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Saturday, Oct. 04, 2008

PREP GIRLS' CROSS COUNTRY: Witte's strong season continues with fourth-place finish at Mount Baker Invite

DAVID RASBACH - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
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MAPLE FALLS - The 2008 season is going better than Lynden cross country runner Karla Witte could have hoped.

So good, in fact, that not even a little slip is going to slow her up.

Witte was the top Whatcom County girls' finisher in the Mount Baker Invitational Saturday, Oct. 4, at Silver Lake Park, placing fourth with a time of 19 minutes, 13.14 seconds on the five-kilometer course.

"I was astounded that I finished so well," Witte said. "I just got off to a good start, and that I got behind the girl in third and just figured I would keep up with her."

That strategy helped her beat out Squalicum's Sophie Curl, who finished two places back in sixth in 19:33.18.

Curl helped the Storm grab the team title, as they placed four runners in the top 25 and all six in the top 36. Gylany Crossman (19:54.49) finished 15th, Claire Delbecq (19:56.69) was 16th and Molly Rider (20:11.62) finished 23rd, as the Storm finished with 90 team points, 45 in front of second place King's.

The Knights were led by girls' winner Oliva Thomas' winning run in 19:06.76, which beat out second-place Sarah Reiter of Lindbergh by almost three seconds and third-place Lacey Wagner of Lake Stevens by more than five.

Witte's fourth-place finish, which helped the Lions place 14th as a team, was even more impressive, considering she hit the dirt in the infamous gulley on the Silver Lake course - a steep, two-tiered drop of about a story and an even steeper climb back out that got even more treacherous with the rain Friday night and Saturday morning.

"I'm running cross country - I've got to get a little dirty," joked Witte, examining her dirty palms and uniform from when she slipped running back out of the gully. "It was fun."

Fun is exactly how Witte would describe her junior season.

She's quickly moved to the front of the Lions' lineup along with fellow junior Hannah VanZanten, who finished 34th in 20:36.41. Entering Saturday, Witte had the fifth-fastest time in the Northwest Conference on a five-kilometer course, and she improved upon that mark by about 25 seconds on Saturday.

"I have really been dropping time this year," Witte said. "It's been amazing ... I think it's a combination of lot of things. But most of all it's been because I've been having a lot of fun. I just wanted to go out and have fun running this year."

Despite all that fun, and the improved times, Witte hasn't changed her goals for this season - she still has her sights on getting to state.

"I went last year just to watch, it was so cool," she said. "I want to go back and compete this year."

If she continues to run like she has all season, including Saturday, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Nooksack Valley placed 12th and was led by Bailey DeBruin in 30th place in 20:29.01 and Joanne Tevelde in 32nd in 20:33.10.

Lynden Christian was 32nd and was led by Megan Reardon (22:15.82) in 76th place, while Ferndale placed 24th and was led by Maura Mayock (21:58.87) in 67th and Megan Morrison (22:01.66) in 70th.

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2271.

MOUNT BAKER INVITATIONAL

Saturday at Silver Lake Park

5 km

Team points: 1. Squalicum 90, 2. King's 135, 3. Lakewood 143, 4. Stanwood 160, 5. Arlington 201, 6. Roosevelt 239, 7. Kamiak 262, 8. West Valley 269, 9. Lake Stevens 285, 10. Mount Vernon 296, 11. North Shore 307, 12. Nooksack Valley 326, 13. Oak Harbor 326, 14. Lynden 332, 15. Sedro-Woolley 349, 16. Ontario Christian 368, 17. Burlington-Edison 385, 18. Lindbergh 390, 19. Mount Rainier 453, 20. Omak 464, 21. University Prep 476, 22. Lynden Christian 542, 23. Lynnwood 547, 24. Ferndale 564.

Individual top finishers: 1. Olivia Thomas (King's) 19:06.76; 2. Sarah Reiter (Lindbergh) 19:09.75; 3. Lacy Wagner (Lake Stevens) 19:11.97; 4. Karla Witte (Lynden) 19:13.14; 5. Krystal Hughes (West Valley) 19:26.91; 6. Sophie Curl (Squalicum) 19:33.18; 7. Lucy Cheadle (Roosevelt) 19:33.95; 8. Jad Borseth (Stanwood) 19:34.77; 9. Nataha Verma (Stanwood) 19:36.19; 10. Shelly Davis (Kamiak) 19:37.84.

Squalicum: 6. Sophie Curl 19:33.18; 15. Gylany Crossman 19:54.49; 16. Claire Delbecq 19:56.69; 23. Molly Rider 20:11.62; 33. Tyler Franzen 20:34.67; 36. Abby Ludeman 20:34.67.

Nooksack Valley: 30. Bailey DeBruin 20:29.01; 32. Joanne Tevelde 20:33.10, 92. Jordan Harvey 22:52.13, 93. Lynzee Davis 22:52.86; 95. Brittany VanDyken 22:56.97; 117. Kristie Johnson 23:36.51; 153. Alicia deBont 25:39.74.

Lynden: 4. Karla Witte 19:13.14; 34. Hannah VanZanten 20:36.41; 88. Leah Korthuis 22:43.25; 105. Amber Stokes 23:22.76; 121. Miriam Workentin 23:45.23; 148. Kashia Harriman 25:04.57.

Lynden Christian: 76. Megan Reardon 22:15.82; 111. Kelsey Vander Veen 23:31.92; 118. Carrie Beamer 23:36.82; 127 Lauren Visser 24:03.89; 142. Mia Unrein 24:35.68.

Ferndale: 57. Maura Mayock 21:58.87; 70. Megan Morrison 22:01.66; 145. Sabrina Delzell 24:43.50; 155. Lauren Mittelstaedt 25:48.03; 157. Alli Chapin 25:57.67; 160. Elysee Ledford 26:48. 71; 162. Cindy Smathers 28:11.79; 163. Sarah Mittelstaedt, 30:22.78; 164. Monica Dorman 32:05.00.

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