RACE COURSE: 5k. Sun Willows Golf Course. A rolling golf course terrain with firm fairway footing and tons of good atmosphere and State Meet vibes. The quieter, opening mile is followed by a second and third-mile loop and a downhill finish. Upper 40’s to low 50’s for both girls and boys. Wet… but not really actively raining for any of our races. Again, universally not a great PR day due somewhat slippery footing, but PRs or close were still to be had with just the right race!
VARSITY GIRLS: 79 Finishers. Third place team with 75 points! PJP2 1st: 45, Garfield-Palouse 2nd: 51, Rainier 4th: 100, Davenport 119, Covenant 147, Manson 170, Three Rivers Christian 206
Finish places: 2-19-24-33-49-52-75
Scoring places: 2-14-15-18-26-28-47
GIRLS OVERALL: Third Place! We outperformed expectations with a really good solid day across the board. Congratulations! You have kept the streak alive of 8 straight appearances at the State Meet with 7 straight podium finishes. Quite an accomplishment and quite a tradition to be proud to be a part of. It was rainy and wet out there, but you stayed focused on the race and everyone ran well. What a pleasure and an honor it has been to coach such a fine group of young people – thank you for letting me be a part of your journey. You inspire me!
Leki: 19:32.1, 2nd Place. First Mile 6:06. Second Mile 6:23, Overall Pace: 6:17
That was truly one of the most hard-fought, inspiring races I have ever seen! I couldn’t care less whether you crossed the finish line first or second…you put on an incredible display of tenacity, trust, and toughness. I hope you can let the sting of being so close to the win fade a bit as you realize what you did. You raced so well – and then you slipped on the super wet downhill—and what happened next says so much about who you – Leki Albright – are. You got right back up. You didn’t panic. You regrouped, found your rhythm, and focused. And within half a mile you had not only made up the gap you lost in the slide but put that much distance on Ruby. So unbelievably heroic. You both were literally flying on that last mile, and you gave it literally everything. I could not be prouder. That was what sports are all about. And what you displayed in that race is exactly what will carry you so far in whatever comes next. That has nothing to do with coaching or training – that’s all within you. Yes, you will remember this race your whole life. Make sure what you remember is the sheer will and determination you showed, and we all saw. I’ll never forget it.
Samra: 21:33.6, PR, 19th Place. First Mile 6:38, Second Mile 7:10, Overall Pace: 6:56
Wow! So many style points earned with that one! You looked so smooth out there. You put yourself right into the top 20 and you held your spot so well. I could see your focus and your willingness to give it your all every step of the race. You never once looked like you weren’t totally “in it” and totally committed to doing what your team needed of you. For your first state meet, you seemed calm, cool, and collected and you didn’t let the whole scene distract you. Top 20 at state – that’s pretty amazing. Can’t wait to see what you do next….you’re just starting to realize how fast and strong you are!
Sandra: 21:45.1 24th Place. First Mile 6:41, Second Mile 7:11, Overall Pace 7:00
You ran 45 seconds better than last year on this course and more than 3 minutes and 15 seconds than the year before at state. That is such a great example of your entire cross-country experience. You have just been a steady force of improvement. I know you said you felt a little off – that’s understandable given it is an emotional thing to run your last high school cross country race. I hope what you take away though is this: even though you didn’t feel your best, you ran faster than every single race last year. Every. Single. One. And you finished in the top 25 of a very much improved girl’s field compared to last year. Congratulations on an impressive 4 years with Liberty Bell Cross Country. You’re a wonderful example of what hard work, trust, and finding joy in the team and running can result in. Thank you for being such a good example and a leader of this young team.
Ingrid: 22:25.3, PR, 33rd Place First Mile 6:53, Second Mile 7:22, Overall Pace 7:13
Here’s something to consider: You just ran that course more than 2 minutes and 10 seconds faster than last year. You are a completely different runner than last year—so much more confident, so much more willing to trust yourself, and so much more capable of handling the hard workouts that lead to results like this. Your season was stand-out! From 24:52 at Wenatchee to 22:25 at state in just seven weeks. What happened? I think you realized you can be really good at this and then you set some quiet internal goals and you worked hard to meet them. We are truly just starting to see what you can do – with another year of strength and some more running miles after track, you’ll launch into another sphere next year too. I’m so glad you’ve caught the cross-country bug! Plus, you really are a lot of fun to coach – don’t let anyone (like LK) tell you otherwise!
Alida: 23:35.4, 49th Place First Mile 7:01, Second Mile 7:57, Overall Pace 7:35
Pretty darn good considering you had a mean cold all week long. Your plate has been full the last few weeks and in spite of all that, you still ran within 40 seconds of your PR on a course that does usually run a bit slower than Twilight. While I know it wasn’t the exact result you were hoping for, I hope you take a lot of pride in what it represents. You started the year with a 24:51 at Wenatchee for 5K and now you just ran almost a minute and a half faster, when you have been sick! That’s a very impressive progression. And, it is totally due to your dedication and hard work. You are so wonderfully coachable. You care about running and your team and you aren’t afraid to put in the efforts that pay off in the end. You are already a good, strong, fast runner, and I believe that over the course of your three more years in high school, you will find you shatter the new goals you’ll set. Can’t wait to see you run track, right?
Nella: 23:48, PR. 52nd Place First Mile 7:26, Second Mile 7:56, Overall Pace 7:40
My oh my. Look what happens when Nella puts on some spikes and decides to go out a little bit harder. Amazing! A more than one minute, twenty second PR over 5K, in just one month. That’s hard to even fathom. Thank you for being willing to take the advice to get out harder. You managed it perfectly – keeping to your preferred move-up-through-race strategy, but just being further up in the race. You went from 57th at the mile to 52nd by the finish. Just the way you like it! Once again, you had an amazing last mile. You were just charging down the course and you were so focused. We are so glad you decided to join this team – you are a super good teammate and we all couldn’t be happier to watch you improve so much!
My oh my. Look what happens when Nella puts on some spikes and decides to go out a little bit harder. Amazing! A more than one minute, twenty second PR over 5K, in just one month. That’s hard to even fathom. Thank you for being willing to take the advice to get out harder. You managed it perfectly – keeping to your preferred move-up-through-race strategy, but just being further up in the race. You went from 57th at the mile to 52nd by the finish. Just the way you like it! Once again, you had an amazing last mile. You were just charging down the course and you were so focused. We are so glad you decided to join this team – you are a super good teammate and we all couldn’t be happier to watch you improve so much!
Yasmin: 28:56.5, 75th Place First Mile 8:32, Second Mile 9:33, Overall Pace 9:19
That was a really solid effort. You had to do much of that race alone and that is always challenging. Good job sticking with it. You ran up that last hill with so much determination. As I watched you, I thought that moment summed up your season really well. Sometimes it was hard this year, but you never gave in and when it came to race day, you always threw yourself into the race and did your best. I hope you’ll choose to come out for cross-country again. I believe you will find that with another year of racing experience, it all just gets easier and even more fun.
VARSITY BOYS: 163 Finishers. Fourth place with 142 points! Valley Christian 1st: 77, PJP2 2nd: 100, Chewelah 3rd: 108, Garfield Palouse 5th: 157, Okanogan 6th: 171, Davenport: 239, Covenant: 249, Adna: 250, Coupville: 252, Goldendale: 268, Cle Elum: 279, Brewster: 284, Mt. Vernon Christian: 299, Onalaska: 332, Morton White Pass: 336
Finish places: 1-12-29-82-98-108-109
Scoring Places: 1-8-17-52-64-70-71
BOYS OVERALL: Yet another year where I am proud to be a coach of this team! We improved as individuals, but grew even more as a group. With MANY youngsters and a crew of seasoned vets, we slowly but surely defined ourselves, learned how we work, and we emerged again near the top of the State. 59 boys teams started the year. 16 qualified for the meet in Pasco. 4 teams walked the podium, and only 3 teams - PJP, Chewelah, and LBHS - can say that they’ve done that for three years in a row – let alone 6 of the last 9 State meet competitions – a standard by which ONLY Liberty Bell is measured. You are in a class of your own among the B schools and are indeed one of the most consistent teams of the last decade. Congratulations again and thank you so much for an excellent season.
OF SPECIAL NOTE: Dexter's individual victory was a first-ever accomplishment for a boy's LBHS XC runner. Congratulations and well done!
Dexter: 15:45.10, 1st place. 1st mi: 4:54.2 (1), 2nd mi: 10:00.7 (1), Overall pace: 5:04
Wow! An excellent finish to a clearly terrific season. Happy for you to get the win and also EXTRA excited to see you looking just as good in the State meet effort as you have over the last several weeks. If you step it back a little, this was really just your first full year with complete and unhindered training cycles – no injury like 9th grade, and no canoe-summer like 10th. You adapted well to the stresses of racing and workouts, plus have found a workable balance between biking and running. Plus, and it bears repeating, your form found its “flow”. Relaxed and fast. Such is the thing :) Have an excellent trip to Idaho if you get into the race (fingers crossed) and then give yourself a break. Congrats again, Dexter, and good luck getting after it one more weekend. GRRR!
Will: 17:02.70, 12th place. 1st mi: 5:11.4 (11), 2nd mi: 10:42.9 (8), Overall pace: 5:29
Aksel: 18:05.80, 29th place. 1st mi: 5:32.7 (33), 2nd mi: 11:36.9, (30) Overall pace: 5:49
Like any good runner or thinker, Aksel, you are always striving for more and wanting to be at your best. You set an incredibly high bar and time and time again you prove that you are willing and able to clear it. Sometimes that means running 17:12, and sometimes it is 18:05 but sticking to the competition like glue and kicking them down at the end! I wish for you too that we had been able to crack that 17 minute barrier at some point or to find that top 16 podium kind of finish, but what I saw out there on Saturday was, as usual, impressive. You’ve been pushing through discomfort and quirks of illness, but once again found peace of mind in your form and the steadfast reliability necessary to find that top-30 kind of spot – the second best 3rd man at the meet – on the race day down in Pasco. Any college coach would be excited to have you on his team and I look forward to cheering you on from afar should you choose to run next year – which I hope you will :) One more track season first. We’ll try to make it a fun one!
George: 19:07.80, PR, 82nd place. 1st mi: 5:56.1 (94), 2nd mi: 12:09.8 (73), Overall: 6:09
Tristan: 19:39.10, 109th place. 1st mi: 5:56.7 (96), 2nd mi: 12:30.3 (102), Overall: 6:19
Dexter: 15:45.10, 1st place. 1st mi: 4:54.2 (1), 2nd mi: 10:00.7 (1), Overall pace: 5:04
Wow! An excellent finish to a clearly terrific season. Happy for you to get the win and also EXTRA excited to see you looking just as good in the State meet effort as you have over the last several weeks. If you step it back a little, this was really just your first full year with complete and unhindered training cycles – no injury like 9th grade, and no canoe-summer like 10th. You adapted well to the stresses of racing and workouts, plus have found a workable balance between biking and running. Plus, and it bears repeating, your form found its “flow”. Relaxed and fast. Such is the thing :) Have an excellent trip to Idaho if you get into the race (fingers crossed) and then give yourself a break. Congrats again, Dexter, and good luck getting after it one more weekend. GRRR!
Will: 17:02.70, 12th place. 1st mi: 5:11.4 (11), 2nd mi: 10:42.9 (8), Overall pace: 5:29
A selfless race to cap off a totally team-oriented season! Thank you very much again, Will, for managing all of the stresses of a senior year, a young team, and an injury. Your efforts today definitely kept us on the podium, and your efforts all season long were good for so many people in the mix. I am very bummed that you didn’t get your chance to build on the Twilight PR and to crack that 16-minute barrier, but you are knocking on the door for sure. We could even take a stab at it with some kind of track time trial (or a Twlight track meet?) if it fits within the rules and regulations of a high school season. I’m hopeful too that you will keep at this running thing for college. I think that you would enjoy the heck out of it, but I also know that you will launch yourself well into just about whatever comes your way. Thanks so much again for 6 great years of XC. One more track season to go!
Aksel: 18:05.80, 29th place. 1st mi: 5:32.7 (33), 2nd mi: 11:36.9, (30) Overall pace: 5:49
Like any good runner or thinker, Aksel, you are always striving for more and wanting to be at your best. You set an incredibly high bar and time and time again you prove that you are willing and able to clear it. Sometimes that means running 17:12, and sometimes it is 18:05 but sticking to the competition like glue and kicking them down at the end! I wish for you too that we had been able to crack that 17 minute barrier at some point or to find that top 16 podium kind of finish, but what I saw out there on Saturday was, as usual, impressive. You’ve been pushing through discomfort and quirks of illness, but once again found peace of mind in your form and the steadfast reliability necessary to find that top-30 kind of spot – the second best 3rd man at the meet – on the race day down in Pasco. Any college coach would be excited to have you on his team and I look forward to cheering you on from afar should you choose to run next year – which I hope you will :) One more track season first. We’ll try to make it a fun one!
Congratulations, George, on an excellent final race and an AMAZING senior season. You launched into new 19-minute territory right from the start and were remarkably consistent all year long. And your race on Saturday was absolutely critical to the success of our fourth place finish. We needed every point we could get and from the opening mile you totally delivered. I hope you know how much you mattered out there, and I hope you know as well how much of a pleasure you are to have on this team. Even when you hurt or ache or don’t know quite how you feel, you are always gusty and determined and willing to put your own pain and discomfort aside in your efforts to help your team and your teammates. Awesome to see you shining on the season’s brightest stage. Congrats on earning the only boy’s PR on the day and thank you for an excellent three years of LBHS cross country. One more track season in the spring and I’m excited to get to coach you through at least a few more distance races :)
Kyler: 19:30.6, 91st place. 1st mi: 5:56.1 (93), 2nd mi: 12:20.6 (89), Overall pace: 6:17
From 22:36 in your 9th grade year to 18:35 as a senior. We haven’t made a huge deal out of it, but one-minute faster per year is a pretty awesome thing! You always show up and you always work. You’ve been an amazing part of this team and have made memories with this group that will surely last a lifetime. And this year, you were steady as a rock in the mid-19s with a breakout race at Districts that is definitely a sign of good things to come in the spring. You ran with all that you had at State, and while the time maybe didn’t show, you locked in early and finished. Super hard to know how we could have gotten out faster. It seems like the whole field was maybe just a little slow… but you were super steady in your spot. You didn’t falter, and you handled the pressure of your second State meet like the senior captain that you’ve been for us all year long. Thank you so much for an amazing six-year run of XC here at Liberty Bell. You are such a great athlete, teammate, and an even better person. Basketball first, but I can’t wait to watch you crushing quarter miles!!!
Brodi: 19:37.7, 108th place. 1st mi: 6:06.2 (125), 2nd mi: 12:31.4 (106), Overall pace: 6:19
Another near-PR performance and an excellent finish to your first year of cross! Strong running for sure over that second mile, and you moved up 19 places to get yourself back in contact with Tristan and to help him through to the finish. You also seemed to have locked-in on the mid-19 minute race pace and this should be a great launching point for the start of your senior season. Thank you for being very coachable. Thank you for trying something new. If your experience in year number two is anything like the pattern you’ll be “barbed-wire” dangerous next year dropping times in the low-18s. Something to anticipate… after you get done dusting your dad on the backcountry ski climbs this winter and tear it up with endless endurance on the soccer pitch this spring!
Tristan: 19:39.10, 109th place. 1st mi: 5:56.7 (96), 2nd mi: 12:30.3 (102), Overall: 6:19
Another step in the right direction and an entire season of building more strength and consistency as a varsity racer. I know that you are ready to bust one of these wide open, and I’m sorry that we couldn’t quite find the magic formula to unlock that 5:15-track-style speed on the XC course. That being said, a 40-second improvement over last year’s State performance is nothing to sneeze at, and low-19 is now your average It is also duly noted that you were better than every 7th man in the meet but one (from Valley Christian) so while we do lose a lot of senior power, it is positive to know that you are poised and ready for a major breakthrough!
Sam and Liam: Thank you for truly doing an excellent job in taking your alternate roles seriously and in being prepared to race right up until the final moments. You were both right where you needed to be at all times and were supportive and attentive to the nth degree. Honestly, 9th graders at the state meet can sometimes get a little too excited and/or overwhelmed to the point of distraction, but you both demonstrated a maturity and readiness beyond your years. A great experience to build on for next year!
THOUGHTS FOR NEXT SEASON:
On the podium: All season long Valley Christian looked pretty solid, and they proved to be just that. Their 7th place finish from 2022 turned into a State title and they graduate no one! PJP was solid as well and Chewelah brought their A-game and pretty much ran their race of the year. Both PJP and Chewelah lose two of their 7 to graduation, but we will be rebuilding more than most :)
On the outside looking in for those podium spots: Garfield Palouse loses no seniors, nor does Okanogan (though they may be moving up to 1A), and Davenport only graduates Jaeger Jacobsen – a big loss, but still. There are plenty of young teams poised to climb the podium. We will need to set some goals for summer and build on our end-of-season freshman and junior successes to be back in a competitive mix.
On the local horizon: Okanogan may be moving up to 1A, but if not they will want some serious revenge. Their meet was improved from last year time-wise, but can’t be what they wanted. Brewster will reset things for sure, and we will also be competing with the likes of Goldendale and Cle Elum for District qualifiers/State allocations - where Goldendale in particular will have a senior heavy roster with probably hopes to improve upon their 11th place finish. We can certainly continue a proud tradition of consistency and success, but keep those fires on a low stoke, come out for track to develop some speed, and be ready to run when the school year is done and no one is meeting you for practice every day :)
THOUGHTS FOR NEXT SEASON:
On the podium: All season long Valley Christian looked pretty solid, and they proved to be just that. Their 7th place finish from 2022 turned into a State title and they graduate no one! PJP was solid as well and Chewelah brought their A-game and pretty much ran their race of the year. Both PJP and Chewelah lose two of their 7 to graduation, but we will be rebuilding more than most :)
On the outside looking in for those podium spots: Garfield Palouse loses no seniors, nor does Okanogan (though they may be moving up to 1A), and Davenport only graduates Jaeger Jacobsen – a big loss, but still. There are plenty of young teams poised to climb the podium. We will need to set some goals for summer and build on our end-of-season freshman and junior successes to be back in a competitive mix.
On the local horizon: Okanogan may be moving up to 1A, but if not they will want some serious revenge. Their meet was improved from last year time-wise, but can’t be what they wanted. Brewster will reset things for sure, and we will also be competing with the likes of Goldendale and Cle Elum for District qualifiers/State allocations - where Goldendale in particular will have a senior heavy roster with probably hopes to improve upon their 11th place finish. We can certainly continue a proud tradition of consistency and success, but keep those fires on a low stoke, come out for track to develop some speed, and be ready to run when the school year is done and no one is meeting you for practice every day :)
