SHORELINE
When LaCenter girls cross country coach Dave Holmes looks at the lineup King’s coach Rod Wilcox has, he is in awe.
“They are so deep,” said Holmes, whose girls are ranked second in a state 1A coaches’ poll behind King’s. “I’m amazed how many girls he has that can run 21 minutes.”
Right now, four Knights, led by junior Olivia Thomas, who has the fastest time in the classification, have run sub 21-minute times this season. Three others are close to breaking 21 minutes.
It will take an off day by King’s and an amazing day by the Wildcats to prevent the Knights from winning their second straight title in Pasco Nov. 3, Holmes said.
“We want it really bad, even more so than last year,” said King’s senior co-captain Megan Northey.
Thomas ran her fastest time of 18 minutes, 57 seconds Oct. 11 at the North County Invite at Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville. She cruised to victory at the Cascade Conference Championships Oct. 20 with a time of 19:23 and is expected to win again at the bi-district meet Oct. 27 at American Lake Golf Course in Lakewood. All those races are simply a tune-up for Pasco, where she expects to go for her first individual state title.
“She’s gone from kind of an underdog to one of the best girls,” Wilcox said. “Now she’s a favorite.”
Thomas said being the favorite feels good but it doesn’t guarantee she’ll win.
“It will be fun to see what the other girls have and how I do when it comes to state,” she said.
Thomas may not be invincible, although no 1A runner this season is within 40 seconds of her best time. Last May, at the state 1A track meet she was the favorite in the 800 meters but Kelly Downey of Okanogan came on strong at the end to overtake and upset Thomas. It was a learning experience.
“If you’re going to get out in a lead you have to get out far,” Thomas said. “I think I went out too fast. That girl came out of nowhere and beat me.”
Thomas said she’s mentally more focused than she has been in the past.
“Freshman year I was kind of oblivious to everything,” she said. “Now I’m aware of whose there, who I’m racing against.”
In his 12 years at King’s, Wilcox has had some great teams that have won state titles, including three straight from 2001-2003. But the team he has now, which returns everyone off last year’s title team, could be the best.
“Last year was the best,” he said. “This year should be better, but they’re not there yet.”
The supporting cast behind Thomas includes senior co-captains Becca Thompson and Northey, junior Lauresa Smith and sophomores Adele Eslinger, Morgan Hamm and Makenzie Taylor.
“The other six girls are kind of interchangeable now. They’re all running well. But for us to win state they’ll all have to step up,” Wilcox said.
Thompson, Northey and Smith are having the best season of their careers.
Thompson’s best time this season is 20:42. Northey’s best is 21:04 and Smith’s is 21:16.
Cross-training in the offseason seems to have paid off for the two seniors. Thompson, who battled injuries last year, joined a swim team in the offseason. Northey competed in the Escape From The Rock triathlon on Bainbridge Island, finishing third in the 16-19 women’s age group.
The sophomore trio of Taylor, Eslinger and Hamm, who all scored points at state last year as freshmen, have gone through a bit of a slump this season. However, Eslinger ran her best time of the year (20:38) at the Cascade Conference meet, as did Hamm (20:57), so they may be ready to move ahead in the lineup behind Thomas.
Part of the secret to King’s success is the trail on the King’s campus that Wilcox built in the summer of 2005. The Knights train on the trail, which Wilcox describes as a “roller-coaster” full of dips and hills. It includes a muddy start and finish line.
“It definitely makes us tough,” he said. “We still have to be fast, though.”
LaCenter, which finished seventh at state last year, has a young and talented team led by sophomore Tamara Kulla, whose best time is 20 minutes. But their coach believes they’re still a year away from being able to knock Wilcox and his girls from their throne.
Even then, King’s has more top runners in the pipeline. At least two eighth-grade girls are running close to 21 minutes, Wilcox said. King’s reign could last for awhile.
“It’s one thing to get there,” Holmes said. “It’s another thing to be on top like he is.”
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