Northwest Review 12

Leo Collins

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.