PORTLAND, ORE. – Keith Carlson bettered his own best mark by 49 seconds as he took the medal for 27th place for the Bainbridge Spartans in men’s varsity cross country during the Nike Pre Nationals last week.
Carlson crossed the line in 16:43, a mark some noted as a gutsy break-through for the senior Spartan.
And it was a big trip for the BHS team overall, as many of the runners finished with new personal records.
“We went looking for new challenges and found them, while racing athletes from the Pacific Northwest, California, Hawaii and Arizona,” said Spartans Head Coach Anne Howard Lindquist.
“Our Bainbridge Island cross country varsity invitational trip offered practice in risk-taking, confidence, fast starts and uphill finishes,” she said.
The Nike Pre Nationals is one of the premier cross country meets on the West Coast, and was held Saturday, Sept. 26 at the infield course of the Portland Meadows horse racing facility.
Race day was cloudy, overcast and 71 degrees, and with so many teams traveling from such great distances to compete — the Spartan cross country team met runners from eight different states — the atmosphere was festive.
And by the end, the Spartans found a lot of things to smile about.
The times for Bainbridge’s varsity girls were much improved over last year’s early season races, with the Spartans racing 30 seconds to 2 minutes faster.
The Spartans’ top four varsity runners — Haylee Derrickson, Naomi vonRuden, Julia Denlinger and Audrey Audrey Weaver – had excellent pack racing and finished with a gap of just 9 seconds and some season-best times.
The No. 5-7 runners had milestone PRs, with Emma Goidel, Ashley Alnwick, and Jackie McVay coming in 40 to 50 seconds faster than last year.
JV girls championship racing saw solid races from Adalynn Griesser and Kiera Kiera Knoll, who both had PRs, and Morgan Blevins.
For the varsity men, Carlson’s personal record time of 16:43 was the most dramatic. It was 49 seconds faster than his previous PR.
The Bainbridge team got a fast start, coming through mile 1 at 5:06 – 5:37.
The No. 2-4 pack finished 1 minute back of Carlson but within 14 seconds of each other. Ben Scott also impressed with a new PR trend, now 77 seconds faster and up 19 positions from where he was in 2013.
Johan Griesser also had a PR and Arthur Bacon, a season-best, as the pair came through a crowded finish clogged with two to three finishers per second.
The No. 5-7 racers finished as a group; Devon Reynolds, Noel Hilst and Will Gleason. Gleason also trimmed 47 seconds off his PR.
In the competitive JV boys championship, Cole Brundige had a 60 second-improved PR and led fellow Spartan runners Jared Cordell (PR) and Wyatt Longley.
