Bellingham freshman earns girls’ NWC title
Whatcom County’s cross country scene should get used to hearing Bellingham freshman Annika Reiss’ name.
Those who’ve raced against her know of the Red Raiders’ standout freshman, but during the Northwest Conference Championships Reiss showed the entire league what she’s capable of.
Trailing Nooksack Valley decorated senior Amy Jo Murphy with 200 meters left, Reiss found another gear and sped past Murphy to clinch an individual NWC title Thursday, Oct. 22, at Civic Stadium.
And Reiss is hoping to make winning league titles a habit.
“It’s special to be doing this as a freshman,” said Reiss, who won her third race this season, “and I hope to continue it all four years.”
Reiss finished the 5,000-meter run in 18 minutes, 12 seconds; Murphy finished in 18:18; Sehome’s Abby Johnson took third with a run of 18:34; Mount Baker’s Natalie Smith finished fourth with a 19:13 and Anacortes’ Heather Hanson rounded out the girls’ top five with a time of 19:18.
Reiss employed her plan of staying behind Murphy to ensure she didn’t get out too fast, and at the end she had just enough energy to pick off the Nooksack Valley standout.
“I play soccer and so sprinting really helps me in cross country,” Reiss said. “I didn’t know if I could win, but I just tried my best and ran my best.”
Reiss offered Bellingham a major race highlight, but the championships belonged to Sehome, as the Mariners again displayed their NWC cross country monopoly.
Five boys (Colton Johnsen, Riley Allsop, Bryce Johnson, Sam Gillman and Logan Franey) and four girls (Abby Johnson, Kate Rose, Dana Ringler and Maya Smith) finished within the top 10 in their respective races to lead Sehome to team titles in dominating fashion.
The Sehome boys finished with 31 points followed by Burlington-Edison (90 points), Bellingham (101), Anacortes (131) and Meridian (175). The Sehome girls captured its title with 39 points and were followed by Anacortes (69 points), Bellingham (89), Meridian (114) and Lynden Christian (129).
Anacortes’ Dylan Holland cruised to a win in the boys’ race, leaving little drama, but Colton Johnson edged Ferndale’s Roberto Aguilera late for a second-place finish.
“They went out really quick, so I kind of sat behind them and then I tried to catch up after the first mile,” said Johnson, who finished with a time of 15:36 — 9 seconds behind Holland. “I was just trying to catch people and get as high as a place as I could for the team.”
Aguilera took third with a time of 15:43, Allsop took fourth with a 15:56 and Anacortes’ James Parker rounded out the boys’ top five with a 16:04.
Reach Andrew Lang at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com. Call 360-756-2862. Twitter: @andyde44
Boys NWC Championships At Civic Stadium
5,000 meters
Team scores: Sehome 31, Burlington-Edison 90, Bellingham 101, Anacortes 131, Meridian 175, Lynden Christian 192, Ferndale 209, Sedro-Woolley 219, Squalicum 230, Nooksack Valley 243, Blaine 256, Mount Baker 284, Lynden 316.
Top finishers: 1. Dylan Holland (Ana) 15:27; 2. Colten Johnsen (Seh) 15:36; 3. Roberto Aguilera (Fern) 15:43; 4. Riley Allsop (Seh) 15:56; 5. James Parker (Ana) 16:04.
Sehome: 1. Colten Johnsen 15:36; 2. Riley Allsop 15:56; 3. Bryce Johnson 16:12; 4. Sam Gillman 16:16; 5. Logan Franey 16:23.
Bellingham: 1. Cade Brown 16:06; 2. Nicholas Leishman 16:38; 3. Ty Veldhuisen 16:55; 4. Timothy Crabtree 17:26; 5. Keenan Knuuttila 17:30.
Meridian: 1. Kenny Barnes 16:55; 2. Derek Holz 17:20; 3. McKay Ross 17:49; 4. Nathan Schneider 17:53; 5. Bailey Hodge 17:55.
Lynden Christian: 1. Eric Steiger 16:22; 2. Josh Lingbloom 16:43; 3. Brooks DeWaard 17:07; 4. David Martin 18:39; 5. Andrew Ward 19:03.
Ferndale: 1. Roberto Aguilera 15:43; 2. Jacob Ramirez 17:34; 3. Matthew Steiber 17:59; 4. Cole Bergquist 18:32; 5. Zach Sulak 18:33.
Squalicum: 1. Tan Tomberlin 17:09; 2. Curt Peila 17:54; 3. Kevin Young 17:54; 4. Finnigan Banks 18:25; 5. Gabe Regimbal 18:26.
Nooksack Valley: 1. Conner Jones 16:47; 2. Caleb Karber 18:04; 3. Valentin Villalobos 18:11; 4. Colton Starbuck 18:30; 5. Zach Harvey 18:33.
Blaine: 1. Parker Morris 16:50; 2. Dylan Grimme 17:23; 3. Zach Oakley 17:55; 4. Greg Arps 18:59; 5. Spenser Dodge 19:27.
Mount Baker: 1. Zak Kelly 17:13; 2. Keenan Gray 17:50; 3. Kameron Kelly 18:36; 4. Mitchell Pelzer 18:53; 5. Caleb Forbes 19:17.
Lynden: 1. Jacob Heeringa 17:39; 2. Luke Wolfisberg 18:37; 3. Frederick Moormeier 18:41; 4. Nick Kildall 18:44; 5. Josiah Diacogiannis 18:57.
Girls NWC Championships At Civic Stadium
5,000 meters
Team scores: Sehome 39, Anacortes 69, Bellingham 89, Meridian 114, Lynden Christian 129, Nooksack Valley 142, Mount Baker 190, Sedro-Woolley 200, Squalicum 209, Burlington-Edison 247
Top finishers: 1. Annika Reiss (Bellingham) 18:12; 2. Amy Jo Murphy (Nooksack Valley) 18:18; 3. Abby Johnson (Sehome) 18:34; 4. Natalie Smith (Mount Baker) 19:13; 5. Heather Hanson (Anacortes) 19:18.
Sehome: 1. Abby Johnson 18:34; 2. Kate Rose 19:27; 3. Dana Ringler 19:48; 4. Maya Smith 19:49; 5. Emma Hageman 19:49.
Bellingham: 1. Annika Reiss 18:12; 2. Grace Much 19:58; 3. Rosie Thompson 20:08; 4. Haleh Mawson 20:30; 5. Lizzie Hanks 21:18.
Meridian: 1. Ashlee VanDenTop 19:33; 2. Dena Andrushenko 20:12; 3. Mimi Meggison 20:18; 4. Kendyl Otter 20:49; 5. Makenna Holz 21:40.
Lynden Christian: 1. Sarah Ball 20:06; 2. Brianna Bruneau 20:32; 3. Taylor Ten Pas 20:37; 4. Brandy Bruneau 20:45; 5. Brooke Berendsen 21:05.
Nooksack Valley: 1. Amy Jo Murphy 18:18; 2. Alyce Harlan 20:27; 3. Pearl Morris 20:38; 4. Michaela Yonkman 22:03; 5. Jessica Jose 22:24.
Mount Baker: 1. Natalie Smith 19:13; 2. Kaitlyn Stapp 21:46; 3. Haley Rollins 22:01; 4. Katherine Dunford 22:24; 5. Cali Loeb 23:17.
Squalicum: 1. Grace Oswin 20:07; 2. Abby Koenig 21:34; 3. Katie Ford 22:07; 4. Sophia Regimbal 22:32; 5. Hailey Linville 24:01.
This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 8:18 PM with the headline "Bellingham freshman earns girls’ NWC title."