At the state meet in Pasco, the Lakewood boys cross country team struggled to live up to the elite performance that had earned them their 24th-consecutive state berth a week earlier.
Sophomore Taylor Guske led his team to a seventh-place finish, taking 10th overall with a 16:55 time. Guske outpaced every member but one of the Burlington-Edison squad that edged Sehome for the state 2A championship. Lakewood coach Jeff Sowards ranked Guskes race among the best by a Lakewood underclassman at state.
Thats the best performance by a Lakewood sophomore ever, 10th place. I believe Tyler Rapp, who was a state champion as a senior was 12th as a sophomore, he said.
Sowards added that while junior and usual Lakewood pacesetter Nick Devier finished second for the team, he considered Guske capable of beating his teammate.
According to his coach, health woes ailed Devier, who finished more than a minute behind his district pace, taking 38th in a time of 17:40. Still, Deviers time was a five-second improvement on his race on the same state course a year earlier. Senior Terrence Ordonez continued to run as the teams number-three man in 17:49. Trevor Walker was a heartbeat and five places behind him in 17:50, in 57th place overall.
Sophomore Chad Skiles rounded out the teams scoring set finishing fifth for the team in 18:19. Freshman Trent Tresch finished sixth for the team in his state debut with an 18:38 race. Senior Miles Rossow finished in 18:54.
The lone Lakewood girls representative, senior Sarah Dunn, took her final bow on the state stage, finishing the girls 5k sandwiched between Toppenish seniors Michelle Sanchez and Jennifer Farley in 64th place. Her time was 21:44, seven seconds and seven places better than her state performance the year before.
I think that when they toed the line, they did the absolute best they could do that day. Maybe a little bit out of position at the mile mark, and we had a little too much to make up the second half of the race, Sowards said, reflecting on the meet. I dont even know how to characterize it. It wasnt our best performance, though, and its disappointing when you cant have your best performance at the state meet.
Sowards added that he was grateful for the support of the Lakewood fan base.
There were all kinds of kids that come over to support us. Kids and parents and alumni came over, kids that werent even competing. That means a lot to the coaching staff, he said.