T-birds’ Johnson takes third

LAKEWOOD

Shorewood’s freshman standout Erin Johnson showed what a bright future the Thunderbirds’ girls cross country team has.

Johnson finished an impressive third with a time of 19 minutes, 46 seconds in the Western Conference South Division girls cross country race Oct. 20 at Lakewood High School.

Johnson overcame some pre-race nerves to achieve her goal of finishing in the top five.

“It was scary,” Johnson said. “I just pushed it through and did it.”

Johnson led Shorewood to a third-place team finish overall , behind Jackson and Kamiak.

“We didn’t know how much speed she had,” Shorewood girls coach Brock Hogle said. “We saw there. She’s been a jewel.”

Shorewood scored 69 points, behind Jackson’s 43 and Kamiak’s 60.

On Oct. 27 the Thunderbird boys and girls compete in the District 1 meet at South Whidbey High School . The top 15 individuals and top three teams qualify for the state meet in Pasco Nov. 3. Johnson is Shorewood’s best shot to qualify but it won’t be easy with the talent from the Western Conference North Division at districts.

Senior Sara Levy finished ninth in 20:44, sophomore Emily Osborne came in 12th in 21:06, sophomore Devon Geary placed 18th in 21:27 and freshman Angela Evans was 27th in 22:21 to round out the scoring for the Thunderbirds.

Meanwhile, it’s been a tough luck season for Christie Rusch one of Shorewood’s senior co-captains and the T-birds’ top finisher at state last year. She finished a disappointing 46th in the race, 10th best on the team, because of the effects of a nagging ankle injury. It’s unlikely she’ll be among the district entries, Hogle said.

The Shorewood boys finished sixth as a team with 133 points. led by junior Chip Jackson’s 11th place finish in 17:02.

Also scoring for the Shorewood boys were sophomore Alex Brock (19th, 17:19), sophomore Kane Thomas (28th, 18:09), senior John Weber (38th, 18:27) and senior Stefano Johnson (39th, 18:32).

Up next is the 4A District 1 state-qualifying meet Oct. 27 at South Whidbey High School. The top 15 girls and boys go on to state in Pasco Nov. 3 as do the top three teams. The 4A girls race begins at 12:50 p.m. while the 4A boys race starts at 2:30 p.m.