WASHINGTON STATE MEET

Sophia Rodriguez Blazes Meet Record Time To Win 3A Race, Lead Mercer Island To Victory; Owen Powell Outruns Vincent Recupero In Elite 3A Race; Lewis and Clark Boys, Mt. Si Girls Win 4A Titles; Sehome Sweeps 2A

By Cam McCann for DyeStat

PHOTOS by John Decker

INTERVIEWS

PASCO - The illustrious WIAA State XC Championship heralded yet another year of some of the country’s top high school distance runners, which included a record-shattering performance.

The 3A girls race will go down as one of the best two finishes in Washington’s history, as Sophia Rodriguez of Mercer Island and Elektra Higgins of Peninsula rewrote the history books by nailing the two fastest times. 

No girl had recorded anything under 17 minutes on the state championship course at Sun Willows Golf Course, and Rodriguez made the accomplishment seem like another day in the office, running 16:48. 

“I think for me going into last year kinda blind as a freshman, it was tough, just a new state and new course, (but) it got me all the experience I needed, and it made all the difference,” Rodriguez said. 

Shortly behind her was Higgins, who also got under the 17-minute mark by less than two seconds. Victoria Rodriguez, Sophia’s sister, took home the bronze medal in the division as well.

The fastest overall time of the day however, came from another Islander. Owen Powell took home the 3A boys crown with a blistering time of 14:45, and was in a fight all race long with Bishop Blanchet’s Vincent Recupero, who finished three seconds behind. These two finishes marked the No. 3 and No. 8 times, respectively, and solidified the fiery district rivalry between the two. 

Not only did Mercer Island sweep the individual crowns, but also took home the top team spot in both the boys and girls divisions. The title sweep was only made possible thanks to a come-from-behind final mile to go from trailing Bishop Blanchet by 18 points to edging out a victory by a single point, with the final tally reading 90-91. 

“Both teams have been working so hard for months and dreaming of this,” head coach Susan Empey said. “To have it actually happen is pretty special.”

The 4A races also provided fans with exciting races, including a packed boys race that was stacked with experience, as eight of the top 10 finishers were seniors. A first-place finish by Tahoma’s Cooper Boyle saw the senior hit 14:57, the seventh-fastest all-time course best. Seven seconds behind him was South Kitsap’s Isaac Benjamin, who was the only junior or younger to get under the 15:30 mark in the race. 

The team title for 4A fell to Lewis and Clark, who slowly moved up as the race went on, embracing a pack running tactic. This resulted in senior Brody Graham taking the 13th overall spot while the rest of LC’s scorers finished within six spots of each other. It was a 15-second spread on the scoring five.

In celebration of a climactic and hard-fought team win, the Tigers took a journey over to a pond on the golf course and jumped in, a tradition that started when head coach Michael Lee was running at Mead for now-Gonzaga University coach Pat Tyson. 

“I don’t know where it started, but under my coach in high school, Pat Tyson at Mead, we would go swimming after a state title, and this has kind of continued on,” Lee said. 

Speaking of traditions, the Sehome Mariners added to their state title count with a team sweep at the 2A level. Nick Gargano and Skyler Gillham led the way for the boys, placing second and fourth. Three straight Mariners came in 11th-14th as well, with 16th and 19th rounding out their top seven, with six runners finding their way under 16:10. 

For the girls, Lil Desler was crowned as the individual champion. A time of 18:08 left an 11 second gap between her and Sloan Dickson of Lynden, who took second. Two more Mariners ended up in the top 10, and all scoring members finished in the top 20, giving the girls their fourth state title in a row. 

“What I really liked seeing out there is they kept picking each other up throughout, which is important,” head coach Kevin Ryan said. “Really proud of Lil, as a sophomore going out and doing what she had to do in the middle of that race to make it a gut-check for everyone. Just a great day overall.”

On the girls side of things, first-year head coach Adam Frye brought the title back to Mount Si, as his team repeated in big part due to sisters Hailey and Aleeya Cossey, who took home the second and fourth spots in the race, respectively. The top two teams remained the same as last year, with Isaaquah giving Frye’s unit the most trouble. 

Kylah Madariaga of Wenatchee was crowned as the individual champion, coming in with a time of 17:40. After not running her freshman year, Madariaga has exploded onto Washington’s running scene, improving from 21:16 her sophomore year to being the runner-up in last year’s 4A state meet. The race was neck-and-neck through two miles as Latham West of Bonney Lake led a pack of three girls that were separated by less than a second.

Cedar Park Christian-Bothell put on an inspiring team performance, taking home the crown for both the boys and girls at the 1A level. This marks the first time the girls have won in the school’s history, and they were led by Hannah Capusan, who finished eighth. 

The boys, who defended their title from last season, scored just 49 points to win over Bush School, who also had a low score of 62. The Eagles top three runners finished in a row, claiming spots 8-10 in the race. 

CPC had one of the biggest support groups of the day, showing how schools of all sizes can make an impact in their community. 

“We have such a tight knit community, so many people are here supporting us … it feels good” Cedar Park Christian senior Sam Knight said. 

The 1B and 2B boys ran separately for the first time in WIAA history, and thus were awarded two individual champions. Westin Madden was the first of three Valley Christian runners to finish, as they won with the lowest team score of the day, 23. The 2B champion, Dexter Delaney, rocketed out to a 14-second victory, crossing the line with a time of 15:31. 

For the girls, the 1B-2B race was the first of the day, and saw two Saint George’s School runners finish with the gold and silver places. Regan Thomas came across the line 56 seconds before teammate Josie McLaughlin, as Thomas’ finishing time read 18:20.

Team Champions - 

Class 4A - Lewis and Clark boys 100 points, Mt. Si girls 90 points

Class 3A - Mercer Island boys 68 points, Mercer Island girls 90 points 

Class 2A - Sehome boys 34 points, Sehome girls 40 points 

Class 1A - Cedar Park Christian boys 49 points, Cedar Park Christian girls 102 points

Class 2B - Cle Elum-Roslyn boys 90 points

Class 1B - Valley Christian boys 23 points 

Class 1B/2B - Rainier girls 71 points