Devyn Thomas of Heritage, Daniela Vazquez-Gonzalez of Evergreen repeat as 3A cross country district champs

BATTLE GROUND — Twice was just as nice for Daniela Vazquez-Gonzalez and Devyn Thomas.

Both repeated as winners at the Class 3A district cross country championships Wednesday.

And both followed a similar strategy to conquer the 5,000-meter course at Lewisville Park.

Thomas, a senior from Heritage, pulled ahead of Prairie senior Dekota Houfek on a hill inside the final mile of an otherwise flat route. He maintained that lead down the stretch to win by 13 seconds in a time of 16 minutes, 39 seconds.

“I think the key to finishing so strong was getting a lead on the hills,” Thomas said. “Those hills, if you don’t go into them right they’re going to beat you up. I had an idea to get right out of those hills, keep going and pick it up as fast as I could.”

Likewise, Vazquez-Gonzalez made her move on that hill, which climbs onto a forested ridge. The Evergreen junior overtook Prairie’s Zoe Jensen and went on to win by 11 seconds in 20:34.

“When you get to the forest you’ve got to kick it even more through the hill,” Vazquez-Gonzalez said. “I felt great. It’s another district win. I’m glad my team is running really well.”

For Thomas, Wednesday’s win provides a boost of confidence headed into the Westside Classic bi-district meet on Nov. 2. He overcame a rough start to the season to achieve his goal of repeating as district champ with his fastest 5K time of the season by 20 seconds.

“It was ethereal, honestly, to be able to do it again,” Thomas said. “The season started out a lot slower than I wanted to. Coming out of the summer, I felt like I was lacking endurance a little bit. … But I think that helped push me hard in my training and get me to here.”

For Vazquez-Gonzalez, Wednesday marked her second-fastest 5K time of the season. Having Jensen on her shoulder for most of the race brought out her best, she said.

“It is very helpful,” Vazquez-Gonzalez said. “If I was all alone, I don’t know how I’d do.”

Prairie earned both the boys and girls team titles. The Falcons boys placed all five scoring runners in the top eight to win with 23 points, well head of second place Kelso’s 51 points.

Behind Houfek, Prairie’s Tavin Timperley placed third, Ethan McKell fourth, Tommy Wise fifth and Shackleton Hoyt eighth.

The girls team race was closer with Prairie’s 41 points edging Kelso (50) and Evergreen (55). Behind Jensen, Jadyn Conn placed fifth and Chloe Copes sixth for the Falcons.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

CLASS 3A DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Lewisville Park, 5,000 meters

Team scores – Prairie 23, Kelso 51, Shelton 103, Mountain View 106, Heritage 121, Evergreen 134.

Individual winner – Devyn Thomas (Heritage) 16:39.

EVERGREEN – 15, Aiden Hadlock 18:53; 30, Andrew Flath 20:11; 32, Ronin Kummery 20:46; 35, Jordan Lopez Conejo 21:43; 38, Douglas MacGowan 22:20.

HERITAGE – 1, Devyn Thomas 16:39; 24, Noah Ferris 19:44; 29, Ryan Perez 19:58; 40, Fernando Ramirez 22:51; 41, Jayden Rith 22:55.

KELSO – 5, Jesus Rios 17:28; 10, Owen Gallagher 18:00; 11, Collin Caballero 18:05; 12, Will Cheslock 18:35; 13, Nolan Cox 18:37.

MOUNTAIN VIEW – 7, Shiloh Rush 17:42; 21, Harrison Matz 19:35; 25, Andrew Sundahl 19:46; 27, Yehdo Kim 19:55; 36, Isaiah Rodriguez 21:50.

PRAIRIE – 2, Dekota Houfek 16:52; 3, Tavin Timperley 17:11; 4, Ethan McKell 17:21; 6, Tommy Wise 17:31; 8, Shackleton Hoyt 17:56.

SHELTON – 9, Trayson Bartholomew 17:57; 17, Skyler Hirsch 19:09; 23, Caleb Hensrude 19:37; 31, Jack Parker 20:13; 33, Jackson Dale 20:49.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

CLASS 3A DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Lewisville Park, 5,000 meters

Team scores – Prairie 41, Kelso 50, Evergreen 55, Mountain View 101, Shelton 106, Heritage inc.

Individual winner – Daniela Vazquez-Gonzalez (Evergreen) 20:34.

EVERGREEN – 1, Daniela Vazquez-Gonzalez 20:34; 8, Claire Rogge 22:35; 14, Destiny Sconiers 23:07; 16, Elizabeth Avdeyeva 23:27; 20, Amirah Smith 23:51.

HERITAGE – 4, Carmen Herrera 21:28; 35, Jacqueline Contreras 26:19; 38, Amanda Suvada 27:46.

KELSO – 3, Mia Johnson 21:14; 9, Aurora Hiebert 22:38; 10, Olivia Engel 22:48; 15, Keira Fassold 23:18; 17, Madison Fowler 23:38.

MOUNTAIN VIEW – 7, Aaliyah Willson 22:27; 18, Sophia Strong 23:40; 29, Naomi Carluccio 25:14; 30, Layla Cantonwine 25:16; 31, Evey Erhart 25:19.

PRAIRIE – 2, Zoe Jensen 20:45; 5, Jadyn Conn 21:33; 6, Chloe Copes 21:52; 13, Delia Austin 23:03; 19, Maya Briggs 23:42.

SHELTON – 11, Addison Aldrich 22:53; 12, Madison Lohmeyer 23:01; 21, Hailee Nadeau 23:51; 39, Liv Rasmussen 28:11; 40, Mackensie Bissenas 29:23.