Late race push leads Sehome to 2A boys’ cross country state title

On the course, it’s seemed like Sehome seniors Colton Johnsen and Riley Allsop have never been far apart over the past three boys’ cross country seasons.

Where one goes, the other is sure to be close by.

In 2013, Allsop finished 24th at the Class 2A State Championships, and Johnsen was two spots behind. Last year it was Johnsen who finished 15th, with Allsop just two spots back. Even at last week’s 2A Northwest District race, Allsop claimed fourth and Johnsen was fifth.

It’s almost like they’re joined at the hip.

And with time winding down in the 2015 state championship race Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, the duo found themselves together again but in 10th place with just 800 meters remaining.

“That’s when we turned on the gas and just went through it,” Allsop said, referring to the runners ahead of them in the lead pack.

Allsop made his move and, not surprisingly, took Johnsen along with him, as the two chased down leader Dylan Holland. Johnsen actually edged ahead of Holland with about 50 meters to go, but the Anacortes senior pushed back into the lead at the line to win with a time of 15 minutes, 36.2 seconds — 0.6 seconds faster than Johnsen’s time of 15:36.8. Allsop was less than a second back in third in 15:37.7.

“I tried to pass him there at the finish,” Johnsen said of the final battle. “I even got a little past him. I just didn’t have enough to hold on. I’m still happy because I gave it my all.”

Adding to the enjoyment for Johnsen and Allsop was the fact that the Mariners locked up their fourth straight 2A team state title, their fifth in sixth seasons and the seventh in program history — all of which have come in the past 11 years. Sehome had all five scoring runners finish among the top 25 overall to score just 55 points and beat out second-place Issaquah Liberty’s 112.

The title was the 16th boys’ or girls’ team championship Sehome has claimed, tying it with Mead for the most in state history.

“This program is great,” said Johnsen, who has been a part of state championship teams each of his four years at Sehome. “The seniors when I came in treated us well and made sure it was a fun time for everyone. Everybody was so welcoming, and that’s why people keep turning out.”

And with runners still turning out in droves, the Mariners were able to continue a dynasty this year.

Even though Sehome has won a number of state titles recently, the thing that made 2015 different was it was expected to do it. Difficult as it may be to believe with the success they’ve had, the Mariners may have come in as a bit of an underdog to claim the top spot the past three years, coach Kevin Ryan said, but not this year.

“There was definitely a lot of pressure I felt,” Allsop said. “But I just felt like we had to work really hard for what we wanted, and we went out and worked hard all year, and it paid off. We came out with a win and ran a great race, as well.”

There’s no denying that, as Bryce Johnson finished 19th in 16:17.2, Sam Gillman was 21st in 16:21.1 and Logan Franey rounded out the scoring runners in 23rd in 16:25.4. Even Jackson Slesk in 50th (16:52.0) and Kyler Cruz in 60th (16:59.3) turned in strong days for the Mariners, who will return four participants off their state championship team from this year.

“It was amazing the way everyone ran today,” Johnsen said. “That shows how strong we are. We are so deep.”

Johnsen and Allsop weren’t the only ones to score podium finishes Saturday, as Bellingham sophomore Cade Brown turned in a strong performance to place eighth in 15:57.3 — a big improvement from his 40th-place finish at state as a freshman.

“I just looked at it like any other race,” Brown said in a phone interview. “That’s all it is. I know people, they make it seem bigger than it actually is. But I just try to run my race.”

Brown definitely benefited from doing that, as his pre-race plan was to hang with Johnsen and Allsop, because he knew they were going to take it out fast at the start. When he fell back a little bit, he said he tried pacing off other runners around him, but said he wasn’t happy with how the race was developing.

“I just decided to go with how I was feeling,” Brown said.

Obviously that worked out pretty well.

In his fourth state championship appearance, Blaine’s Parker Morris matched his best finish by placing 54th and nearly topping his personal best time with a 16:53.9.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Late race push leads Sehome to 2A boys’ cross country state title."