Small-school cross country: Larson misses goal, but wins 1A/B girls title

PASCO — Jane Larson didn't quite run as fast as she wanted yesterday, but it was fast enough to capture the Class 1A/B cross country championship yesterday at Sun Willows Golf Course.

The Cedar Park Christian junior won with a time of 19:01 on the 3.1-mile course, just missing her goal of breaking 19 minutes. Even so, Larson was more than happy with the wire-to-wire win.

"That was my goal, to break 19," said Larson, who was third at last year's state meet. "But I don't care that much about the time. It's more the place that matters. I'll take it."

Top-ranked Zillah easily won the team title with a score of 58 points. Cedar Park Christian rode Larson's win to a second-place finish, one point ahead of St. George's of Spokane.

Class 1A boys

Charles Wright of Tacoma repeated as team champion, finishing with five runners in the top 13. Alex Crabill won with a time of 16:09, while teammate Dylan Twiner was third. Joining them in the top five was Peter Browne.

Seattle Academy finished a distant second with 73 points, well behind Charles Wright's 31-point total.

Class B boys

Reardon won in Class B, the first separate B race held since 1994. Since 94, the class 1A and B races were combined. Gabe Molinaro of Northwest Christian (Lacey) won the individual race with a time of 17:03. Brett Fowler of Asotin finished second with the same time.

Class 2A girls

Grandview sophomore Brittney Sanchez cruised to the individual title with a time of 18:33, well ahead of second-place Hannah Granger of Port Townsend.

East Valley of Yakima repeated as champion with a score of 59 points, while King's finished second with 112. King's won the past three Class 1A/B team titles before moving up to the 2A ranks this season.

Class 2A boys

The East Valley boys team made it a two-title day for the Yakima school, following the girls win with one of its own. Top-ranked Lakewood was second, 16 points behind. Ephrata senior Eric Burck won the individual title with a time of 16:16, seven seconds ahead of Pawel Szafruga of Pullman.