By Rene Ferran Herald staff writer
YAKIMA -- There will be two Nolands from Richland running at next week's state cross country meet in Pasco.
Tyler Noland is no surprise. The Bombers senior qualified for his third trip to Sun Willows Golf Course with a seventh-place finish in the 4A boys race at Saturday's Eastern Regionals at Franklin Park.
His younger sister Emily, though, was only supposed to be there as a spectator. But when teammate Annette Oliveras had a family event conflict with the regional meet, Richland coach Bruce Blizard plugged Emily, a freshman who won the JV district title, into the lineup.
"I was really nervous at the start," she said. "Mostly, I just wanted to get a big PR and just try to help the team get to state."
Emily did just that, finishing fourth among Richland's seven-girl crew to help the Bombers qualify for a second straight year. With her performance, she earned a spot in next week's lineup.
"She did awesome," said her older brother. "I know she's been winning all her JV meets, but I don't know where that came from today."
The eight Richland runners were among 15 from Mid-Columbia schools to qualify for next week's state meet. Walla Walla had three runners advance, while senior Christina Lee became the first Southridge girl to qualify with a ninth-place finish in the 3A meet.
4A girls
The Bombers put their experience at last month's Sunfair Invitational on this same course to good use in this meet. Blizard had them purposely go out at a slower pace to save energy on Franklin Park's exhausting hills.
"I wanted them behind at the mile, because that hill will kill you if you let it," he said. "It was a chore to get them to bide their time. They're very aggressive."
With a mile to go, the Bombers were in danger of not qualifying, but three runners made big moves in the final mile. Junior Danielle Amparan, Richland's No. 1 runner in 19:41, moved up from 17th to 13th, Noland improved from the low 30s to 28th and sophomore Annie McDonald moved up to 31st.
The Bombers finished with a 44-second spread from their first through fifth runners, best in the 13-team field. Central Valley, unranked coming into the race, won the title with 82 points, with Mead second with 112 and Richland totaling 122.
"That's definitely something that keeps us going," said Amparan, who transferred to Richland from Indiana in late January. "We're so close to each other in the race, we push each other to keep moving up."
Wa-Hi senior Helen Reich also made big strides, improving from 52nd at last year's regional meet to sixth (19:02) this year. She'll be joined at state by freshman Denali Molitor, who grabbed the 15th and final berth in 19:43.
"I thought I'd be on the edge of qualifying," said Reich, who ran with the secondary pack behind race winner Andrea Nelson of Shadle Park the entire way. "But once I was out there, I thought I could stay with them."
Team scores (top 3 to state)--Central Valley 82, Mead 112, Richland 122, University 138, Walla Walla 141, Wenatchee 158, Lewis & Clark 168, Shadle Park 189, Gonzaga Prep 198, Davis 200, Eisenhower 212, Ferris 347, Rogers 369, Moses Lake, Pasco inc.
State qualifiers
Central Valley--9, Eden Lake 19:13; 12, Ari Rios 19:41; 16, Tris Kline 19:47; 18, Melinda Miller 19:54; 27, Breanna Barsten 20:15.
Mead--4, Nikki Codd 18:55; 11, Sara Stenersen 19:32; 20, Cailyn Torpie 20:00; 35, Katherine Fontana 20:28; 42, Alli Price 20:42.
Richland--13, Danielle Amparan 19:41; 24, Kiley Johnson 20:05; 26, Caroline Hedel 20:11; 28, Emily Noland 20:20; 31, Annie McDonald 20:25; 34, Lauren Dernbach 20:27; 45, Allison Mills 20:50.
Individuals--1, Andrea Nelson (SP) 17:54; 2, Sandra Martinez (Dav) 18:34; 3, Theresa Hailey (GP) 18:51; 5, Kristen Ballinger (Wen) 18:59; 6, Helen Reich (WW) 19:02; 7, Hannah Kiser (Wen) 19:03; 8, Eleanor Siler (LC) 19:09; 10, Shawna Schooley (Dav) 19:15; 14, Stevie Gildehaus (UHi) 19:41; 15, Denali Molitor (WW) 19:43.
Mid-Columbia teams
Walla Walla--22, Ashlee Wall 20:04; 47, Eva Reich 21:01; 51, Jazmine Wilson 21:06. Pasco--62, Sharlett Mena 21:20; 66, Danielle Rovira 21:26; 72, Fallon Berglin 21:42. Moses Lake--83, Kristin Budiselich 22:12; 88, Kayla Chamberlain 22:51; 93, Amy Cromer 23:29; 95, Danielle Holle 25:03.
4A boys
Unlike the girls team, Noland tried pushing the pace in the first mile and paid a steep price. After going through the mile time check in second place, he faded to seventh by the 2-mile mark and stayed there, finishing in 15:39.
"I was taking a risk going out hard, but I just can't run that way," Noland said. "If it would have worked, it would have been a good strategy for state."
Ferris senior David Hickerson pushed the pace the first 2 miles, and he eventually was caught by Mead senior Dylan Hatcher, who won the race in 15:16 to Hickerson's 15:17. That one second proved the difference in the team standings as Mead, ranked 11th in the nation, beat No. 1 Ferris by one point. Central Valley finished third to grab the other team berth.
Senior Bowe Ebding, a DeSales student who runs for Walla Walla, snagged a state berth by using Noland's usual tactic. He hung back the first mile in 19th, then moved up into 14th in the second mile and stayed there.
"I just ran a smart first mile, then wanted to try to run a negative split," Ebding said. "I kept feeling people coming up on me, so I knew I just had to keep driving."
Franklin Park, Yakima (3 miles)
Team scores (top 3 to state)--Mead 41, Ferris 42, Central Valley 87, Eisenhower 144, Richland 178, Lewis & Clark 186, Davis 218, Shadle Park 219, Walla Walla 221, University 244, Gonzaga Prep 245, Moses Lake 357, Rogers 360, Wenatchee 362, Pasco 378.
State qualifiers
Mead--1, Dylan Hatcher 15:16; 4, Kelvin Daratha 15:26; 9, Kelly Lynch 15:43; 12, Ryan Bishop 16:00; 15, Mario Abata 16:07.
Ferris--2, David Hickerson 15:17; 5, Stephen Olsen 15:35; 6, Cameron Quackenbush 15:35; 13, Nick Laplante 16:02; 16, Pat Maloney 16:18.
Central Valley--3, Tylor Thatcher 15:23; 8, Sean Coyle 15:42; 19, Bryce Aguilar 16:24; 23, Andrew Cesal 16:32; 34, Nathan Damiano 16:52.
Individuals--7, Tyler Noland (Rich) 15:39; 10, Peter Miller (SP) 15:50; 11, Graham Vaux (Dav) 15:54; 14, Bowe Ebding (WW) 16:05.
Mid-Columbia teams
Richland--28, Benn Fussner 16:39; 36, Caleb Parker 16:56; 46, Ryan Willits 17:09; 61, Jordan Crawford 17:32. Walla Walla--27, Michael Higgins 16:37; 47, Victor Cantero 17:16; 57, Trent Sislow 17:27; 76, Alex Wentz 17:54. Moses Lake--56, Jeff Marsh 17:26; 66, Matt Rice 17:41; 75, Daniel Jenkins 17:52; 77, Erik Lidstrom 17:54; 83, Skyler Hoffer 18:07. Pasco--55, Peter Gilbert 17:25; 72, Jesse Durant 17:49; 73, Rainer Luhrs 17:50; 85, Aaron Santiago 18:10; 93, Josh Kolasch 18:29.
3A boys
Southridge sophomore Andrew Gonzales, a transfer from Sunnyside, became the first Sun in seven years to qualify, finishing seventh in 16:22. Kamiakin senior Brad Young finished eighth in 16:30.
Gonzales tried to run with the lead pack of North Central runners, but when they proved too strong -- NC swept the top four places and cruised to the team title -- he settled into seventh at the 2-mile mark and stayed there.
"I'd beaten two of those guys before in track," Gonzales said of his early-race tactics. "But I feel good. I'm proud because I made it to state for the first time."
Young, however, was disappointed because the Braves narrowly missed out on the second team berth, falling seven points short of Mount Spokane, 71-78.
"Individually, it's cool, but I would rather have the team go more than me," Young said.
Team scores (top 2 to state)--North Central 23, Mount Spokane 71, Kamiakin 78, Eastmont 106, Hanford 131, Southridge 136, Sunnyside 198, East Valley (Spokane) 211, Kennewick 219, West Valley (Yakima) 232.
State qualifiers
North Central--1, Adam Tyler 15:56; 2, Andy Kimpel 15:57; 3, Leon Dean 15:59; 4, Steve Hicks 16:05; 13, Jeff Howard 16:45.
Mount Spokane--5, Trevin Goodrick 16:13; 6, Allan Schroeder 16:20; 10, Eric Janson 16:40; 18, Zach DePledge 17:07; 32, Cody Thompson 17:32.
Individuals--7, Andrew Gonzales (SR) 16:22; 8, Brad Young (Kam) 16:30; 9, Rafael Gonzalez (Est) 16:31.
Mid-Columbia teams
Kamiakin--12, Jake Griffiths 16:44; 15, Derek Scott 16:58; 21, Carson Miller 17:15; 22, Matt Bare 17:16. Hanford--14, Nathan Wallace 16:49; 19, Lance Kindle 17:09; 27, Jordan Stewart 17:22; 35, David Yabusaki 17:39; 36, Mitchell Griffin 17:40. Southridge--23, Kyle Casey 17:18; 25, Quinton Olivas 17:18; 39, Kyle Sturdefant 17:42; 42, Colby Cravens 17:46. Sunnyside--16, Jordan Esqueda 16:58; 28, Gracen Gonzalez 17:25; 46, Isaac Romero 17:52; 47, Jacob Rogers 17:52; 61, JT Gonzalez 18:23. Kennewick--20, Behram Sawess 17:12; 37, Jason Whitehead 17:41; 41, Evan Staley 17:45; 57, Al Moreno 18:12; 64, Jason Talbott 18:37.
3A girls
Lee also had the joy of becoming the first Southridge girl ever to qualify tempered by bad luck for a teammate. Sophomore Anne Steagall, who'd beaten Lee several times during the season, battled asthma all race and fell one place shy of a state berth in 11th.
"Anne and I have been pushing ourselves all year," Lee said. "I'm really happy, because this is my last year and I wanted to get to state, but I'm also really sad that Anne isn't going."
Sunnyside junior Brittany Messmore ran the race of her career and grabbed the last individual berth, finishing 10th in 19:53. She beat four girls who'd beaten her at districts nine days ago to qualify.
"I woke up this morning focused on going to state," Messmore said. "My coach said I could run with them all year, and I wanted to show that I could."
West Valley (Yakima), led by a 1-2 finish from Lisa Olander and Stephanie Shuel, won the team title.
Team scores (top 2 to state)--West Valley (Yakima) 45, Mount Spokane 58, North Central 103, Southridge 108, Kamiakin 122, East Valley (Spokane) 123, Hanford 136, Sunnyside 238, Eastmont 256.
State qualifiers
West Valley--1, Lisa Olander 18:38; 2, Stephanie Shuel 18:41; 8, Rachael Johnson 19:44; 16, Alejandra Borunda 20:26; 18, Aubrey Packard 20:35.
Mount Spokane--4, Courtney Zalud 19:12; 5, Jessica Klier 19:13; 14, Amy Pomante 20:14; 15, Becca Craig 20:21; 20, Sarah Craig 20:39.
Individuals--3, Mary Graesser (NC) 18:51; 6, Rachel Ballard (NC) 19:14; 7, Lauren Bergam (EV) 19:28; 9, Christina Lee (SR) 19:48; 10, Brittany Messmore (Su) 19:53.
Mid-Columbia teams
Southridge--11, Anne Steagall 19:57; 23, MacKensie Rockstrom 20:44; 25, Ali Johnston 20:50; 40, Gina Dickman 21:40. Kamiakin--19, Tina Miller 20:38; 21, Rachael Gerboth 20:39; 24, Michelle Henson 20:49; 26, Erinn Walter 20:53; 32, Sami Bazzell 21:06. Hanford--12, Haley Tank 19:58; 17, Megan Dart 20:32; 27, Lauren Curran 20:56; 28, Leilani Anderson 20:56; 52, Amanda Lopez 23:32. Sunnyside--50, Marlene Manzo 23:29; 57, Kassandra Reyes 26:41; 60, Monica Manzo 28:14; 61, Amanda Montelongo 30:58.