Kyle Radosevich of Ridgefield nears the finish line en route to his second district cross country title Thursday at Lewis River Golf Course. (Micah Rice/The Columbian)
WOODLAND — Kyle Radosevich and Gabriel Dinnel were rivals Thursday in the race for a district cross country title.
But the runners plan to be allies Nov. 3, when both will be in pursuit of different championships at the state meet in Pasco.
Radosevich, a Ridgefield senior, won his second straight title at the Class 2A District 4 Championships Thursday at Lewis River Golf Course.
After finishing sixth in state last year, Radosevich has his sights on this year’s individual title. Few in the state have run as fast as the 15:09 Radosevich clocked at the Nike Hole in the Wall Invitational on Oct. 6.
Thursday, he covered the 5,000 meter course in 15 minutes, 53, seconds. That was an impressive result considering the race took place in a downpour, forcing runners to navigate standing water, slippery corners and mud.
Right behind Radosevich was Dinnel, a Washougal senior. Though the 13-second margin was wider than the two seconds that separated the runners last year, they were close enough to push each other to the limit.
“We’ve raced against each other since middle school,” Radosevich said. “It has been really awesome racing against him. At state, we’re going to work together. We want to beat the Seattle schools.”
With a personal best of 15:24 earlier this year, Dinnel could also be in the mix for an individual state title. But he also leads a Washougal boys team that is ranked No. 1 in the state coaches poll for Class 2A.
By placing its five scoring runners in the top 17, Washougal easily won the district title Thursday. The Panthers hope to secure their first state championship Nov. 3.
If running close to Radosevich helps Dinnel shave a few points off his team’s score, that’s all the better.
“We’ve been pushing each other a lot,” Dinnel said. “It’s a good dynamic we have.”
Washougal’s Ian Palmer placed seventh, Jonathan Wells was 12th, Troy Prince-Butterfield 13th and Jackson Keyser 17th. That saw Washougal win the 13-team event with 51 points, 39 ahead of second-place Ridgefield.
Pullen repeats as 2A girls champion
Amelia Pullen crossed the finish line, then just kept running.
The Washougal senior strode through the chute, into her cooldown jog and on to a state meet where she hopes to improve on her third-place finish last year.
“I’ve never been able to just stop,” she said. “I don’t know why, but I have to keep running.”
Pullen ran away from the competition Thursday to win her second straight district title. Her time of 18:24 was 1:17 ahead of second-place Allyson Peterson of Hockinson.
Pullen is coming off a personal-best of 18:05 at last week’s 2A Greater St. Helens League championships.
“I was going for a PR,” she said. “But it’s not really a day for a PR, so I just tried to embrace the rain.”
Hockinson placed five runners in the top 15 for its first district championship in girls cross country. Behind Peterson, Taylor Kopp was sixth, Marissa Bulder 11th, Ellie Ritter 14th and Abby Orman 15th.
Hockinson’s 42 points were 23 ahead of second-place Washougal.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
2A District Meet
At Lewis River Golf Course
5,000 meters
Top 3 teams, 21 individuals to state
Team scores — Washougal 51, Ridgefield 90, Tumwater 104, Hockinson 109, Black Hills 113, WF West 143, RA Long 151, Columbia River 155, Aberdeen 263, Mark Morris 286, Woodland 300, Rochester 323, Centralia 332.
Team scores — Hockinson 42, Washougal 65, Ridgefield 84, Tumwater 122, Columbia River 146, RA Long 156, Centralia 204, WF West 217, Aberdeen 224, Woodland 255, Mark Morris 268.
