MARYSVILLE — For most of the race Saturday, Yon Yilma had no competitors to chase. The only thing the Edmonds-Woodway High School senior had left to pursue was the guy driving a go-cart several hundred feet ahead of him.
But Yilma actually was hunting something unseen. And he caught it.
Yilma won the Western Conference South Division boys championship cross country race at Lakewood High School, finishing the 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 39 seconds — an impressive 36 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Mitchell Briggs of Jackson. Yilma also beat former Jackson runner Jeff Helmer’s meet record by two seconds, an accomplishment that had Yilma beaming.
“It felt good. I rested up all week and it was Jeff’s record I wanted to get,” said Yilma, who was the runner-up last year. In 2005 he placed sixth when Helmer finished in a then-meet record time of 15:41.
“I look up to him a lot,” Yilma said.
Briggs and Ben Lance (fifth) helped Jackson tally 39 points and win its second consecutive Wesco South team title. Mountlake Terrace (59 points) was second. Last year Jackson and Terrace tied for the top spot but Jackson won because its No. 6 runner was faster than Terrace’s.
Jackson is ranked No. 9 in the 4A state coaches’ poll.
Yilma is a close friend of Helmer, who now runs for Arizona State University. The standout runners have trained together and Yilma said he hopes to run for ASU after high school.
Wet, muddy conditions didn’t seem to affect Yilma. Unlike many other runners, he didn’t sink into the course. Yilma attributed it to his 5-foot-3, 108-pound frame.
Saturday’s races were essentially a warmup for next week’s district meets, where runners will qualify for the state championships (Nov. 3 in Pasco).
Third-ranked Lakewood dominates Cascade meet
The Lakewood boys cross country team sticks together. It’s a strategy that once again took them to the top of the awards podium.
Seven Lakewood runners were among the top 13 finishers, fueling the Cougars’ fourth straight Cascade Conference championship. Junior Nick Devier and sophomore Taylor Guske finished 1-2 for the Cougars, ranked No. 3 in 2A.
Lakewood sent a message to No. 1 Sehome and No. 2 Burlington-Edison. The three teams will clash next week at the 2A district meet in Langley.
“We’re gonna put up a fight,” said Devier, who won in 16:35, 11 seconds faster than Guske.
Terrence Ordonez, Trevor Walker, Chad Skiles and Miles Rossow placed fifth through eighth, respectively, for Lakewood. The Cougars tallied 21 points to handily beat second-place South Whidbey (70 points).
Lakewood coach Jeff Sowards said his runners followed their race plan well but weren’t totally satisfied: “The boys ran OK but a couple of them are disappointed (with) their times. But the course was sloppy today.”
King outlasts Bywater for Wesco North crown
The sky’s the limit.
That was Oak Harbor boys cross country coach Eric Peterson’s reaction after watching Oak Harbor senior Kyle King pull away for a victory in the Wesco North championship race.
King said he wasn’t sure what to expect entering the meet. He hurt a hamstring earlier this week and sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday. But everything came together in time for King, who won in 15:55. Joey Bywater of Lake Stevens, the 2006 4A state runner-up, was second in 16:06.
“I actually wasn’t that confident coming into it,” said King, who added that he expected to place second behind Bywater.
But King, who last year was fourth in 16:37, said his previously sore hamstring felt fine in warmups. He and Bywater shared the lead most of the race, but King pulled away late to defeat Bywater for the second time this fall.
“I wanted to see what would happen if I passed Joey before the end of the race,” said King, who made his move at the 2-mile mark and built a lead in the final 500 meters. “I didn’t know if I could do that.”
Injuries have been an issue this season for Bywater, who has foot tendinitis, Lake Stevens coach Cliff Chaffee said.
Bywater, Scott Larson (third place), Kyle Van Santen (fifth) and Drew Larson (seventh) led eighth-ranked Lake Stevens to the team title over No. 4 Snohomish. It was a close battle, but Lake Stevens scored 42 points, 13 less than Snohomish. In cross county the lowest team score wins.
At Lakewood H.S.
3.1 miles (5,000 meters)
For complete results go to www.watfxc.com.
Cascade Conference
Team scores: 1. Lakewood 21, 2. South Whidbey 70, 3. King’s 78, 4. Cedarcrest 83, 5. Granite Falls 149, 6. Sultan 178, 7. Archbishop Murphy 193.
Top-five runners for top three teams
Lakewood: 1. Devier 16:35, 2. Guske 16:46, 5. Ordonez 17:35, 6. Walker 17:44, 7. Skiles 17:52.
South Whidbey: 10. Martin 17:58, 11. Koszarek 17:59, 14. Stallman 18:11, 17. Freundlich 18:14, 18. Saari 18:17.
King’s: 3. B. Dean 17:14, 9. Halvorson 17:57, 12. McMahon 18:02, 30. A. Dean 18:46, 33. Lowe-Hale 18:50.
Other top-15 finishers
8. Rossow, Lakewood 17:52, 13. Tresch, Lakewood 18:07, 15. Ward, Cedarcrest 18:12.
Wesco South
Team scores: 1. Jackson 39, 2. Mountlake Terrace 59, 3. Edmonds-Woodway 73, 4. Shorecrest 115, 5. Kamiak 120, 6. Shorewood 133, 7. Mariner 191, 8. Meadowdale 225.
Top-five runners for top three teams
Jackson: 2. Briggs 16:15, 5. Lance 16:29, 8. Woolsey 16:53, 10. Ochs 16:57, 14. Conway 17:09.
M. Terrace: 3. Tran 16:23, 7. Hill 16:47, 12. Yarbrough 17:05, 16. Beeninga 17:13, 21. Walters 17:28.
E-W: 1. Yilma 15:39, 9. Grover 16:54, 15. Schofield 17:11, 23. Bailey 17:33, 25. Hehn 18:00.
Other top-15 finishers
4. Cooper, Kamiak 16:23, 6. Kusilek, Kamiak 16:40, 11. Jackson, Shorewood 17:02, 13. McConaughy, Shorecrest 17:07.
Wesco North
Team scores: 1. Lake Stevens 42, 2. Snohomish 55, 3. Oak Harbor 78, 4. Marysville-Pilchuck 131, 5. Everett 136, 6. Arlington 151, 7. Cascade 158, 8. Monroe 177, 9. Stanwood 206.
Top-five runners for top three teams
Lake Stevens: 2. Joey Bywater 16:06, 3. S. Larson 16:20, 5. Van Santen 16:22, 7. D. Larson 16:35, 26. John Bywater 17:37.
Snohomish: 4. Goodman 16:21, 9. Wolfe 16:43, 11. Weed 16:47, 13. Bastian 16:48, 18. Byrd 17:04.
Oak Harbor: 1. K. King 15:55, 6. T. King 16:33, 14. A. Nydam 16:49, 15. S. Nydam 16:54, 43. Reith 18:06.
Other top-15 finishers
8. Sutter, Monroe 16:38, 10. Lanphere, M-P 16:46, 12. MacDougall, Everett 16:47
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