Having talented freshmen come into the program is nothing new for the Sehome girls' cross country team.

You only have to look back one year to Emily Pittis, who came in and ended up winning the 2A individual state title. And runners like Sarah Huffman, Natalie Anderson, Mimi Krieger, Annie Moore and Lauren Bruce all had a hand in Sehome's string of five-straight team state titles, which ended with a second-place finish last year, during their freshman seasons.

But this year is different. It's not just one freshman runner making an impact - it's a whole class of them.

Along with Pittis, who is now a sophomore, Sehome co-coaches Kevin Ryan and Mark Kerr plan to use three freshmen among the seven girls' runners they start for the 2A State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 3, at Pasco - Rebekah Oviatt, Dana Ringler and Zanna Sullivan.

And the truth of the matter is that is just the tip of the iceberg - fellow Sehome freshmen Lizzie Friesen, Devin Grahn, Maya Iddins, Aili Emory and Maria Fairchild all ran times that ranked among the top 60 in the Northwest Conference this year.

"For us, we've never had the depth of freshmen we have this year," Ryan said in a phone interview. "If we ran seven freshmen at state, we'd be a trophy team. When you add the depth to the depth we already had, it's really quite amazing."

It's also kind of scary to think about what the future holds, as Sehome enters as the favorite to reclaim its spot atop the 2A girls' race on Saturday.

"I'm pretty excited to be a part of it all," Ringler said in a phone interview. "I'm pretty nervous, too. This is my first time in a big state race like this."

But Kerr and Ryan aren't worried about the situation Saturday being too big for any of the three freshmen they will start.

All three are already battle tested, having run in a number of big meets throughout the season, including the Nike Pre Nationals Sept. 29 in Portland, Ore., when all three placed among the top 80 in a varsity race that included many of the region's best runners.

"We've worked with them throughout the season to prepare them for this," Kerr said in a phone interview. "They're just going to follow each other like it was another day of practice."

Oviatt and Sullivan also have experience running in even bigger meets than state, including the National Junior Olympics, in their previous experience training with local running clubs.

"Competing in the Junior Olympics, sometimes it is really intense," said Oviatt, who trains with her father and former Squalicum cross country coach, Peter Oviatt, as part of the Whatcom Tesseract club. "There are a lot of girls that are really fast, and they've all worked just as hard as I have to get to that point. But it's rewarding to run in big races and see how you compare to other people.

"That's what I'm looking forward to at state. It will be different, though. We'll be racing with people older than us. In the Junior Olympics, it's all age group, so the most they're older than you is one year."

The growth of the running clubs has certainly played a role in the increased impact younger runners have been having, not just at Sehome, but throughout the county. Ryan said the development of the middle school running programs in the county also has made a big difference.

But a little luck doesn't hurt either.

"We've just been really fortunate these last few years," Kerr said. "Every once in a while, you just have a string of great athletes come into a program. I think you saw that with the Mount Baker girls about a decade back. They had a cohort of great runners come into their program, and as a result, they had a lot of success for a number of years."

Where Sehome has excelled, though, is bringing its younger runners along and making them feel like a part of the program right away while at the same time not frustrating more veteran runners who might have expected to have varsity spots locked up.

"I would have thought they'd be really unhappy to see us come in," Oviatt said. "But if they are, they're not showing it at all. They've all been really supportive of the freshmen on the team. They're all focused on having the strongest team possible, even if they're not on it at state. They've all been really sweet, and I haven't felt anything negative from them."

Perhaps nobody has been more helpful than Pittis, who went through everything this year's freshman class is going through, just a year ago.

"I knew Emily pretty well coming in," Ringler said. "We grew up a few blocks away from each other, and we always used to hang out and just run around - we were really high-energy kids. ... It's been really awesome to have her to get advice from and to have there to ask about how to prepare for races and have her there checking in on me during races and afterwards."

And with that help and support, there's little doubt that the talented freshman class is thriving.

Oviatt has been a solid No. 2 behind Pittis most of the season. She finished third at the NWC Championships (season-best 18 minutes, 45.49 seconds) and fourth at the 2A Northwest District meet (19:21.0).

"She is an extremely experienced runner and a really smart runner," Ryan said. "She's disciplined and runs beyond her years. ... She's been around the sport her entire life, and nothing rattles her."

Like Oviatt, Sullivan comes from a running family, and that experience has served her well this year, as she has often been the Mariners' third finisher. She finished fifth at the NWC Championships (season-best 19:11.15) and fifth at the district meet last week (19:31.7).

"She's been running her whole life, and you know she's been pretty good at it," Ryan said. "It's been neat to watch her blossom having a good team and other good freshmen around her. You see her experience and determination. She runs really smart and progressive. She runs with a lot of heart, because running is so important to her."

Though the Mariners expected big things out of Oviatt and Sullivan coming in, Ringler has been a little bit of a surprise. Though she ran in middle school, she hasn't been a part of the clubs like Oviatt and Sullivan. She finished 10th at the NWC Championships in a season-best 19:29.87, but didn't run at the district meet to ensure she was as healthy as possible for state.

"We knew she was a good runner, but we've been pleasantly surprised by the way she's come in and made an impact," Ryan said. "We knew she had great speed, but we didn't know it would translate so well to the longer distances. She also has something you can't teach kids - guts and determination. The last half of a race, she is nails. ... Nothing can faze her."

Like they have throughout the year, the trio expects to lean on each other for support on Saturday.

"It's been great going through this all with all the other freshmen," Sullivan said. "We all get along well, because we're all the same age. We've all been in the boat, getting used to high school and stuff, and I'm sure we'll help each other out at state."

In fact, they'll likely be helping each other out for the rest of their high school careers.

"I think it's really exciting," Oviatt said. "I'm really looking forward to what it's like in the future as we grow up and progress as runners and people."

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 360-715-2286.

STATE CROSS COUNTRY

When: Saturday, Nov. 3

Site: Sun Willows Golf Course, Pasco

Class 1A girls: 10:30 a.m.

Class 2A girls: 11 a.m.

Class 1A boys: Noon

Class 2A boys: 1:30 p.m.

Class 3A boys: 2 p.m.

WHATCOM COUNTY STATE QUALFIERS

1A GIRLS

Runner Yr. Qual. Time School

Mimi Meggison Fr. 19:19.6 Meridian

Rachael Hatcher Sr. 19:56.3 Mt. Baker

Jayna Edmonds Sr. 20:23.8 Meridian

Kelsie Nern Jr. 20:24.5 Mt. Baker

Sydney Gray Sr. 20:26.3 Meridian

Marissa Hielkema Jr. 20:31.7 Lynden Christian

McKenzie Roque Jr. 20:39.8 Meridian

Amy Murphy Fr. 20:50.3 Nooksack Valley

McKenzie Young So. 21:16.5 Lynden Christian

Sarah Ball Fr. 21:26.3 Lynden Christian

Brianna Rutgers So. 21:30.5 Lynden Christian

Julia Morris So. 21:41.7 Lynden Christian

Arissa Alvarez Sr. 22:36.8 Meridian

Ally Visser Fr. 22:38.1 Lynden Christian

Tiana Pratt So. 22:58.2 Meridian

Emily Visser Sr. 23:41.8 Lynden Christian

Katie Edmonds So. 23:54.6 Meridian

NOTE: Lynden Christian and Meridian qualified as teams. Lineups subject to change.

2A GIRLS

Runner Yr. Qual. Time School

Emily Pittis So. 18:37.7 Sehome

Brittany Gappa Sr. 18:58.8 Squalicum

Rebekah Oviatt Fr. 19:21.0 Sehome

Zanna Sullivan Fr. 19:31.7 Sehome

Kate Hannah Sr. 19:48.6 Sehome

Bekah Jensen Sr. 19:50.3 Bellingham

Jessa Clark So. 19:55.4 Sehome

Abby Cybula Jr. 20:04.3 Sehome

Maya Norton Jr. 20:13.4 Bellingham

Leah Veldhuisen So. 20:13.5 Bellingham

Nicole Burbank Jr. 20:17.3 Bellingham

Katie Walker Sr. 20:17.6 Bellingham

Abby Walker So. 20:23.3 Bellingham

Clara Prentiss Jr. 20:45.5 Bellingham

Sarah Huffman Jr. 20:48.4 Sehome

NOTE: Belingham and Sehome qualified as teams. Lineups subject to change.

1A BOYS

Runner Yr. Qual. Time School

Tom Bradley Sr. 16:02.1 Blaine

Dillon Quintana Sr. 16:07.5 Mt. Baker

Cody Velthuizen Sr. 16:46.6 Lynden Christian

Kelby Todd Sr. 16:48.9 Meridian

Collin Magnusson So. 17:04.5 Meridian

Eddie Fontes Sr. 17:09.5 Blaine

David Anderson Jr. 17:15.7 Meridian

Shelby Miles Jr. 17:16.1 Mt. Baker

Weston Whitener Sr. 17:17.0 Lynden Christian

Hunter Weinert Sr. 17:33.6 Lynden Christian

Jon Wiley So. 17:36.7 Lynden Christian

Davis Phillips Jr. 17:47.6 Meridian

Tyler Reardon Sr. 17:58.2 Lynden Christian

Danny Thorpe Sr. 18:07.8 Blaine

Connor Blok Jr. 18:11.1 Lynden Christian

Rico Martinez Fr. 18:20.3 Meridian

David Shapiro Jr. 18:32.1 Blaine

Parker Morris Fr. 18:32.9 Blaine

Derek Morrow So. 18:35.3 Meridian

Dylan Blok Jr. 18:39.3 Lynden Christian

John Cochran Jr. 18:53.0 Blaine

Jay Crandall Sr. 18:57.9 Meridian

Christian Sharp Jr. 19:18.8 Blaine

NOTE: Lynden Christian, Meridian and Blaine qualified as teams. Lineups subject to change.

2A BOYS

Runner Yr. Qual. Time School

Patrick Gibson Sr. 15:41.6 Squalicum

Conner Johnsen Sr. 15:58.2 Sehome

Reed Henderson Sr. 16:04.5 Sehome

Chris Fredlund Jr. 16:09.1 Squalicum

Kirby Overman So. 16:17.9 Sehome

Brian Chmelik Jr. 16:22.1 Bellingham

Joe Charbonneau Sr. 16:23.0 Bellingham

Liam Toney Sr. 16:29.9 Sehome

Nick Gallaher Jr. 16:34.6 Squalicum

Simon Maguire Jr. 16:43.3 Bellingham

Paris Speidel Sr. 16:54.5 Bellingham

Nolan Jones So. 16:55.0 Sehome

Dylan Dubuque Sr. 16:56.7 Squalicum

Jamie Sayegh Jr. 17:07.1 Bellingham

Jacob Stahl Jr. 17:11.5 Bellingham

Nathan LeTavec Jr. 17:11.7 Sehome

Jared Radtke Jr. 17:12.2 Squalicum

Peter Finfrock Sr. 17:25.6 Sehome

Dillon Rinauro So. 17:32.1 Squalicum

North Bennett Jr. 17:36.7 Squalicum

Rowan Chappell Sr. 18:05.7 Bellingham

NOTE: Belingham, Sehome and Squalicum qualified as teams. Lineups subject to change.

3A BOYS

Runner Yr. Qual. Time School

Connor Jungkuntz Sr. 16:05.9 Ferndale

Logan Jungkuntz Sr. 16:28.0 Ferndale

Joshua DeVenere Sr. 16:57.0 Ferndale

Reach DAVID RASBACH at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2271.