Washington reigns at BorderClash 9
The Washington story by Robert Mirenzi
The Washington State Teams brought it today to the Nike campus, wrapped it up in a big box, put a Green Bow on it and brought it all back home.(after watering it a little)
The Washington Boys, lead by Miles Unterreiner of Gig Harbor 14:13 and Jonathan Lafler of Tahoma 14:17, dominated today. 16 of the top 20 runners, on the Washington Team.
The Washington Girl, led by 4 time Borderclash attendee, Nicole Cochran of Bellarmine Prep, 16:23 did the same. 13 of the top 20 girls were from, guess where? WASHINGTON!
Nicole Cochran leads Washington with her 16:23.70 - Photo by Dave Clark
The Washington State Teams brought it today to the Nike campus, wrapped it up in a big box, put a Green Bow on it and brought it all back home.(after watering it a little)
The Washington Boys, lead by Miles Unterreiner of Gig Harbor 14:13 and Jonathan Lafler of Tahoma 14:17, dominated today. 16 of the top 20 runners, on the Washington Team.
The Washington Girl, led by 4 time Borderclash attendee, Nicole Cochran of Bellarmine Prep, 16:23 did the same. 13 of the top 20 girls were from, guess where? WASHINGTON!
You’ve been hearing all the same names for quite a while:
Kayla Evans of Tacoma, 16:27
Devon McMahon of Redmond 16:38
Sarah Lord of Redmond 16:42
Sandra Martinez of Yakima 16:45
Bronwynn Crossman of Bellingham 16:47
Bridget Berg of Ballard, the list goes on. 16:54
The Washington Sate girls have been delivering consistent, outstanding performances. Every race has offered a steady decrease of times and an increase of top performers.
The next 2 weeks with, NTN and Footlocker, around the corner should put a lot of theses names on the lists all over the country, not just in the NW.
The boys list is just as familiar and holds the same promise of great things to come in the next 2 weeks.
boys with their 1-2 finish – Photo by Dave Clark
Kevin Rosaan of Wilson 14:26
Kelly Lynch of Mead 14:30
Rob Webster of Puyallup 14:32
Ryan Prentice of Mt Rainier 14:33
Justin Rose of Colvile and on and on. 14:34
The day was about the worst I have ever seen for a cross country meet. The temperature hovered in the mid 40's, and it rained, and rained , and rained. First it rained a little for the girls race at 10:30 and then it rained a lot for the boys race at 11:30
The rain continued thru the awards ceremony but the excitement and pure thrill of a job well done seemed to make it just a bit dryer.
This year the Washington HS running scene impressed me with a distinct difference than previous years. This years teams had such a high level of quality runners and such a large amount of them. Both the boys and girls teams, across the state offered 20 -30 runners deep of great talent, strong desire and unlimited potential. Whenever I talked to any of theses top athletes, the common theme, respect for the other runners desire and potential to win at any given race.
This respect and consideration really came home today at the Nike Campus. These teams of top athletes, many of whom had been battling each other for the last 4 years, came together, melted their talent and desire into the great teams the all deserve to be members of.
Blustery and boggy at BorderClash 9
The Oregon story by Maura Warren
As the girls and boys of Oregon and Washington warmed up for the 2007 Nike BorderClash they had two definite things in common: they wanted to win, and they were all very familiar with running in the cold and the rain. The crowd could feel the adrenaline once the cannon was fired and each state took off from separate starting lines, running directly at each other, and then merging onto the main course. The rain and cold air were no longer a factor, and like dedicated runners they focused on the task at hand.
Taylor Wallace (Jr.), Henley HS, takes 2nd, tops for Oregon's girls - Photo by Dave Clark
The girls teams had the honor of running first, and they appeared more excited than nervous at the start lines. “The State Meet is very competitive and you’re running with your team. At BorderClash it’s more relaxed and you’re trying to bond as a state team competing against Washington,” said Michelle Dettmann (Sr.) from Centennial High School.
There is one weekend of rest for the runners in between State Finals and BorderClash, so for many runners this race is more fun than competition. The race results at BorderClash are always a surprise, and this year was no different. Nicole Cochran (Sr.) from Bellarmine Preparatory finished first, with a time of 16:23. However, Nicole had finished eighth at the Washington State Finals meet. This is proof of the statement made by Kara Goucher, “My advice is to remember that there is always another opportunity. There is always another race,” at the ceremonies the night before the race.
Taylor Wallace (Jr.) from Henley High School finished in second place, with a time of 16:27, and was the first girl from the Oregon team to finish. However, the Washington team held eight of the top ten spots, and won the girls race with a score of 68-144.
The boys’ race started forty five minutes after the girls, and by that point the rain had progressed from a light sprinkle to a heavy rain. This made the 4.4K course at the Nike World Headquarters even more muddy and mushy than it already was.
The Oregon team seemed confident,” Oregon is the best, Washington is not,” said Samot Turina (Jr.) from Central Catholic High School.
Elliott Jantzer (in photo by Dave Clark), led Oregon with his 3rd place finish, just ahead of Bryce Burgess (Sr.) from Jesuit High School has had a great final high school season, and finished fourth with a time of 14:26. A great effort by Oregon, but the Washington boys took the win with a score of 73-137.
In the end the Goddess Nike Statue traveled back to Washington, who won the 2007 Nike BorderClash with an overall score of 141-281. The disappointment of the Oregon teams was overshadowed by the fun of the race, although they did pledge to be victorious next year.