last week, led by senior Cale McCulloch’s fifth-place performance, and could crack the top five.
Class 2A Girls
King’s won the last three 1A state girls championships before jumping to 2A this season. A dominant victory at the District 1 meet proved the team can handle its new competition. A senior-laden group (Melody Miles, Laura Coghlan and Heidi Peterson) leads the way for the second-ranked Knights.
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