Foot Locker finalist Andrew Gardner of Mead took off from the start and won the 4A boy's title which eluded him last year. In the process, he posted the fastest time of the day with 15:02.3. A pack of runners tried to stay with Gardner including Gig Harbor's Wolfgang Beck of Gig Harbor. That race strategy worked for Beck as he was the runner-up with 15:16.3. Beck is not just an accomplished runner. He has written a symphony which has been performed. Colby Gilbert of Skyview did not go with the pack and finished third with a time of 15:21.6. Sumner Goodwin of Lewis & Clark was fourth with a time of 15:24.9. Jamie Coughlin of Garfield was fifth with 15:26.5. Central Valley won the 4A boy's team title over runner-up Eisenhower and last year's winner Gig Harbor.
In the 3A boy's division, there was the anticipated match-up between Kai Wilmot of North Central and Joe Hardy of Seattle Prep. Hardy expected to be running with Wilmot and attempt to outkick him. With Kai still nursing an injury, Hardy had to improvise his game plan. Hardy won with the fifth fastest time of the day in 15:18.4. John Dressel of Mt. Spokane was the runner-up with 15:31.1. Tanner Anderson led the North Central team with a third place finish in 15:34.8. Nick Hauger of Shadle Park was fourth with 15:42.4. Spike Sievert of Bellevue was fith with 15:42.8. North Central repeated as champions while Kamiakin finished off their season with a fine runner-up placement.
Patrick Gibson repeated as champion in the 2A division and improved upon his winning time from last year with the second fastest tie of the day--15:13.6. Poli Baltazar of Aberdeen attempted to stay with Gibson and finished with 15:16.6 (4th fastest time of the day). Gibson and Poli made a point that even school school division can produce outstanding times. Conner Honsen of Sehome was third with 15:37.5. Sean Eustis of Washougal was fourth with 15:39.7. Joe Charbonneau of Bellingham was fifth with 15:40.4. The 2A boy's division looked like a Bellingham city meet with Sehome repeating as champions, Bellingham as runners up, and Squalicum as third.
On the girl's side, the most anticipated race was the 3A division. A year ago, Camas was in that division. It would have been interesting if the divisions had been the same this year. This was a different year in many respects. Amy-Eloise Neale of Glacier Peak avenged her loss last year and powered away from the field and earned her third championship (2009, 2010, and 2012). Being a 3-time champ and a runner-up in 4 years is a difficult feat, but Neale did it with a record breaking time of 17:03.6. Katie Knight of North Central also has a stellar 4-year string. Knight won last year and has 3 runner-up finishes. Her time of 17:44.7 was one of four which broke the 18 minute barrier. Both Neale and Knight have signed with the University of Washington. Katie Bianchini of Glacier Peak also broke with 18 minute barrier and finished third with 17:58.2. Megan Beauchene of Kamiakin was fourth with 18:19.7. Haley Suarez of Meadowdale was fifth with 18:28.6. Glacier Peak repeated in the team championship over Kamiakin.
With Camas moving up to 4A, there would be an impact to the individual and team standings. Alexa Efraimson of Camas had a fine track season, and she finished her cross country campaign with a win. Her winning time of 17:34.2 was the second fastest of the day. Foot Locker finalist and last year's winner Jordan McPhee of Mt. Rainier was the runner-up with 18:10.9. Alexis Fuller of Camas Union had a strong finishing kick and earned third in a time of 18:16.8. Sofia Kane of Olympia was fourth with 18:23.3. Alissa Pudlitzke of Camas was fifth with 18:30.2. With 2 top 5 finishers, Camas won the team title over runner-up Tahoma and third place Bellarmine Prep.
Perennial 3A power Sehome could not be stopped. Defending champ Emily Pittis of Sehome repeated with a fine time of 18:17.7. Sanne Holland of Cheney was the runner-up with 18:30.1. Brittany Aquino of East Valley-Spokane was third with 18:36.6. Hurdler Reagan Colyer of North Kitsap was fourth with 18:45.1. Although not at full strength, Brittany Gappa of Squalicum finished fifth with a fine time of 18:51.4. Sehome won the team title over Bellingham.
Not to be overlooked is the 1A division. Maddie Meyers of the Northwest School is now a freshman at the University of Washington, so a new champion would be crowned in Sally Larson of Cedar Park Christian with a time of 18:38.5. Last year's runner-up Hazel Carr of the Northwest School repeated as runner-up with 18:41.1. Kacey Kemper of King's was third with 18:42.2. Riverside won the team title. Dillon Quinata of Mt. Baker won with Tom Badley of Blaine finishing second in the closest race of the day. The times were both clocked at 15:50. Charles Wright won the team title.
Sierra Speiker of Oroville won the 1B/2B division with 18:58.4 while NW Christian-Lacey won the girl's team title. Stephen Bottoms of Onalaska won the boy's title in 15:48.3. Local Tri-Cities Prep won the boy's team title. Washington is one of the few states with a wheelchair division. This year Mikila Salazar of West Valley in Spokane won with a time of 9:16.1.
More details, pictures, and videos to follow. Videos include Andrew Gardner, the always glib Wolfgang Beck, Colby Gilbert, Joe Hardy, Patrick Gibson, Poli Baltazar, Alexa Efraimson, Amy-Eloise Neale, and Katie Knight.