Tuesday’s duals provided some interesting results, which should have a broader impact on the outlook for state. Especially pertinent were the match-ups between Colby Gilbert of Skyview & Mark Tedder of Battle Ground for the guys. Also of note was the battle between Alexa Efraimson of Camas and Alexis Fuller of Union.
Battle Ground, Skyview at Evergreen
The boys’ race featured a nice hill to make sure that the race was not a pure speed duel but of particular concern was match between Gilbert & Tedder. Mark Tedder already had notched victories at the Run-A-Ree & Seaside and also produced a sold 4th at Danner, while Gilbert was victorious at Trask. The pair separated themselves from the pack earlier and went at the remainder of the way. Tedder had easily triumphed in the Run-A-Ree but it is a month later in the season now and Colby is coming on late. Gilbert was not even deterred, when he stumbled late and nearly fell, which gave Tedder a lead. Down the stretch Gilbert closed and out-kicked his rival earning a two second victory in 15:47. Kaden Harbertson of Skyview placed third in 17:23 but Battle Ground’s Joshua Helmes (17:25) led a trio of BG runners, who swept the next three places. Battle Ground won the team race 28 to 30 with Evergreen, which was led by Joey McClanahan’s 8th place finish in 18:03, was a distant third.
Skyview harrier Sara Taferre had no problem in the girls’ race, as she handled the competition easily coming home in 20:17 to win by a minute and a half. Stacia Matson of Battle Ground placed third with 21:54 and Neeson Bristow ran an even 22 flat for third. Tori Duong had a fourth place finish for Evergreen with 22:02. Shelby Lee provided a crucial fifth place effort for Skyview (22:19), which prevailed in the team scoring 28 to 42 over Battle Ground plus Evergreen with 54.
Union, Camas at Heritage
Alexa Efraimson has already had a banner season with triumphs at the Run-A-Ree & Pier Park plus second place finish against stellar competition at Stanford & Richland but Alexis Fuller is a high-quality runner in her own right and she challenged her rival for the better part of the race. Efraimson won with a solid mark of 18:03 and Fuller placed 2nd in 18:27. Alissa Pudlitzke of Camas was hardly a pushover as well, as evidenced by her third place clocking of 18:32. Cassie McKinney of Union ran a fine 18:53 to claim fourth but then the Camas juggernaut, currently ranked first in 4A in Washington, took over the race. Megan Napier led the 5th through 9th sweep with her time of 19:22. Mckenzie Fleming was the top heritage runner placing tenth in 21:10.
Columbia River, Hudson Bay at Prairie
Nicole Goecke continues to run well this season and she led a sweep by Prairie runners with her mark of 14:23. Lindsay Tompkins placed second with 14:35. The times unfortunately were for 4,000 meters and the boys’ results are less than complete.