Hockinson High School Track Meet, State XC championship, Junior Olympics District Meet at Lower Woodland, Border Clash.
Take your pick, chances are whichever venue choose you, you will be fortunate enough to witness the 1-2 punch of the unstoppable Porter Sisters.
Sarah Porter, a Senior at Hockinson HS has led her team as an outstanding running talent for the last 4 years. She will finish up her High School tenure as a four time State XC and 4 time Border Clash participant. Sarah also has shown up at the State track meet for the last 3 years in either the 1600, 3200 or both with places in the top 3 positions.
2 years ago Sarah was joined by her younger sister Shannon. Shannon opened phase two of the Porter Punch. Shannon quickly showed everyone that big sister Sarah was not the only show in town. As if showing her the ropes, Sarah led Shannon by the hand to the State plateau. Shannon joined her sister with showing at State track and XC venues. The year opened with a 1-2 showing in the 2A girl's championship. A 1 second difference showed the clear beginnings of the Porter secret to success. "You've got to beat us both"
The sister duo took 3rd and 6th in the mile and with Shannon shaking up the age thing 2nd and 4th in the 3200.
These two seem to have it figured out, instead of the typical sibling rivalry geared to pit each other against success, Sarah and Shannon have clicked into a sure success strategy. Find each other early, work together, make the others fight off both, not just 1. These sisters have figured out how to turn the fights for the window seat, the battles for the last piece of pie, the race to get the phone call first, into an unstoppable running success story.
This year at the State XC meet, Sarah was caught a bit off guard when she realized she was the feature Photo on the Official program. Because of this initial shock, the full impact of the job ahead of her with this last showing at the State meet, hit Sarah full on. As the race started, Sarah found herself a bit too far behind her partner and sister. The end result, still with an impressive Porter show, fell short of the expected 1-2 punch. Shannon finished 2nd with Sarah a respectable 6th.
These two have got it honed to a keen edge. After a painful self analysis, The Porter Duo showed that they got it all figured out. Yesterday at the Junior Olympics District Meet at Lower Woodland Park in Seattle, Sarah and Shannon once again delivered the now famous 1-2 Porter Punch. Although running in different classes, the combined race allowed the 2 sisters to lock in the strategy, fix the Pasco race and deliver an impressive 19:04 and 19:05 on the Wet and blustery wooded course.
From the very beginning, watching the two sisters work the magic was a real treat for the crowd. Early on they found each other, at every viewpoint, the shear work and drive, the unspoken connection and determination to win, was very clear to see.
The Porter Family is a runners dream. Mom, decided to take up running when Sarah started, by turning on what seems to be a genetic blip, she trained herself to the level of 2nd place at the Portland Marathon, this year, ( A fact proudly and emphatically pointed out by Sarah as I interviewed her) posting an impressive 2:58 time. Shannon's twin brother Mathew also has boasted State berths at Track and XC for the past 2 years.
Luckily for everyone, the show isn't quite over yet. The outstanding performance yesterday has sent the Porters onto the Regional JO meet next Saturday at Lower Woodland, Last week\'s showing at Pasco has put the Porter Sisters into the prestigious showing at BorderClash on Sunday, The JO nationals are hosted at Spokane on Dec 9. Sarah and Shannon have several busy weeks ahead of them, they seem to have things figured out pretty well, the upcoming races should prove real crowd pleasers and allow the Porter Duo to finish up this years XC season happy, tired and with hardware. Oh yes, Track starts in March!
Hockinson High School Track Meet, State XC championship, Junior Olympics District Meet at Lower Woodland, Border Clash.
Take your pick, chances are whichever venue choose you, you will be fortunate enough to witness the 1-2 punch of the unstoppable Porter Sisters.
Sarah Porter, a Senior at Hockinson HS has led her team as an outstanding running talent for the last 4 years. She will finish up her High School tenure as a four time State XC and 4 time Border Clash participant. Sarah also has shown up at the State track meet for the last 3 years in either the 1600, 3200 or both with places in the top 3 positions.
2 years ago Sarah was joined by her younger sister Shannon. Shannon opened phase two of the Porter Punch. Shannon quickly showed everyone that big sister Sarah was not the only show in town. As if showing her the ropes, Sarah led Shannon by the hand to the State plateau. Shannon joined her sister with showing at State track and XC venues. The year opened with a 1-2 showing in the 2A girl's championship. A 1 second difference showed the clear beginnings of the Porter secret to success. "You've got to beat us both"
The sister duo took 3rd and 6th in the mile and with Shannon shaking up the age thing 2nd and 4th in the 3200.