Print
Email Story
KENNEWICK Grades and running.
No doubt Evan Fiske, like any teenage boy, has a lot on his plate and plenty of outside interests to occupy his mind.
But the way the Kamiakin senior tackles his work in the classroom and on the cross country course, it's hard to imagine where he finds the time for much else.
A National Merit Scholar semifinalist -- he scored among the top 2 percent in the nation on the PSAT -- Fiske is hoping to combine his love of running and learning by studying engineering or computer programming while competing at a Division I university.
However, there's one big challenge left to take on in high school: getting the Braves to state.
"This year is all about team," Fiske said. "I don't want to let down this team. The other seniors who were in the same group as me when we were freshmen, we were the "five under five." Five freshmen to break 5 minutes (in the mile).
"If we don't make it (to state), it will be really disappointing."
Those "five under five" -- Fiske, Justin Yoke, Charles Lisle, Phil Snyder and Alan Peak -- along standout sophomores Anthony Armstrong and Austin Richards form the core of a team that opens the season ranked third in the state and makes Kamiakin a favorite to qualify for state as a team for the first time in 18 seasons.
"I like our chances at the end of the season if we stay healthy," said Matt Rexus, starting his 22nd season as Braves coach.
Saturday will be a good measuring stick, with Kamiakin running at the Tracy Walters Invitational in Spokane against a field that includes North Central (last year's national champion) and Ferris (ranked No. 1 in the nation to start this season).
Of course, the Kamiakin boys have been here before, seemingly with the talent to finally get back to state, only to come up just short in what is always a wicked regional final.
In 2006, the Braves finished seven points away from qualifying as a team, then used those words -- seven points --as motivation the following season. That's when they finished two points behind Southridge at regionals.
"Man, our team was down for weeks after that," said Fiske, who along with Yoke were standout sophomores on the '07 squad. "I felt so bad after that loss to Southridge. ... I remember that the seniors went off to cool down on their own, and when they got back they were as angry as I've ever seen them."
Still, that was a breakout season for Fiske, who qualified individually for state along with senior Derek Scott. Fiske finished 57th at state -- "I got buried. I was jumping over people who went down left and right. It was completely hectic." --then returned as a junior and placed 16th, cutting a minute and a half off his time and qualifying for the Washington team in the annual Border Clash with Oregon and making the Herald's All-Area team along with Armstrong.
Barring injury or a poorly timed illness, Fiske is a good bet to make it back to state and become the first Kamiakin boy to do so three straight years since Matt Topping was a top-10 finisher from 1997-99.
That Fiske is mentioned in the same breath as Topping didn't seem likely four years ago, when Rexus noted his time of about 6:30 for a middle school fitness mile. The veteran coach got in Fiske's ear and convinced him to run competitively for the first time.
"By the end of the track season his freshman year, he came out of nowhere and ran a 4:37," Rexus said. "He also ran a 9:56 2-mile. That's when we knew we had something special."
Last spring, Fiske capped his junior year by picking up an eighth-place medal in the 2-mile. This fall he's determined to add some more cross country hardware to his collection. And to do it while running beside his teammates.
"This is the deepest Kamiakin team I've ever seen," Fiske said. "We have new freshmen battling for the last spots, seniors who have been running since they were freshmen fighting the incoming freshmen to get on varsity. We have 10-12 guys who can fill varsity spots when needed.
"This is gonna be the start of something good."
