Runners to seek cross county state berths Knight boys after seventh straight district title
Left to right, the entire Wahluke girls team: Stephanie Juarez, Jennifer Navarrete, Guadalupe Abarca, Jessica Arellano, Marivel Nevarez, Sarai Gutierriez, Yesica Guzman, Maria Sanchez, and Alma Velasco. Not pictured Stephanie Valdespino. The ones who will run at Districts are Juarez, Arellano, Velasco, Abarca, Valdespino, Naverrete, and Sanchez.One of the reasons the Royal boys dominate SCAC cross country is the large turnout, as is evident (all black) at the starting line at Connell.
SOUTH COUNTY — The South Central A Conference will have its high school cross country district meet at the Apple Ridge Course at Highland Thursday, and Royal and Wahluke will carry a lot of hopes into the meet.
The way this state-qualifying meet is set up, there could be rewards for both schools. The top two girls teams and the top 10 individual girls will make it. The top three boys teams and the first 15 boys to cross the line will advance.
“Both of our teams have worked hard this year. I’m proud of these kids,” Royal coach Ben Orth said. “We’ve battled some adversity with injuries but, in the end, I think these students care a lot about each other, and that goes a long way in these big races.”
“They’ve got a lot of heart and, as actor Kevin Costner said in the hit cross country movie McFarland USA, there is nothing you can’t do with that kind of strength, with that kind of heart,” Orth added.
The girls will toe the line at 3:30. The boys will start their race at 4:15.
In the boys race the top three teams will punch tickets to the State Championships at Pasco’s Sun River Golf Course on Saturday, Nov. 7. The first 15 boys to cross the finish line will qualify for state.
“The beauty of this system is that fast runners from teams that aren’t as strong can still earn their way to the coveted starting line for the grand finale in two weekends,” coach Lyndsy Roberts said.
Wahluke should benefit from that set-up. The Warrior boys team is not in a class with the Knights, but lead runner Eduardo Valdenea, a senior, is. He beat all of the Royal boys two meets ago.
“Individually, Lalo is second only to Goldendale’s Dillan Risan in the district,” Wahluke coach David Miskimens said. “Hopefully he can stay close at districts this week. He has been running faster each week as we get near the end. So hopefully he can get there.”
The Knights look to continue their winning ways on a course on which they have traditionally had much success. They have won every District title since 2009 and are looking to make it seven straight.
“Each team of ours is different from year to year. I would say the strength of this year’s group is our lead pack,” Orth said. “We have three frontrunners in Victor Garcia, Rudy Flores, and Silver Beltran. They pave the way and then, just behind them, are the rest of our varsity, and they are hungry to perform well.”
With a strong performance, the Royal boys team has a realistic shot at winning its 11th straight trip to the state championships.
The Royal girls have equally high aspirations of qualifying for state. Barring any major surprises, they should make it. The Knights, 9-1, finished second to Zillah in League and should duplicate that finish.
“I believe our girls are going to race well,” Roberts said. “They are a gritty group, and I am confident that they will race hard for one another.”
If the Lady Knights can put together another strong performance and qualify for state, it will mark their fourth consecutive trip to the big dance.
The team that could upset the Royal girls is Wahluke. The Warriors finished 8-2 in league competition and seem to be coming on. The battle between the Basin rivals will an interesting competition to watch.
If the Warrior girls can’t make it as a team, lead runner Jessica Arellano, a sophomore, could qualify for state individually. So could senior Stephanie Juarez.
“Jessica is actually our No. 2 runner, or has been until recently,” Miskimens said. “Stephanie has been our No. 1 girl, but she developed a knee issue three weeks ago and didn’t complete a race after our Oct. 3 race in Marysville until Royal.”
Injury aside, Juarez is a quality runner. She has been training and competing non-stop since track season, including the Junior Olympic Nationals in the steeplechase last summer.
“I believe she will be up to her usual standard come Thursday,” Miskimens said.
Arellano also had a solid summer of running. She traveled to Australia for a competition there.
“She has really come on here in the last couple weeks and is running on par with Stephanie,” Miskimens said. “I suspect that they both will make it to state individually, but I’m not going to pick which one of them will be ahead of the other.
“Stephanie seems to have a way of coming back in a big way after a race that was disappointing, and I know she didn’t like her time at the meet at Royal.”