It was a windy day in Yakima, Wash., for the 36th Annual Sunfair Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, but that did not deter fast performances by some of the Northwest's best runners.
Among about 2,700 athletes from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and British Columbia were four class 4A Idaho teams: Boise, Eagle, Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls.
The varsity meet consisted of seven flight races. Only one athlete per team was entered in each flight, based on previous times. Flight 7 featured the fastest runners. This format allows every athlete the chance to win their individual race, as well as contribute overall points to their team, which leads to some great competition.
Kinsey Gomez of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho finishes second at the Sunfair Invitational in Yakima on Oct. 3, 2009 (photo by Kevin Bishop).
The meet was the first time this season that 2007 state champion junior Kinsey Gomez of Coeur d'Alene raced 2008 state champion senior Liz Brandon of Eagle. Both girls were fresh from victories the week before Sunfair. Gomez won the Eric Anderson Invitational in 18:50.00 on September 26, and Brandon won the Bob Firman Invitational in 18:38.20.
Proven to be in great shape this year, Gomez prevailed with a second-place finish. Brandon was not far behind in fourth. Both athletes ran new personal best times for 3 miles, Gomez in 17:55.90, and Brandon in 18:20.70.
“I was just so excited to be in this race,” Gomez told The Spokesman-Review. “I knew it was going to be fast and I wanted to be in there with a chance to break 18 minutes.”
Gomez achieved her goal.
Annemarie Maag of Jesuit (OR) helped set the fast pace. She won the Flight 7 race with a time of 17:39.40, the sixth-fastest time in Sunfair's 36-year history.
With its hills and terraces, the course at Franklin Park appealed to the strongest runners. Maag told Ron Newberry of CoachesAid Washington that she had specifically prepared for this race by incorporating a lot of hill work in her training.
Annamarie Maag of Jesuit wins the elite girls race at the Sunfair Invitation (photo by Kevin Bishop)
“When we got here, that hill definitely looked like it was impossible,” she said. “Toward the middle of the race, I was pleased.”
Jesuit also won the girls 4A team title. Boise was the top team from Idaho and the fourth-best at the meet.
Among Boise's point contributors was Evan Gustavsen, who placed second in Flight 2 in 20:09.01. Her teammate Dessie Weigal was third in Flight 3 in 19:50.26. Michelle Hickerson was fifth in Flight 6 with a time of 19:03.87. Boise's No. 1 runner was Kate Jamboretz in Flight 7. She was sixth in her race in 18:27.93, a new personal record.
Boise was also the top boys Idaho team. They placed seventh in the varsity team competition. Henry Jackson (WA) won the 4A team title.
Reigning state champion senior Eric Fitzpatrick led the Braves with a fourth-place performance in the Flight 7 race. He ran a new 3-mile personal record time of 15:38.80. Teammate Adam Litster was sixth in Flight 2 (17:13.09), senior Richard Wojan was eighth in Flight 4 (16:54.33) and senior Taylor Molenaar was eighth in Flight 5 (16:34.25).
Another impressive performance by an Idaho athlete was by David Norris of Coeur d'Alene in Flight 6. He was third in his race in 16:00.74.
Prior to the Sunfair Invitational, Fitzpatrick was fourth at the Bob Firman Invitational on September 26. The winner of that race, Conner Peloquin of Gig Harbor (WA), was also victorious in Yakima.
Conner Peloquin of Gig Harbor (Wash.) High School, the winner of the senior boys race at Sunfair Invitational (photo by Kevin Bishop)
Peloquin led the field in 15:24.29. Kenny Krotzer of Auburn Riverside (WA) was nine seconds behind in 15:33.68, followed by Joel Ambo of Bellevue (WA) in 15:37.49 and Fitzpatrick in fourth.
Peloquin told Newberry that he felt comfortable for the first mile, so that is when he made his move to break the lead pack.
“I felt it was a little slow,” he said. “If guys were going to continue to go with me, I was going to continue to surge to try to break them a little bit. Fortunately, I was able to break them and put a pretty big gap between me and [Krotzer].”
Krotzer could not react fast enough.
“Before I knew it, Conner had already gotten away. I felt like if I had stayed with him I would have been in a better striking position,” Krotzer told CoachesAid.
For more coverage of the 36th Annual Sunfair Cross Country Invitational, check out Ron Newberry's perspective from the Washington side: http://www.coachesaid.com/Article/2009/10/3/Sunfair-runaways
For full results, visit www.sunfairrun.com.
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