Montesano’s Aric Jacklin and Aubrey Anderson proved to be too fast for the field as they claimed league titles with victories at the 1A Evergreen League cross country championship meet at Oaksridge Golf Course on Thursday.
Jacklin cruised to a near-30 second victory to win the boys title while Anderson outran Hoquiam freshman Jane Roloff in the final quarter 150 meters to win the girls championship.
Montesano head coach James Edwards said the wet weather and unfamiliarity with the course created considerations the runners had to deal with.
“This is a brand-new course and this is the first time we ran on it,” he said. “So I told the kids, ‘Watch your footing. It could be slick out there. There could be mole hills out there. You never know.’”
Both Jacklin and Anderson heeded their coach’s advice, remaining conscious of their footing when rounding turns and moving from grass to mud to pavement.
“There were a lot of very muddy areas with tight turns, so I had to slow down a little bit to make sure I didn’t slip,” Jacklin said. “There were a couple of times where I did lose my footing and it kind of slowed me down, but I think I did alright. I just tried to keep an open mindset: If I slip, I slip. I’d just try to make up those seconds by pushing myself even more.”
Jacklin said his strategy was to let the rabbits push early before he would take over 1.5 miles into the 5K (3.10 mile) course.
After Eatonville’s Joe Mueller pushed the pace a little faster than he’d like, Jacklin made his move and opened up an approximate 20-second lead at the halfway mark.
Exactly as according to plan.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano junior Aric Jacklin won the boys race of the 1A Evergreen League cross country championship meet by nearly 30 seconds on Thursday at Oaksridge Golf Course in Elma.
“I wanted to start pretty quick off the start, to see what everyone else would do,” Jacklin said. “Normally, when it gets to 1.5-2 mile mark, I start to try to get a bigger gap. I’m pretty comfortable in that gap and I try to push as much as I can to get that distance.”
Jacklin crossed the finish line with a time of 16:48 with Tenino sophomore Carson Hart (17:15) and Mueller (18:08) placing second and third, respectively.
Hoquiam junior Timmy Higgins — who is friends with Jacklin as the two have been competing against one another since middle school — placed sixth with a time of 18:55.
Elma was led by freshman Kaedin Betschart, who finished ninth with a time of 19:11.
Monte sophomore Jesse Anderson placed 10th with a time of (19:15).
The girls race was much closer, with Anderson and Roloff nearly neck-and-neck for the majority of the race.
In the final third, Roloff made a move and took the lead as Anderson’s strategy was to let the Hoquiam freshman set the pace while keeping close and looking for an opportune time to strike.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano senior Aubrey Anderson, left, and Hoquiam sophomore Jane Roloff finished 1-2, respectively, in the girls race of the 1A Evergreen League cross country championship meet on Thursday at Oaksridge Golf Course in Elma.
But those plans changed when Roloff began to create some distance with little room left to catch up.
“She was ahead for a little ways and I know I have a strong finish,” Anderson said. “Around the 2.5 mark I really started to pick it up because I knew we were getting really close (to the finish line).”
Anderson stated that once she made her move, she never let up until she crossed the line to earn the league title.
“Keep going fast to the finish. Fast to the end,” she said.
Anderson crossed the line with a time of 22:02.
Roloff placed second (22:17) with Montesano junior Lilly Schweppe (23:40, 3rd) and Monte freshman Polina Vitchitskaya (23:46, 4th) also placing in the top five.
Elma freshman Georgia Burkhart placed sixth with a time of 24:13 with Monte freshman Hailey McElroy (25:50, 9th) also earning a top 10 finish.
Eatonville won the boys team title with 24 points, followed by Tenino (43) and Hoquiam (75).
The girls team title went to Montesano with 15 points.
Both Jacklin and Anderson were happy to be first-time league champions.
“I haven’t been league champ since seventh grade,” Jacklin said, noting Higgins defeated him for the title in eighth grade. “It just feels great to be in that conversation, especially with a bunch of great runners we have out here. It’s an honor to be the champ.”
“It’s kind of crazy. I feel like when I come in first, I kind of have this slight sense of shock of, ‘Whoa, I just did that,’” Anderson said. “This was kind of hard and I just did that. It’s kind of incredible.”
For full race results, visit athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/199449/results/799538.
Top local results from 2B Pacific League Championships in Westport
For full race results, visit athletic.net/CrossCountry/Results/Meet.aspx?Meet=197046&show=all.
Boys Race — 3, Dylan Todd, Ocosta 16:54. 5, Matthew Idso, Ocosta 17:10. 8, William Idso, Ocosta 17:33. 9, Asher Baggaley, North Beach 18:34.
Girls Race — 5, Jasmine Solo, Willapa Valley 22:05. 6, Genevieve Sarich, Raymond 22:09. 7, Skyler Langston, North Beach 22:58. Rebekah Stone, Ocosta 23:45. 10, Kaitlyn Ganzel, Willapa Valley 23:53.
