Alexa Efraimson shown leading 4A at State
Some of the best runners in the northwest toed the line Saturday at Eagle Island State Park, which is sort of in Boise. The girls’ race was somewhat a repeat of the 3A Washington State race with Amy-Eloise Neale going boldly to the front. She set a brisk pace before easing off at the end making the race appear closer than it was and she sped home in 17:29, which was twenty second improvement over that of 2011. Katie Knight of North Central battled Alexa Efraimson in a battle of national class athletes for second with Knight earning second once again. Her time of 17:40 gave her a two second edge over her Camas rival. We should add that both knight & Efraimson also improved their times from the previous year: Knight by 18 seconds & Efraimson by a whopping 41 seconds. Paige Gilchrist of Montana finished fourth in 17:45 but appears to have chosen to gamble that she can qualify to run against the best of the West at Mt. SAC and a chance to qualify to race in San Diego at Foot Locker national. Gilchrist had only placed 17th here last here, so it was a marked improvement, while the top three finishers were the same as last year. It is a bold move for which I have great respect, if the rumor is true. Oregon 6A champion Sara Tsai earned a return trip to Portland with her fifth place effort of 17:59 – the same placement as last fall. Maggie Schmaedick of Sheldon will run in Portland after claiming sixth in a time of 18:09, as will Paige Rice of St. Mary’s Academy, who ran a fine 18:13 on the challenging course, as Gilchrist will apparently will gamble on Foot Locker and Efraimson automatically qualifies as a team runner. It has been a very fine season for all of the runners, who have been mentioned and they will be rewarded with one more race to extend their season.
With the way things went after the race Erin Clark of South Eugene will miss racing in Portland after coming in eighth in Boise with a time of 18:14 but hopefully we will see her in California. Chiara Warner, who had placed 2nd in Montana’s B division, finished in 18:41, which was good for ninth. Kara Story of Coeur d’ Alene placed tenth (18:44) and led her squad to the team title, as she was amply supported by Emily Callahan (14th), Punky Duran (15th), Josie Brown (16th) & Krista Story (27th). Hailey Ricks ran 18:44 to place eleventh & Idaho 2A champion Sierra Manzer ran 18:48 to round out the top dozen finishers. Alissa Pudlitzke of Camas followed in 13th and aided her mates in placing second in the team race. Other runners of note, who had off days sadly, were Mary Kate McGuire of Dallas (18), Idaho State Champion Emily Hamlin (19) & Ellen Patterson of St. Mary’s Academy (20th). Certainly deserving a better fate was Katie Bianchini of Glacier Peak, who has had a brilliant, if over-shadowed year. Unfortunately Saturday was her off day and she came in only 23rd but such are the vagaries of the running experience. We all will have bad days – we just hope they come at a better time. Also deserving of mention after solid seasons ( to name just a few)are Hannah Derby (31st) & Daryl Phill (32nd) of Bellarmine prep, Erin Gregoire of Beaverton (33rd) & Megan Beauchene of Kamiakin, who placed 38th, yet had been fourth in Washington. . Freshman Rachel McGovern, the Idaho 4A champion, placed 26th yet it does not diminish what she has accomplished this season. A tip of the hat to Alaskan Jenette Northey, who raced in Idaho five weeks after her State meet had been run, yet ran 19:54.
Joe Hardy
Joe Hardy of Seattle Prep got a stiff battle from Adam Peterman of Montana & Elijah Armstrong of Pocatello before pulling away for a victory. His time of 15:30 was even faster than last year’s winning time, when Anthony Armstrong defeated Izaic Yorks & Dallin Farnsworth. Peterman, who had finished second in the Montana State meet, improved thirty-one places over his placement in 2011 with his time of 15:33. Elijah Armstrong ran 15:37 finished third, yet appears to have passed on Portland. Sumner Goodwin, who was 4th in Washington 4A, followed in fourth here with 15:41, while Kyle Thompson of Central Catholic sped home in 15:43 and will compete in Portland. Tanner Anderson of North Central placed seventh in 15:48 and led his squad to victory in the team competition. It was an impressive win for NC, which was unable to run Kai Wilmot, who placed 8th here as a sophomore. Beaverton’s Dan Oekerman finished seventh in 15:52 and will compete down the hill in Portland, as one individual will take a bye.
Keith Williams of NC ran 15:53 to place 8th & Matthew Maton of Summit followed in 9th in 15:56. The Storm sophomore has had a banner year including his 2nd at State in 5A & hopefully it will not end here. As it turns out two runners have turned down their spots in Portland, so maton will run in Portland. Andrew Foerder of Nathan Hale crossed the finish line tenth with 15:57 and Eric Aldritt of Summit entered the chute eleventh in 15:58. Battle Ground’s mark Tedder ran 16:01 to round out the top dozen male runners. Kamiakin surprised a bit to place second in the team race and they were led by the thirteenth place finish of Austin Oser, who ran 16:03. Colby Gilbert of Skyline, who had placed 3rd in Washington 4A, came home 14th and was followed by Eduardo Juarez of Hermiston, who ran 15th. Oregon 3A champion Nick Obletz followed with a 16th place finish and Sam Levora of Idaho took 17th. Wyoming state champion Rick Faure finished 18th. Siuslaw may only be a 4A team in Oregon yet it displayed its power up front as Mitchell Butler, Mathew Campbell and Mack Marbas swept places nineteen through twenty-one.
Eagle Island can be an unforgiving course and it is difficult to race on it, when one is not at their best. Idaho 5A champion Dwain Stucker placed only 23rd here Saturday (16:14). Wolfgang Beck, who claimed 2nd in the Washington 4A division, suffered with a chest cold & labored home in 26th (16:15) and two-time Oregon 5A champion Travis Neuman of Summit struggled across the finish line in 33rd (16:20). Like Katie Bianchini & others in the girls’ race they deserved a better fate.
New York State Meet
This is not to be confused with next week’s Federation meet, which is the true championship. Megan Reilly of Warwick Valley broke the Elma course record (neat Buffalo) with 17:43. Bella Burda of Arlington finished second in 17:37 and Marissa Sanger of Clarence followed with 17:41. Fourth went to Taylor Driscoll of Saratoga, who ran 17:46 and Katie Lembo of Penfield was fifth in 17:52. Gianna Frontera of Newburgh went 17:59 and was the last runner to break eighteen minutes, while Kennedy Jensen of Canandaigua took 7th in 18:01. Alana Pearl of FM was the first from her team, which did manage to win the state race with an under-whelming performance. Saratoga placed second due in part to a very off day from one of its usual stalwarts. FM did, however claim 9th & 10th as well (Annika Avery & Mary Barger) but then Valarie Palermo of Webster followed in 11th with 18:15. Maryanna Lansing of Shaker ran 18:19 for 12th with Laura Leff of West Genesee following a second later & she edged Siobhan Quinn of Rush-Henrietta, who shared the time.
While Class A was the main show Megan Young won B with 18:22, Natalie Tanner took C with 18:47 & Madeline Montague of Greenwich took D with 18:24. Erin McConnell of Fabius-Pompey had an off day, which resulted in her first loss of the year & a 4th place time of 19:04.
Nick Ryan of FM annexed the Boys’ A title as expected but he did it with a record performance of 15:07. Mickey Burke of Rush-Henrietta earned 2nd I 15:29, while Eric Holt of Carmel finished 3rd in 15:31. Bryce Millar of FM came in 4th with 15:40 and was followed four seconds later by Benito Muniz of Carmel. Sixth went to Sebastian Hanson of Arlington and Alex Peinkofer of Baldwinsville garnered 7th in 15:50. Brennan Root of RH claimed 8th in 15:57 and Keith Pease of Greece Athena took ninth in 15:57. He edged Jay Navin of Saratoga Springs but Navin, aided by the 12th place finish of Aidan Tooker (16:01) had the satisfaction of leading the Blue Streaks to victory. It was a very popular team win and the quote of the day was expressed by Mickey Burke, who was quoted in the Rochester Democrat Chronicle: “Just like F-M did to us last year,” Burke yelled. “One point. Hey guys, let’s all go to Saratoga, knock on everybody’s door and congratulate them. Go Saratoga!” Exhilaration can come from many disparate things. Not to be left out, here, is the eleventh place finish of Zachary Cammer of Walt Whitman –timed in 15:57.
The boys’ B race was run first & it witnessed a course record by Ryan Manahan of Marcellus, who ran 15:30. He did not get to possess the record very long but still it was his achievement and he will always be a N Y State division champion and hopefully a Foot locker participant as well. T J Hornsberger of Lake Shore was not all that far behind with his 15:35 & Brian Cook of Pearl River came in third with 15:58. Alfredo Mazzuca of New Paltz followed in 4th in 15:58.
New Mexico State Meet
Luis Martinez of Cleveland won his third straight 5A title & led his team to the championship as well. His time of 15:16.9 gave him a safe lead over his team mate Aaron Flores, who finished second in 16:04. Nick Hill scored in 4A with 15:59. Malia Gonzalez of Rio Rancho won her second 5A title in 18:59 with second going to Mason Swanson, who ran 19:42. Both 4A & 3A had repeat winners with Jenna Thurmond (19:02) & Rachel Fleddermann (19:21) scoring again. The conditions were challenging with heavy winds blowing copious amounts of sand.
Jacob Thomson at Trinity
Virginia State Championship
Fast times were recorded in both the young men’s & women’s races with Sean McGorty scorching the grass with his 14:47. The Foot Locker alumnus had a huge lead over Nick Tuck, who ran a very fine time of 15:29. Logan Miller of Chantilly, like the winner, earned third with 15:36 edging Louis Colson of Thomas Edison. Andrew Geiser of Forest park placed 5th in 15:40 & Midlothian’s Sean Willard (15:47) came in sixth. Chantilly defeated Midlothian for the team title 57 to 72.
Lake Braddock won the girls’ team title led by the swift Sophie Chase, who zipped home in 17:24. Following in her wake once again was Caroline Alcorta of West Springfield, who ran a fine 17:45. Hannah Christen, also from Lake B, garnered third with 17:54 and Karla Dickerson of Midlothian ran 18:02, which was good for fourth.
In the AA races it was Nick Link earning the victory with 15:34, as Patrick Joseph followed in 15:40. Carolyn Bethel secured the girls’ title in 18:11.
New England Championships
This meet unfortunately does not included Massachusetts, so the title is a tad misleading. Henry Wayne, the Connecticut state champion, won with a time of 16:12 to defeat Rhode Island champion Trevor Crawley. Crawley finished in 16:14 & was followed by Maine’s Silas Eastman in 16:26. Elle Purrier of Vermont ran 18:42 for the girls’ victory. Taylor Spillane of Vermont came in second in 19:03 and Rhode Island title-holder Emma McMillan was third with 19:07.
Florida Regionals
Friday at Gainesville
Andres Arroyo continued to leave all challengers well behind him. His time of 15:12 gave him a 22 second margin over 2nd place finisher Keneth Pineiro of DeLand in the Region 1 race. Brandon Marquez followed in 3rd with 15:41. Daniel Salas of Trinity Prep topped his field with 15:54. Bridget Blake bested the field with 17:56, as Emily Headley placed 2nd in 18:17. Kelley Fahey claimed first in Region 2 with 18:38.
Saturday at Tallahassee
Thomas Howell ran 15:25 for a clear victory over Nicholas Morken, who ran 15:33 in Region 1. Zachery Summerall went 15:54 in R2. Susan Givens ran 18:32 to top R1 with Rachel Kling seven seconds behind her.
Eastern Massachusetts
Catarina put on a powerful display in Division I by speeding to victory in 17:27, which easily out-distanced the second place effort of 18:18. She was not, however, the only girl to break eighteen as Abbey McNulty of Bishop Feehan sped to a 17:53. She also had a wide margin over the second place runner. Mike O’ Donnell of Methuen had no trouble in his race clocking 15:27 but Nathaniel Adams of Lexington contributed a fine 15:43 & was followed in turn four seconds later by Patrick Coppinger. Gabe Montahue also gave a good accounting of himself running 15:53 in DI. Sam Stubbs of Cambridge won D2 with 15:59 & Daniel McDonald scored in D3 with 15:46. Owen Gonser of King Phillip followed with 15:51. Paul Hogan of Pembroke claimed D4 with 15:31, as John Valeri followed with 15:45. Christian Stafford of Pembroke crossed the line in third a second later. The D5 title went to peter hale with 15:46 with Matt Herzig of Weston giving chase with 15:55.
Texas State Meet
The Texas UIL meet was held at Round Rock but only the top two divisions were contested at 5K. Karis Jochen of College Station scored in the deep 5A division with 17:18 giving her a 12 second margin of victory over Sandie Raines of Humble Kingwood. Paige Hofstad of New Braufels took 3rd in 17:46 & was followed by Devin Clark (17:54) & Courtney Kriegshauser to Southlake Carroll (17:57). Robert Domanic of Lewisville Hebron earned only a two second victory over Brigham Hedges of The Woodlands despite his mark of 15:04. Nate Sullivan of SC placed 3rd in 15:11 & Joe Sansone of SC followed in 15:17. Brian Barraza of El Paso Franklin came in 5th with 15:26. Trevor Gilley, also from SC, ran 15:26 to take sixth. Southlake Carroll won both boys’ & girls’ divisions.
In the 4A division it was Madie Boreman of Leander Rouse leading the way in 17:53, with Arin Rice of Canyon taking 2nd in 18:02. Ryan Teel (15:42) of Friendswood led Robert Uhr of Lockart (15:44) into the chute with Ivan Rodriguez of El Paso Del Valle placing 3rd in 15:56.
Georgia State meet
Josh Brickell ran 15:55 & Nathan Riech was 2nd in 16:26. Allie Buchalski led the 6A girls in 18:46
California
CIF Central Coast
Some sizzling times here with Yohaness Estifanos of Milpitas burning the brightest with a three mile time of 15:12 at Crystal Springs no less. Miguel Vasquez of Andrew Hill earned 2nd in 15:27 in D1. Vanessa Estrada of San Benito had no problems in the girls’ race with 17:54 & won by almost a minute.
Richard Ho of Leland scored in D2 with 15:21 with Los Altos’ Terence Rabuzzi taking 2nd in 15:47. Danielle Katz of Los Gatos edged her team mate Lauren Jacob by three seconds with her time of 17:46.
San Lorenzo Valley topped the Scotts Valley gals in D4 67 to 83. Vanessa Fraser of SV led the field with 17:42. SLV runners Claire Maxwell (18:24) & Anna Maxwell, a two-time Foot Locker finalist with 18:56). Zoe Enright of Menlo followed with 18:57.
North County Conference
Avocado West
Steven Fahy of La Costa Canyon was a seven second winner in 15:37 with Christian Freeman leading a 2-4 sweep by Carlsbad. The boys ran three miles. LCC swept the top girls’ places as Kelly Lawson (15:52) & Emma Abrahamson (16:02) led the team over the 2.75 mile course.
Valley League
Andrew Tellames of Orange Glen claimed victory in 15:54.
Los Angles City Prelims
Jonathon Tewodros had the best time on the 3M course on Thursday with 15:40 for Palisades Charter. Jose Arevalo ran 15:46. Edwin Morales of Santee won heat 2 with 15:45 & Luis Solano of Birmingham claimed H3 in 15:42. The top gals’ time was achieved by Marissa Williams in H3, who ran three miles in 17:10.
Delaware State Meet
John Mascioli of Archmere Academy won the D2 title with 16:13 by three seconds of Tatnall ’s Alex Giacco. Reagan Anderson led a 1-4 sweep in 18:59.
Pat Hally of Salesianum won D1 with 16:43 & Amanda Rickert topped the girls with 19:58.
New Jersey Section Meets
Group I
Ben De Venezia won in 16:11, while Colette Richter ran 18:05 for the girls.
Group II
Craig Corti of Walkill Valley battled his team mate Ryan Chiesa and won by two seconds in 16:06. Sarah DiSanza led the girls with 18:38.
Group III
Brendan Ungemach scored with 15:59. Josette Norris ran 18:13 to defeat Arianna North (18:30)
Group IV
Nick Salamone of Ridgewood won with 16:29 & Catharine Pagano scored in 18:38.
Maryland State Meet
4A
Will Bertrand won with the top time of the day in 16:02. Ryan Forsyth took 2nd in 16:27. Caroline Beakes of Chevy Chase scored with 19:17 & Sophie El Masry followed in 19:23.
3A
Hale Bullen of Annapolis topped the field with 16:19, as Danny Rau of Howard took 2nd in 16:20. Jon Lucken of Hereford led his team to its third straight title with 16:22. Emily Mulhern of Urbana clocked 19:20 & Allison Krein of River Hill followed in 19:28. Shreya Nalubola of Centennial topped her team’s second place finish with her third in 19:37.