Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

Boys state cross country preview

By the Herald staff

Preview of the boys state cross country race-by-race 4A

Time: 2:30 p.m.

2008 champions: Mead; Mack Young, Redmond

Team contenders (state ranking in parentheses): Henry Jackson (1); Ferris (2); Gig Harbor (3); Auburn Riverside (5)

Individuals to watch: Mack Young, sr., Redmond; Shane Moskowitz, sr., Central Kitsap; Conner Peloquin, sr., Gig Harbor; Kenny Krotzer, sr., Auburn Riverside; Adam Thorne, Sr., Ferris; Andrew Gardner, fr., Mead; Anthony Armstrong, so., Kamiakin

Local qualifiers: Kamiakin team (Evan Fiske, sr.; Justin Yoke, sr.; Anthony Armstrong, so.; Austin Richards, so.; Charles Lisle, sr.; Alan Peak, sr.; Chrisian Rodriguez, fr.; Phil Snyder, so.; Austin Oser, fr.); Aaron Nelson, jr., Walla Walla

Noteworthy: Young and Moskowitz finished 1-2 last year, just 3 seconds apart. ... Moskowitz, ranked among the best high school runners in the nation, has won every cross country race he's entered in the last two seasons except state last year. ... Peloquin has won 6 of 8 races he's entered this season, including the Bob Firman in Boise and Sunfair in Yakima. His only losses have been to Moskowitz. ... Thorne, who finished 8th at state season, placed 9th in the Stanford Invite. ... Henry Jackson is trying to become the first non-Spokane team to win the big school title since Eisenhower of Yakima in 1987, and the first from the West side of the state since Bishop Blanchet of Seattle in 1986. Of those 21 straight Spokane championships, Mead has claimed 14 crowns, including an incredible nine in a row from 1988-96. The two-time defending champs, who have placed first or second in 19 of the last 21 state meets, failed to advance out of the Spokane district, finishing tied with University for the third and final berth and losing on the sixth runner. Ferris, which is Spokane's best chance to keep the string alive, won four straight titles from 2003-06. ... The West side has only won four big-school titles in 34 years -- three of them by Blanchet (1983-84, '86) and the other by Redmond (1985) -- and just 10 since the first meet in 1959.

3A

Time: 2 p.m.

2008 champions: North Central; Michael Miller, Mount Rainier

Team contenders (state ranking in parentheses): North Central (1); Bishop Blanchet (2); Bellevue (3); Peninsula (4); Mount Spokane (5)

Individuals to watch: Drew O'Donoghue-McDonald, sr., Seattle Prep; Michael Williams, sr., Bellevue; Steven Robinson, jr., Bishop Blanchet; Kyle Boe, sr., Columbia River; Ben Johnston, sr., North Central; Allan Schroeder, sr., Mount Spokane; Joel Ambo, sr., Bellevue;

Local qualifiers: None.

Noteworthy: A lot of state veterans in this race, including 9 of the top 15 finishers from last season. Johnston has been terrific in the postseason, winnning the GSL Championships by 18 seconds over a combined field of 3A/4A Spokane runners and taking regionals by 30 seconds. ... Schroeder edged Johnston and O'Donoghue-McDonald in the Richland Invite for his first big win. ... Ingraham junior Abraham Berhe is a darkhorse, having placed 6th at state last year but finishing well off the pace of O'Donoghue-McDonald, Williams and Robinson in the Sea-King Disrict meet. ... The big question is will anyone get in the way of the North Central express. The defending national champions are chasing a fourth straight state title and are coming off a 23-point performance at regionals. The Indians have finished 14, 50 and 74 points ahead of runner-up Seattle Prep the last three seasons. ... If anyone can challenge -- and that's a big if -- it might come from Blanchet, which faced plenty of stiff competition in the Metro League and then won the Sea-King by 21 points over Bellevue.

2A

Time: 1:30 p.m.

2008 champions: Sehome; James Currell, Selah

Team contenders (state ranking in parentheses): Burlington-Edison (1); Sehome (2); Squalicum (3); Lakewood (4)

Individuals to watch: Todd Jackson, jr., Elma; Scott Carlyle, jr., Sehome; Tyler Williams, sr., Burlington-Edison; Connor Whan, sr., Burlington-Edison; Taylor Guske, sr., Lakewood; Nick Schippers, jr., Kingston; Eduardo Torres, sr., Wapato; Colton Hastings, jr., Colville; Jeffrey Ott, so., Ellensburg

Local qualifiers: Jordan Sanchez, sr., Grandview

Noteworthy: The Northwest League has dominated this race the last three years, coinciding with Burlington-Edison (two-time winner) and Sehome dropping down from the 3A ranks -- Sehome won the 3A title in 2005, B-E was third. Don't expect any changes this year, with fellow Northwest team Squalicum and another District 1 team, Lakewood, also likely to contend for hardware. ... While Jackson (3rd last year) dominated his district race, Carlyle, Williams, Whan and Guske had a terrific battle in theirs, with just 13 seconds seperating the four runners.

1A

Time: Noon

2008 champions: Lakeside; Quinton Decker, Port Townsend

Team contenders (state ranking in parentheses): Port Townsend (1); Nooksack Valley (2); Lakeside (3); Seattle Christian (4)

Individuals to watch: Bereket Piatt, jr., Port Townsend; Max LaBerge, sr., Charles Wright; Oliver Bear Don't Walk, jr., Nooksack Valley; Ethan Tonnemaker, jr., Royal

Local qualifiers: Royal team (Ethan Tonnemaker, jr.; Roy Angels, sr.; Jake Buchheim, sr.; Juan Jimenez, fr.; Jesus Peraza, fr.; Tanner Clouse, jr.; Noah Grant, so.; Ryan Lefler, sr.; Larry Martin, jr.); Kiona-Benton team (Leo Alvarez, so.; Kyle Brightman, so.; Cody Norman, sr.; Gabriel Perez, fr.; James Roberts, sr.; Travis Roos, sr.; David Walker, jr.; Clay Wilcox, sr.; Matt Zyph, sr.); Jose Garcia, jr., Connell; Heber Vazquez, sr., Wahluke

Noteworthy: Piatt, a runner-up to his senior teammate last year, has finished close behind some of his bigger-school counterparts in invites, including 3rd behind Schippers in the Fort Worden Invite. ... Tonnemaker, 12th last year, is trying to become the third winner from Royal in 4 years.

2B/1B

Time: 11:30 a.m.

2008 champions: Northwest Christian (Lacey); Jeff Pope, Valley Christian

Team contenders (state ranking in parentheses): Northwest Christian (Lacey) (1); Republic (2); Mount Rainier Lutheran (3); Tri-Cities Prep (4)

Individuals to watch: Justin Holden, jr., NW Christian (Lacey); Lucas Graham, so., NW Christian (Lacey); Nik Michel, sr., Republic

Local qualifiers: Tri-Cities Prep team (Juan Diego Espinoza, jr.; Nick Fong, fr.; Daniel Foust, sr.; John Hylden, fr.; Skyler Larson, fr.; Nick Lumetta, so.; Sanuel Mota-Martinez, sr.; Adam Noorani, so.; Nick Tudor, so.); Waitsburg-Prescott team (Zac Brown, fr.; Nick Carpenter, jr.; Seth Deal, fr.; John Hockersmith, sr.; Matthew Montgomery, jr.; Michael Montgomery, sr.; Josh Smith, sr.); John Talbot, sr., Liberty Christian

Noteworthy: Half of last year's top 10 finishers return, with Holden the odds-on favorite to improve two spots and claim the individual title. ... Reardan has finished 1st or 2nd in 4 of the 5 meets since the 1B/2B race began in 2004.