Everything was a little bit different for Hockinson senior Allyson Peterson this cross country season.
Even the familiar course at Hudson’s Bay High School was a little different.
“I came around by the track on the second-to-last time thinking it was the last time,” Peterson said. “But then people were telling me to keep going, and I was like ‘uh-oh.’ ”
Running from the lead, that little hiccup was not enough to stop Peterson from winning the 2A district cross country title Thursday in 18 minutes, 29 seconds on a cold and rainy day. Washougal freshman Elle Thomas was second in 18:34.
“It felt really good,” Peterson said. “Obviously, that last lap was hard, but I think I finished well enough.”
Finishing strong has been a theme for Peterson this season.
“The start of the season was a bit rough,” she said. “I finished second in my first race to Elle. But these last two weeks have been really nice to get used to racing again. I’ve been able to beat her these last two races. She’s been really good about pushing me.”
Thomas led a Washougal sweep of the next three places, followed by sophomore Sydnee Boothby in third and freshman Jamis Mass in fourth. That enabled the Panthers to run away with the team title with 34 points.
Fort Vancouver, led by sophomore Dani Buttrell in seventh, placed second with 75 points. Hockinson was fourth at 109.
Columbia River’s Hanna Bailey (fifth) and Washougal’s Savaea Mansfield (eighth) also posted top-10 finishes.
In the boys race, Aberdeen’s Julian Campos beat out Tumwater’s John Hoffer with a sprint to the finish, winning in 15:57. Hoffer timed at 15:58.
Washougal freshman Samuel Grice was third (16:13), followed by Hockinson’s Trevan Bischoff, Woodland’s Joran Lamoreaux, River’s Daniel Barne and Hockinson’s Joshua Saeman.
Tumwater won the boys team title with 64 points. Austin Vega’s 10th-place finish helped Ridgefield (87 points) edge out River (88) for second place.
