WOODLAND — La Center freshman Joseph Blanshan was extremely nervous as he lined up for Thursday’s 1A District Championship boys race at Lewis River Golf Course.
“Just a lot of anticipation,” Blanshan said.
He knew his top competitor was Seton Catholic’s David Carrion, the defending district champion, and so stuck with him through the early part of the race. At the two-mile mark, Blanshan made his surge and never looked back. He finished in 16 minutes, 28 seconds.
“It’s very exciting,” Blanshan said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I’m just really proud.” In the team race, the Wildcats were edged out by Columbia-White Salmon 48-54. The Bruins were led by a fifth-place finish from Thomas Ziegler (17:28) and a sixth-place from Jacob Lockman (17:36).
Carrion placed second, making it three consecutive years with a top-three finish at districts. This year, he also got to watch his younger sister, Lara, take home a district title.
Lara Carrion finished in 18:58 in the 1A girls race to win her first district championship after finishing second last season. The two Carrion siblings are extremely close, bonding on the hour-long commute into Seton Catholic every day.
“He’s definitely someone I look up to,” Lara said. “It’s going to be hard to see him go. He’s always been by my side, pushing me and leading me forward in my running career.”
On Thursday, Lara had to draw from that as she led the rest of the field by a considerable margin.
“It’s hard when you’re out in front to push yourself. That’s always most challenging for me,” she said.
She led the way for the Cougars, who finished second as a team. Cougar teammate Sara Cordova finished third (19:31).
La Center won the girls team title with help from top-five finishes by Roselynn Martin (19:19), Natasha Lewis (19:48) and Tamsyn Lewis (20:27).
State qualifiers
The top three teams and 21 finishers advance to the Nov. 9 state meet in Pasco.
On Thursday, La Center, Seton Catholic and Columbia-White Salmon advanced both their boys and girls teams to state, which includes all seven runners. Stevenson’s Isabella Spencer also qualified as an individual on the girls side.
On the boys side, Stevenson’s Abiy LaCombe and Andrew Garcia qualified as individuals.
