ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

EMILY PITTIS

School: Sehome

Year: Sophomore

What she did: Won a second straight Class 2A state title with a season-best time of 18 minutes, 17.7 seconds ... Also won Northwest Conference (18:25.81) and 2A Northwest District (18:37.7) titles ... Helped the Mariners reclaim the 2A state team title and win NWC and district crowns ... Served as a mentor to a talented freshman class at Sehome ... Finished 14th at the Nike Pre-Nationals in 18:34.2 ... Selected All-NWC MVP by the league's coaches.

FIRST TEAM

JESSA CLARK

School: Sehome

Year: Sophomore

What she did: Finished 23rd at the 2A State Championships in 19 minutes, 55.2 seconds in her first trip to state ... Helped the Mariners reclaim the 2A state team title and win NWC and district crowns ... Finished 14th at the NWC Championships in a personal-best 19:39.37 and 13th at the 2A Northwest District meet in 19:55.4 ... Selected second-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

ABBY CYBULA

School: Sehome

Year: Junior

What she did: Placed 11th at the 2A State Championships in a personal-best 19 minutes, 32.8 seconds, improving by 64 positions where she finished as a sophomore ... Helped the Mariners reclaim the 2A state team title and win NWC and district crowns ... Finished 25th at the Northwest Conference Championships in 20:18.91 and fifth at the 2A Northwest District meet in 20:04.3 ... Selected first-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

BRITTANY GAPPA

School: Squalicum

Year: Senior

What she did: Finished fifth at the 2A State Championships in 18 minutes, 51.4 seconds to record her third straight top-five finish and finish in the top 10 all four years ... Missed the Northwest Conference Championships because of illness, but still finished second at the 2A Northwest District meet in 18:58.8 ... Won all four NWC regular-season meets she ran and placed second at the South Whidbey Invite ... Selected first-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

KATE HANNAH

School: Sehome

Year: Senior

What she did: Finished 21st at the 2A State Championships in 19 minutes, 53.2 seconds ... Served as a senior leader on a young Sehome squad ...

Helped the Mariners reclaim the 2A state team title and win NWC and district crowns ... Placed seventh at the Northwest Conference Championships (season-best 19:26.05) and eighth at the 2A Northwest District meet (19:48.6) ... Selected first-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

BEKAH JENSEN

School: Bellingham

Year: Senior

What she did: Finished 22nd at the 2A State Championships in 19 minutes, 53.5 seconds ... Helped the Red Raiders finish second overall as a team - their highest finish since 2007 ... Placed ninth at the Northwest Conference Championships in a personal-best 19:29.59 and ninth at the 2A Northwest District meet in 19:50.3 ... Had four top-six finishes in regular-season NWC meets ... Selected first-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

MIMI MEGGISON

School: Meridian

Year: Freshman

What she did: Placed eighth at the Class 1A State Championships in 19 minutes, 36.1 seconds ... With a strong running resume, assumed the top spot for the Trojans as only a freshman ... Helped Meridian place fourth as a team at state ... Finished second at the Northwest Conference Championships (18:40.29) and fourth at the 1A tri-district meet (19:19.6) ... Selected first-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

REBEKAH OVIATT

School: Sehome

Year: Freshman

What she did: Placed ninth at the 2A State Championships in 19 minutes, 22.5 seconds ... Quickly assumed the No. 2 spot in Sehome's lineup as only a freshman ... Helped the Mariners reclaim the 2A state team title and win NWC and district crowns ... Placed third at the Northwest Conference Championships (personal-best 18:45.49) and fourth at the 2A Northwest District meet (19:21.0) ... Selected first-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

DANA RINGLER

School: Sehome

Year: Freshman

What she did: Placed 13th at the 2A State Championships in 19 minutes, 34.7 seconds ... Helped the Mariners reclaim the 2A state team title and win NWC and district crowns ... Finished 10th at the Northwest Conference Championships in a personal-best 19:29.87 seconds ... Stepped up to become a solid scoring runner for the Mariners as only a freshman ... Selected first-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

ZANNA SULLIVAN

School: Sehome

Year: Freshman

What she did: Finished 19th at the 2A State Championships in 19 minutes, 47.3 seconds ... Quickly became a key contributor for Sehome as only a freshman ... Helped the Mariners reclaim the 2A state team title and win NWC and district crowns ... Placed fifth at the Northwest Conference Championships (personal-best 19:11.15) and fifth at the 2A Northwest District meet (19:31.7) ... Selected first-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

LEAH VELDHUISEN

School: Bellingham

Year: Sophomore

What she did: Finished 36th at the 2A State Championships in 20 minutes, 9.3 seconds, improving 20 positions over where she finished as a freshman ... Helped the Red Raiders finish second overall as a team - their highest finish since 2007 ... Finished 12th at the Northwest Conference Championships (personal-best 19:38.48) and 19th at the 2A Northwest District meet (20:13.5) ... Selected second-team All-NWC by league's coaches.

CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR

MARK KERR AND KEVIN RYAN

School: Sehome

What they did: Coached a varsity team with three freshmen and two sophomores to a Class 2A state championship - the team's sixth in seven years ... Also led the boys' team to a team championship ... Led boys' and girls' teams to Northwest Conference and 2A Northwest District titles.

HONORABLE MENTION

Runner Yr. School

Jillian Anderson Fr. Ferndale

Natalie Anderson Sr. Sehome

Nicole Burbank Jr. Bellingham

Jessa Clark So. Sehome

Jayna Edmonds Sr. Meridian

Sydney Gray Sr. Meridian

Rachael Hatcher Sr. Mount Baker

Lindsay Hodgson Sr. Sehome

Sarah Huffman Jr. Sehome

Makalee Latta Sr. Ferndale

Kelsie Nern Jr. Mount Baker

Clara Prentis Jr. Bellingham

Maya Norton Jr. Bellingham

Abby Walker So. Bellingham

Katie Walker Sr. Bellingham

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