Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

PREP GIRLS' CROSS COUNTRY: Moore, Mariners ready to take another shot at titles

The Sehome girls' cross country team has an opportunity to make a little history on Saturday, Nov. 7.

If the Mariners can claim the Class 2A state championship at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, it would be their fourth straight team title. Even though four boys' programs have won four or more consecutive titles, Sehome would become only the second girls' team, regardless of classification, to do so. Spokane East Valley, which won AA titles in 1994-96 and a Class 3A title in 1997, is the only girls' team to win four straight so far.

"It means quite a bit to these girls," Sehome coach Kevin Ryan said in a phone interview. "To tie the record for the most girls' team titles would be quite an accomplishment. To already have won three straight is a pretty big accomplishment."

Sehome already is one of 14 girls' teams to claim three straight, but the Mariners would love to add their name to that elite group, along with the Knights.

Not surprisingly, the Mariners once again will lean on the runner who has been their leader through the first three state titles - senior Annie Moore.

"Winning four would not just be big for this program, it would be big for the entire community," Moore said. "It hasn't just been four years. The program started picking up popularity in the 90s. If we can win four straight, it would be for everyone who has ever been involved with Sehome cross country."

If Sehome can win the team title, Moore would become only the third girls' runner to be a part of team cross country titles all four years of her high school career, joining East Valley's Cara Smith and Anne Marie Adams.

Smith and Adams combined to have only one top-10 finish individually during their four-year string of team titles, while Moore already has three in her first three attempts, finishing third as a freshman, second as a sophomore and ninth last year.

"Annie has put forth an expectation of success for this program," Ryan said. "There's an expectation for hard work. Even though she's one of the most talented kids to come through this program, she's also one of the hardest workers to come through. She realizes that talent can only take you so far, and you need to have the discipline to put the work in to succeed."

Despite all the success she's had, there's one title that Moore has yet to claim that she desperately wants - individual state champion.

Moore finished only 33 seconds out of first place in 2006, despite the pressures of being a No. 1 runner as a freshman.

"I was pretty much in a daze because I was just a little one," Moore said. "Hannah O'Neal and Hannah McKenzie did a great job of keeping me calm and focused and letting me know what I needed to do. It just kind of turned into something more from there."

In 2007, Moore was only 32 seconds behind race winner Ruby Roberts of Kingston.

She openly talked about her desire to go for the state title throughout her junior season after a strong summer of workouts, but things didn't go her way in Pasco. The lead pack caught and passed her, and she ended up ninth and wasn't even the top Sehome runner for the first time - sixth-place Mimi Krieger took those honors.

"Last year, her goal was winning it all," Ryan said. "Things just didn't go right, and she started to fade a bit. But she rallied back and finished strong that last half mile to secure a top-10 finish to enable us to win the team title. If she hadn't done that, we probably wouldn't have won the championship. I think it showed a lot of toughness on her part to rally like that when her individual goals didn't work out the way she wanted. She kept the team in mind and did her best."

Things really haven't gone her way during much of her senior season, either, as Moore has suffered through illness and a bout with Plantar Fasciitis - an injury to the bottom of her foot that also has caused her some pain in the back of her lower leg. So far, she's been limited to competing in only four meets, and she's had to do many of her workouts in the pool to allow her body a chance to heal and keep in running shape.

Despite all the hardships, she's obviously still capable of turning in top results.

She finished third at the Oct. 22 Northwest Conference Championships at Civic Stadium with a time of 18 minutes, 52.77 seconds - the fifth fastest time in 2A so far this season. She then finished second at the 2A Northwest District Meet last weekend at South Whidbey in 19:24.57.

"It's definitely been hard so far this season," Moore said. "I have a new understanding of the frustration and being able to handle the pressure. I'm glad it happened before college, because I know I wouldn't have the support system that I do now if I was away in college. The people close to me have given me a lot of support and kept me from giving up. I have a sold team behind me, and that makes it much more comfortable. It inspires me even more."

Ryan believes the physical and mental struggles Moore has been through this year while waiting for her chance to compete may have taught her something valuable that she'll be able to use in Saturday's race - patience.

"She never had patience before," Ryan said. "We've been working on it with her, and she's had to learn it this year. We want her to run to her strengths and let the race develop. She needs to put herself in good position for that last half mile to make a run at it and see what happens."

Roberts and Krieger have the top two times in the state so far this season, while Kingston's Marina Roberts and Ephrata's Danielle Friend also rank in the top five. Ryan called picking a favorite to win a "crapshoot."

"I obviously don't have that many races under my belt this year," Moore said. "I'm going to run conservatively and smart, which I'm not necessarily known for, and see where that puts me ... I'm just going to run as hard as my body will let me. If that puts me in the top 10 again, I would be ecstatic. I just want to run the best I can to help the team."

Even though Sehome has two runners ranked in the top five in Krieger and Moore and two others in the top 25 with Jaden Duffy and Katie Delahunt, a fourth straight team title isn't a foregone conclusion, either.

Cedar crest, which finished second to Sehome last year by only six points, returns everybody from last year's team. The Red Wolves also beat Sehome at last week's district meet, but Krieger did not run because of illness.

"We have the ability to win it," Ryan said. "I think we win it if we run our best race. Cedar crest is definitely very good with all their runners back, but I think our top three are tough to beat. If our four and five runners runs a good race, then we can do it."

Regardless of what happens Saturday in the team and individual races, Ryan says Moore's place as not only one of the top athletes in Whatcom County history, but also one of the best runners in the state, already is assured.

"I think she's already one of the best athletes to come out of this county," Ryan said. "If she can lead the team to the fourth title it would be something special. The only other teams to have done that locally are Sehome gymnastics (which won 20 titles in 21 years from 1973-93) and Bellingham golf (which won six straight girls' titles from 2002-07) ... Winning a fourth title would put her name in the prep history record book. I think it would put her up there as one of the most successful runners in the history of the sport in the state. I think she's already there."

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

STATE CROSS COUNTRY

When: Saturday, Nov. 7

Site: Sun Willows Golf Course, Pasco

TIME SCHEDULE

1A girls: 10:30 a.m.

2A girls: 11 a.m.

1A boys: Noon

3A girls: 12:30 p.m.

2A boys: 1:30 p.m.

3A boys: 2 p.m.

HEADING TO STATE

Whatcom Country runners that will be participating in Saturday State Cross Country Championships (runner with team entries are based on entries at last week's district meets):

CLASS 3A BOYS

FERNDALE Yr.

Lee George Sr.

CLASS 3A GIRLS

FERNDALE Yr.

Megan Morrison Jr.

CLASS 2A BOYS

BELLINGHAM Yr.

Nick Lobb Jr.

Andrew Ryder Sr.

BLAINE Yr.

Tom Bradley Fr.

MOUNT BAKER Yr.

Connor Williams Sr.

Dillon Quintana Fr.

SEHOME Yr.

Scott Carlyle Jr.

Eric Schneider Sr.

Kyle Szegedi Jr.

Calvin Collander Jr.

Nate Wilson Sr.

Chase Mauro So.

Galen O'Moore Sr.

SQUALICUM Yr.

Danny Gibson Sr.

Kole DeGolier Sr.

Patrick Gibson Fr.

Jesse Runestrand Jr.

Ian Palmgren Sr.

Kyler Reed Fr.

Hunter Bennett Sr.

CLASS 2A GIRLS

BELLINGHAM Yr.

Molly Leischner So.

Allie Reynolds Jr.

Kelsey Thomas Sr.

Bekah Jensen Fr.

Clara Reid So.

Cory Brown Jr.

Breck Smith Jr.

BLAINE Yr.

Kiersten Sigfusson So.

LYNDEN Yr.

Hannah VanZanten Sr.

SEHOME Yr.

Annie Moore Sr.

Jaden Duffy So.

Katie Delahunt Jr.

Natalie Anderson Fr.

Christy Sanford So.

Mahina Kaholokula So.

Meagan McIntyre Fr.

Mimi Krieger* Jr.

SQUALICUM Yr.

Molly Rider So.

Brittany Gappa Fr.

CLASS 1A BOYS

LYNDEN CHRISTIAN Yr.

Jacob Hollander Jr.

Chris VandenBos Sr.

Zach Crenshaw Sr.

Tyler Reardon Fr.

Luke Blok Jr.

Hunter Weinert Fr.

Josh Scholten Sr.

MERIDIAN Yr.

Sam Ryan Jr.

Evan Lee Sr.

Marco Zamora Jr.

Paris Spiedel Fr.

Kelby Todd Fr.

Joel Wiebe Sr.

Justin Burgess So.

NOOKSACK VALLEY Yr.

Oliver Bear Don't Walk Jr.

Mitch Beard So.

Jarrod Birkett Sr.

Connor Jackson Sr.

Forest Crouse Fr.

Jordan VanDyken Sr.

Trevor Parsons Jr.

CLASS 1A GIRLS

LYNDEN CHRISTIAN Yr.

Emily Visser Fr.

MERIDIAN Yr.

Jayna Edmonds Fr.

Jill Crandall Jr.

Hannah Hoyt Jr.

Jessica Hofbauer Sr.

Rachel Hofbauer Fr.

Marina Mendoza Jr.

Lauren Kilday So.

NOOKSACK VALLEY Yr.

Bailey DeBruin Sr.

Carina Esquivel Fr.

Jordan Harvey So.

Natalie Vandeist Fr.

Brittany Van Dyken Jr.

Lynzee Davis Jr.

Jasmine Duque Fr.

*Did not run at district meet, but expected to compete at state meet.