Kentwood High\u2019s Danny Lunder heard the footsteps closing in and the familiar voice that followed.<\/p>\n
Despite being in the midst of a career-best performance on the 3.1-mile cross-country course at Fort Steilacoom Park Oct. 23, Lunder couldn\u2019t help but be taken back a bit upon realizing that voice was coming from teammate Will Richmond.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing that really got me was when I learned Will (Richmond) was right behind me,\u201d said Lunder, who has been Kentwood\u2019s top long-distance runner all season. \u201cHe said, \u2018Let\u2019s do it, Danny.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Oh \u2026 I can\u2019t let Will beat me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
And, despite a strong performance by Richmond, Lunder didn\u2019t let his teammate beat him. In fact, Lunder delivered the strongest performance by any Kent School District male runner at the SPSL sub-district meet, blistering the terrain in 16-minutes, 13 seconds to take seventh place overall. Lunder\u2019s final time was a personal best by 12 seconds, and highlighted what proved to be a banner race for local runners.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I had just been really looking forward to this race,\u201d Lunder said. \u201cLast year, I ran a 16:37 on the same course. I really wanted to get closer to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richmond, Kentwood\u2019s No. 2 runner this season, was nearly as good, taking 11th with a time of 16:21.3. Behind Lunder and Richmond, Kentwood managed an impressive third-place finish at the sub-district meet with 106 total points. The top 10 teams and 50 individuals from the sub-district meet earned berths to this weekend\u2019s West Central District meet, slated for Oct. 30 at American Lake Golf Course in Tacoma.<\/p>\n
And while Kentwood delivered the goods, so did a host of other local teams and individual runners. The Kentridge boys were right behind Kentwood, finishing in fourth with 110 points. The Kent-Meridian boys also qualified as a team, taking 10th with 252 points.<\/p>\n
Three Conquerors finished among the top 25: Lunder, Richmond along with Will Johnston, who took 21st at 16:52.9.<\/p>\n
Kentridge, which has enjoyed a remarkable season, also had several runners crash the top 25, including Alex Horton (15th, 16:33.6), Talon Abernathy (19th, 16:49.7), Troy Bunker (22nd, 16:53.6) and Sterling Bath (25th, 16:55.2).<\/p>\n
A little more than two weeks ago, Kentridge\u2019s Horton was the lone Charger under the 17-minute mark. Coach Ryan West noted that if a few more Chargers could cut their respective times under 17 minutes, a state berth would be in reach. The Chargers haven\u2019t advanced to state as a team since 1987.<\/p>\n
If Kentridge continues its progression, that state berth could be had this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine with where we are right now,\u201d West said. \u201cBut the entire team agrees, we can do better.\u201d<\/p>\n
James Dagley, who finished in 12th place with a time of 16:23.7, was the top Tahoma finisher. Meanwhile, Kent-Meridian star Derrick Daigre, who has been nursing a sore foot the last few weeks, clocked out at 16:37.4, which was good enough for 16th place.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter not practicing the final couple days of the week, I think (Daigre) was a little lethargic,\u201d said Kent-Meridian coach Ernie Ammons. \u201cI think the injury (to his right foot) is normal wear and tear on the body. Everyone in the race was extremely fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
As good as the local boys performed, the girls were even better on Oct. 23. Tahoma, which took second at state last year, bolted to the title with 69 points and was followed considerably by Thomas Jefferson (116). Kentwood (4th, 173), Kentridge (7th, 198), Kent-Meridian (9th, 220) and Kentlake (10th, 228) also earned tickets to the meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a pretty good race, but we\u2019re going to have to produce a little more (at district),\u201d said Tahoma coach Gary Conner.<\/p>\n
The Bears have made a habit out of winning the sub-district title as this was their fourth straight. However, it\u2019s hardly time to celebrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI prepare my kids for the final two meets (district and state),\u201d Conner added.<\/p>\n
And while the Tahoma girls ran away with the top hardware, the Kent schools combined for a banner day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing that all the girls\u2019 teams (from the Kent School District) advanced,\u201d Ammons said. \u201cThe Kent programs are getting stronger. The average time for our boys team is faster, but the rest of the league is faster, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leading the way for the girls was Kent-Meridian\u2019s Alexia Martin, who took fourth with a time of 19:16.3. Martin, a state veteran, won the race last year. Martin was closely followed by Kentwood\u2019s Kailey Ulland, who took sixth with a time of 19:23.2. Martin and Ulland have a history of finishing neck-and-neck with one another, doing so during last year\u2019s sub-district, district and state meets.<\/p>\n
Not far behind Martin and Ulland was K-M freshman sensation Ruby Virk, who took 11th with a time of 19:37.3, which was a personal best by three seconds.<\/p>\n
Tahoma\u2019s first-place finish was made possible with string individual pushes into the top 25, where the Bears placed five runners. Leading the Tahoma contingent was Julianna Mock, who took eighth at 19:33.7. Mock was followed closely by Elizabeth Oosterhout (9th, 19:35.2). Also cracking the top 25 for the Bears were Lauren Clawson (12th, 19:38.8), Emily Duerson (16th, 20:03.2) and Cheynne Greenside (24th, 20:24.8).<\/p>\n
Sarah Robbins continued to lead Kentlake, rounding out the top 10 with a time of 19:35.5.<\/p>\n
Molly Shiroishi was Kentridge\u2019s top finisher, taking 15th place with a time of 20:00.4.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kentwood High\u2019s Danny Lunder heard the footsteps closing in and the familiar voice that followed.
\nDespite being in the midst of a career-best performance on the 3.1-mile cross-country course at Fort Steilacoom Park Oct. 23, Lunder couldn\u2019t help but be taken back a bit upon realizing that voice was coming from teammate Will Richmond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":10538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-10537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10537"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=10537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}