Klein secures first trip to state

Kevin Klein was disappointed when he finished 22nd at last season’s district cross country meet and missed the cut-off for state by seven spots.

But it wasn’t long before his frustration was replaced by motivation.

“It just made me want to work that much harder,” Klein said.

The payoff for the Shorewood senior’s hard work came last weekend at the Northwest District 4A championships.

Klein clocked a fifth-place time of 16 minutes, 7 seconds on the 3.1-mile course at South Whidbey High School to earn his first trip to state.

Only the top two teams and 10 individual finishers from the Nov. 2 boys and girls 4A races qualified for tomorrow’s state championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.

“When it was getting down to the last 800 meters and I was realizing I was actually going to do it, it was complete elation,” said Klein, who logged close to 300 miles over the summer.

With five fewer 4A state allocations up for grabs at this year’s district meet, Klein knew he was on the cusp of qualifying.

“It wasn’t a surprise he made it, but it wasn’t a slam dunk either,” Shorewood coach Howie Wood said.

Klein’s strategy was to maintain a steady pace throughout the race, rather than bumping elbows with the lead pack. During a hilly second mile, he started picking off runners left and right.

“Howie exaggerates the fact that it’s important to run even splits instead of getting burned out trying to keep up with the leaders,” Klein said.

With less than a mile to go Klein was side-by-side with Kamiak senior Steve Rydman, a running mate of Klein’s since eighth grade.

After slapping an impromptu high-five mid-stride, the cohorts charged ahead. Rydman finished a few steps ahead of Klein and took fourth.

“We ran the last mile together,” Klein said. “I started drifting back, but Steve told me, ‘Stay on my shoulder. We’re going to do this.’”

Behind the 1-2 finish of Jeff Helmer and Caleb Knox, Jackson claimed the boys championship. Kamiak earned the remaining team berth.

All seven Shorewood runners posted season-best times, helping the Thunderbirds edge Oak Harbor by a point for eighth place out of 16 teams.

“Everybody really ran hard and didn’t quit,” Wood said. “They responded to the competition. It couldn’t have gone any better.”

The Shorewood girls finished seventh and didn’t qualify any runners for state. Wesco North powers Snohomish and Stanwood captured the team berths.

Sophomore Jessica Tapley was Shorecrest’s top finisher in the 3A races, taking 20th in a time of 21:16.

The Shorecrest girls placed fourth and the boys took seventh in the team standings. Squalicum, Sehome and Bellingham swept the boys and girls team berths.