Boys State XC: Ridgefield’s Griffith places fifth

PASCO – On one hand, Silas Griffith could have been overjoyed with being the fifth best 2A cross country runner in the state.

Despite a summer injury, the Ridgefield runner ended his junior season with a personal-best 5,000 meter time of 15 minutes, 44 seconds at the WIAA state cross country championships Saturday.

Among local runners, Griffith was the top finisher and had the fastest time in any boys race at Sun Willows Golf Course.

But the same competitive fire that makes Griffith great meant he wasn’t too pleased with fifth place. He was in second for much of the race before being passed by three runners, including two in the final stretch.

“I went too hard on the hills,” Griffith said. “That kind of ate me up, so I didn’t have much left to kick. That’s when people passed me.”

An overuse injury meant Griffith couldn’t log as many miles as he hoped over the summer. Yet he ran virtually uncontested in every race until Saturday.

“Coming in fifth isn’t bad, but it’s a little bit frustrating,” said Griffith, who placed 16^th as a sophomore. “I’ll just train harder and come back next year.”

Along with Griffith, Kyle Radosevich placed 22^nd as Ridgefield finished eighth in the 2A team competition.

Camas, which won the District 4 title two weeks ago, placed sixth in the 4A team competition. Senior captain Adam Ryan was the fastest local in that race, finishing 21^st in 15:53. Teammate and district champion Yacine Guermali placed 37^th in 16:02.

“Our team definitely has a brotherhood that goes beyond this race here,” Ryan said. “That definitely translated to our race. We fought for each other.”

Skyview had two runners finish in the top 35. Mason Scheidel placed 31^st in 15:59, three places ahead of teammate and bi-district champion Chanse Gilbert.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

WIAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Sun Willows Golf Course, Pasco, 5,000 meters

CLASS 4A

Teams — 1, Tahoma 79; 2, Bellarmine Prep 102; 3, Eisenhower 121. Also — 6, Camas 189; 13, Skyview 314.

Top individuals — 1, Jack Yearian (Bellarmine Prep) 15:14; 2, Nathan Pixler (Eastlake) 15:22; 3, Graeme Schroeder (Tahoma) 15:25; 4, Zak Kindl (Lewis and Clark) 15:28; 5, Kennan Schrag (Issaquah) 15:33; 6, Ryan Gregory (Gig Harbor) 15:36; 7, Nick Laccinole (Inglemoor) 15:39; 8, Spencer Stewart (Eisenhower) 15:39; 9, Keegan Fitzgerald (Tahoma) 15:40; 10, Riley Moore (Richland) 15:40.

Local results

CAMAS — 21, Adam Ryan 15:53; 37, Yacine Guermali 16:02; 47, Daniel Maton 16:09; 64, Dustin Zimmerly 16:22; 103, David Connell 16:49; 118, Nicholas Carter 17:05; 121, Nick Duffy 17:09;

SKYVIEW – 31, Mason Scheidel 15:59; 34, Chanse Gilbert 16:01; 113, Marshall Johnson 16:69; 125, Sean Flynn 17:19; 130, Zeke Oien 17:28; 142, Zach Phillips 18:28; 144, Patrick Gaines 18:41.

HERITAGE – 93, Ryan Cibart 16:43.

BATTLE GROUND – 91, Quinn Nelson 16:42.

MOUNTAIN VIEW – 63, Samuel Johnson 16:21.

CLASS 3A

Teams — 1, North Central 75; 2, Kamiakin 121; 3, Arlington 124.

Top individuals — 1, Justin Janke (North Central) 15:02; 2, Nathan Beamer (Arlington) 15:18; 3, Peter Hogan (Bishop Blanchet) 15:20, 4, James Konugres (Ballard) 15:25; 5, Phillip Fishburn (Kamiakin) 15:29; 6, Sam Sjoberg (North Central) 15:31; 7, Hayden Dressel (Mount Spokane) 15:32; 8, James Mwaura (Lincoln) 15:38; 9, Cameron Carroll (Central Kitsap) 15:38; 10, Henry Hayes (Garfield) 15:39.

Local results

No local competitors.

CLASS 2A

Teams — 1, Sehome 55; 2, Liberty (Issaquah) 112; 3, Sequim 124. Also — 8, Ridgefield 203.

Top individuals — 1, Dylan Holland (Anacortes) 15:36; 2, Colton Johnsen (Sehome) 15:36; 3, Riley Allsop (Sehome) 15:37; 4, Andrew Cooper (Liberty-Issaquah) 15:44; 5, Silas Griffith (Ridgefield) 15:44; 6, Marques Chacon (Evergreen-Seattle) 15:45; 7, Matthew Chacon (Evergreen-Seattle) 15:52; 8, Cade Brown (Bellingham) 15:57; 9, Brendon Despain (Sequim) 16:06; Austin Beasley (Mark Morris) 16:12.

Local results

HOCKINSON — 48, Kyle Peterson 16:51; 78, Derek Henderson 17:13.

HUDSON’S BAY — 79, Ethan Mayers 17:14.

RIDGEFIELD — 5, Silas Griffith 15:44; 22, Kyle Radosevich 16:21; 63, Miles Bethel 17:01; 81, Sam Anderson 17:18; 96, Brandon Lehto 17:31; 100, Ciarnin McNeil 17:36; 116, Jacob Neil 17:53.

WASHOUGAL —55, Aiden Pullen 16:53; 74, Bailey Duncan 17:09.

CLASS 1A

Teams — 1, Deer Park 62; 2, Medical Lake 94; 3, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 126. Also — 14, Columbia-White Salmon 324; 15, La Center 366.

Top individuals — 1, Tibebu Proctor (Northwest) 15:32; 2, Tamire Proctor (Northwest) 15:44; 3, Ben Shaw (Riverside) 16:12; 4, Cody Bollum (Deer Park) 16:13; 5, Mereck Palazzo (Chelan) 16:14; 6, Mason Williams 16:24; 7, Ryan Abdalla (Cedar Park Christian) 16:27; 8, Matt Jackson (King’s) 16:29; 9, Ammon Hall (Deer Park) 16:33; 10, Dillon Dawson (Chelan) 16:37.

Local results

COLUMBIA-WHITE SALMON — 67, Colin Howe 17:56; 98, Isaac Black 18:32; 108: Ethan Andrews 18:41; Danial Lemmon ; 110, Declan Liddiard 18:42; 114, Will Nuckoles 18:47; 133, James Bell 19:14.

LA CENTER — 66, Nate Beed 17:56; 113, Jake Morris 18:45; 119, Sawyer Bierscheid 18:50; 122, Saige Keep 18:59; 124, Mateo Macial-Curry 19:01; 129, Jaden Kenworthy 19:09; 130, Jared Cox, 19:10.

SETON CATHOLIC — 68, Josh Balsiger 17:57.

STEVENSON — 74, Jordan Vigil 18:03.

CLASS 1B/2B

Teams — 1, Northwest Christian (Lacey) 47; 2, Northwest Christian (Colbert) 106; 3, St. George’s 140.

Top individuals — 1, Kenneth Rooks (College Place) 15:44; 2, Luke Schilter (NW Christian-Lacey) 15:51; 3, Jack Ammon (NW Christian-Colbert) 16:17; 4, Ben Klemmeck (Liberty Bell) 16:22; 5, Micah Henry (NW Christian-Colbert) 16:25; 6, Luke Bredeson (NW Christian-Lacey) 16:28; 7, Oren Cox (Bridgeport) 16:31; 8, Tyler Shea (NW Christian-Colbert) 16:38; 9, Corban Phillips (NW Christian-Lacey) 16:40; 10, Nathan Vanos (St. George’s) 16:43.

Local results

CEDAR TREE CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN — 34, August Albers 17:51.