Girls State Cross Country: Washougal’s Pullen pulls away for 2A title

PASCO – She could have coasted to victory, but that’s not Amelia Pullen’s way.

In the final meters of her last high school cross country race, Pullen chased every spare second. Her face was a portrait of exertion.

Pullen’s effort paid off. Not only did she become Washougal’s first cross country state champion, she ran a personal-best by one second.

Pullen won the Class 2A race Saturday at the WIAA State Cross Country Championships. She covered the 5,000 meter course at Sun Willows Golf Course in 18 minutes, 4 seconds, winning by 25 seconds.

The race’s final 100 meters, a slight downhill slope with supporters cheering on both sides, was anything but a victory procession for Pullen.

“Right at the end, you’d think you would have a lot of energy when you see the finish,” she said. “But it’s not that easy. I gave it all I had and just went for it.”

Pullen, who placed third at state last year, was in championship form throughout this season. She ran a personal-best of 18:05 at the 2A Greater St. Helens League championships on Oct. 18.

But she wouldn’t look ahead to Saturday’s race until it was next on the schedule.

“I’ve been taking it one meet at a time,” Pullen said. “But for the past week, I’ve been thinking about it. It brings up a bunch of mixed feelings. I’m done with high school cross country, which is pretty sad. But I’m excited to move on to the next chapter.”

Pullen and Bellingham senior Annika Reiss, last year’s runner up, were shoulder-to-shoulder after a mile. Then Pullen began to pull away, opening a six-second lead at the two-mile mark.

“She made it look easier than it was supposed to be,” Washougal coach Terry Howard said. “I thought it would be a close race at least through two miles, but she took off a little earlier.”

“I felt good at that point,” Pullen said. “I was pretty confident and just went for it.”

Also not lacking confidence was Camas junior Aspen Ashcraft. In 14^th headed into the final mile, she surged to finish sixth in the 4A race.

The course was changed since last year to make it more spectator-friendly. Runners said that brought more hills into the race.

Ashcraft used those hills to her advantage.

“I felt if I powered up them, the girls around me were a little mentally intimidated. I quickly burst up the hill, then was able to quickly recover and keep my pace.”

A Camas team with no seniors placed third. Halle Jenkins finished 12th, eight seconds behind Ashcraft in 19:02.

Led by Roselynn Martin in 11^th and Natasha Lewis in 15^th, La Center placed third in the 1A competition. One year after placing second, the Wildcats’ 122 points was 14 behind champion Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls.

Seton Catholic placed two runners in the top 10 of the 1A race. Two-time district champion Sydnee Dyer, a sophomore, placed seventh in 19:20. Freshman Lara Carrion was 13 seconds behind in 10^th.

“I had never really performed well at the state meet,” said Dyer, who placed 42^nd last year. “My goal was to have a good race and be happy with it, so it felt good knowing I did what I wanted to do.”

Hockinson’s Allyson Peterson, the district runner-up to Pullen, was seventh in the 2A race.

Fort Vancouver senior Emily Phelps was the top local finisher in the 3A race, placing 13^th.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

WIAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Sun Willows Golf Course

Pasco, 5,000 meters

CLASS 4A

Teams – 1, Glacier Peak 77; 2, Lewis and Clark 103; 3, Camas 107. Also – 14, Skyview 299.

Individual champ – Ella Borsheim (Bellarmine Prep) 17:36.

Local results

CAMAS – 6, Aspen Ashcraft 18:54; 12, Halle Jenkins 19:02; 51, Ashley McKinstry 19:47; 52, Camryn Mock 19:47; 62, Jenna Lukowiak 19:53; 107, Katelyn Flolo 20:33; 142, Elizabeth Nilles 21:18.

SKYVIEW – 46, Isabella Abbruzzese 19:45; 88, Phoebe Abbruzzese 20:15, 97, Presley Timmons 20:25; 98, Samantha Williams 20:25; 145, Emily Norton 21:31; , 158, Grace Maruca 22:05; 162, Grace Leonard 22:46.

UNION – 41, Haylee Brodahl 19:44; 68, Brooklyn Baldwin 19:55; 112, Serena Smith 20:38.

CLASS 3A

Teams – 1, North Central 21; 2, Kamiakin 134; 3, Snohomish 148. Also – 14, Prairie 346; 16, Fort Vancouver 376.

Individual champ – Allie Janke (North Central) 17:59.

Local results

FORT VANCOUVER – 13, Emily Phelps 19:01; 87, Anna Harrison 20:52; 143, Shelby Willett 22:37; 144, Dhamar Campos 22:57; 148, Emma Cortez 23:25; 149, Khonnie Ecklund 23:29; 150, Gillian Snyder 24:18.

MOUNTAIN VIEW – 58, Jasmine Bates 20:16; 128, Jessica Fidler 21:50.

PRAIRIE – 16, Meri Dunford 19:10; 71, Andrea Cemuda-Herraiz 20:35; 134, Sally Anderson 22:01; 136, Mary Lynn-McLeod 22:08; 140, Alysia Fraly 22:32; 147, Hannah Kneeshaw 23:17; 151, Hannah Clouse 26:09.

CLASS 2A

Teams – 1, West Valley-Spokane 118; 2, Bellingham 118; 3, Pullman 123. Also – 9, Washougal 209; 10, Hockinson 215; 11, Ridgefield 309.

Individual champ – Amelia Pullen (Washougal) 18:04.

Local results

COLUMBIA RIVER – 16, Lucia Ianello 19:53; 119, Hanna Dyer 22:45; 139, Makenna John 23:32.

HOCKINSON – 8, Allyson Peterson 19:22; 52, Taylor Kopp 21:13; 83, Marissa Bulder 21:54; 85, Julia Zora 21:55; 102, Abby Orman 22:11; 109, Adyson Dyer 22:24; 131, Ellie Ritter 23:14.

RIDGEFIELD – 55, Ashley Hunter 21:14; 64, Jane Kuebrich 21:22; 97, Ashely Vega 22:04; 122, Grace Goode 22:47; 133, Caitlin Kong 23:15; 149, Ariel Griffith 24:03; 156, Kellie Nguyen 25:26.

WASHOUGAL – 1, Amelia Pullen 18:04; 22, Savea Mansfield 20:07; 76, Meryl Keeler 21:42; 100, Brooklyn Bausch 22:09; 120, Annabelle Palmer 22:45; 121, Clara Best 22:47; 148, Paige Maas 23:59.

WOODLAND – 129, Lauren Kaiser 23:08.

CLASS 1A

Teams – 1, Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls 108; 2, King’s 114; 3, La Center 122. Also – 6, Seton Catholic 188.

Individual champ – Naomi Smith (King’s) 18:16.

Local results

COLUMBIA-WHITE SALMON – 31, Joules Hope 20:21; 56, Lillian Nelson 21:04.

KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN – 96, Savanna Woody 22:23.

LA CENTER – 11, Roselynn Martin 19:34; 15, Natasha Lewis 19:40; 33, Emily Graham 20:24; 59, Lauren Fox 21:07; 76, Sierra Harris 21:46; 131, Morgan Harris 23:23; 149, Alison Brown 24:40.

SETON CATHOLIC – 7, Sydnee Dyer 19:20; 10, Lara Carrion 19:33; 65, Abigail Wall 21:25; 99, Alexandra Traffalis 22:28; 122, Jerrica Pachl 23:03; 130, Katelynn Junker 23:31; 159, Emma Watkins 26:46.

STEVENSON – 41, Isabella Spencer 20:37.

CLASS B

Teams – 1, Liberty Bell 56; 2, Asotin 92; 3, Rainier 122. Also – 5, Cedar Tree Classical Christian 159.

Individual champ – Novie McCabe (Liberty Bell) 18:27.

Local results

CEDAR TREE CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN – 17, Suzie Johnson 20:53; 22, Maddy Blake 21:12; 51, Marissa Hunter 22:30; 52, Marissa Williams 22:31; 112, Sydney Dean 27:09.