Ferris Ends Mead’s Reign

AAA

Ferris ended Mead’s eight-year cross country dynasty on Saturday.

The folks from Mead believe a new dynasty could begin in one week.

By placing three runners in the top four, including champion Isaac Hawkins, Ferris ruled the Region IV-AAA boys meet at Hangman Valley Golf Course. (The Ferris girls also shone brightly; more on that later.)

The Saxons boys scored 73 points to the 88 of Mead, which had won every District 8 and State AAA title in the previous seven years. No Greater Spokane League team had beaten Mead in duals or tournaments during the streak.

“I train them hard, but they were totally rested today,” said coach Mike Hadway of Ferris, which missed state last year by three points because the pre-regional format sent just one team to state.

“Next week (Saturday’s State AAA meet at Pasco) is when it counts,” said Mead coach Pat Tyson. “I guess we’ll be the underdogs, but Ferris knows we won’t be easy to beat.

“Ferris was extremely hungry today, and maybe not to just beat us, but to get back for last year.”

Ah yes, last year: when the Big Nine Conference refused to pool its two team and 10 individual berths to state, leaving the GSL with one team and five individuals.

As events unfolded during the cold-but-clearing afternoon, the Big Nine’s reasoning became apparent. Both meets belonged to the GSL, which garnered two of the three team berths and 11 of the 15 individual berths in both races.

Ferris’ girls washed away the field, with four runners in the top nine and a meet-low 50 points.

Saxons junior Jennifer Smith took an early lead and never missed a beat. Stephanie Heaton of defending state champ Eisenhower closed toward the end, but Smith held firm.

“That’s how I race,” Smith said. “I go out strong. I saw two of them (Ike runners) right behind me, but I wanted it so bad.”

The third-place Cadets runner was Tara Hangge, not defending state champ Aleah Thome, who settled for 15th. Thome’s finish nearly knocked Ike out of the state team race, as the Cadets’ 84 points were just one better than fourth-place Mead.

University, the 1992 state champ, bunched up its runners to finish second with 76 points and earn a return to state. Seniors Lindsay Daehlin (eighth place) and Shanna Delong (12th) led U-Hi’s charge.

But Ferris, the ‘91 state champ, was far too strong for the 17-team field. Freshman Jill Johnson (18:55) was fourth, senior Kristen Parrish (19:10) seventh and sophomore Emily Hawkins (19:13) ninth.

“Actually, I thought we’d have four in the top 10,” said Ferris coach Wayne Gilman. They had high expectations, and they came through with flying colors.”

GSL individuals who came through were fifth-place Jenni Saling of Central Valley, sixth-place Stephanie Goaslind of Mead and 14th-place Rebekah Paulk of Lewis and Clark.

“Going to state as a team - that’s the ultimate thing,” Smith said.

Going to state as an entire school is more accurate. The Ferris boys showed no residual effects from a GSL season-ending loss to Mead. The talented pack - Hawkins (15:14), Dave Schruth (15:34, third place) and Paul Harkins (15:37, fourth place) - was as strong as ever, and freshman T.J. Marshall took 25th to finish ahead of Mead’s No. 4.

“We were shooting at state and not really planning to beat them here,” said Hawkins, a junior who led most of the way.

“The league meet - that was more pressure than this, I’m sure,” Hadway said.

As expected, Matt Kerr of Kennewick gave Hawkins his biggest (non-team) challenge. But the second-place Kerr (15:33) barely stayed within 20 seconds of Hawkins.

Mead bunched up Morgan Thompson, Jason Fayant and Mark Mohrlang in places 9-11 to secure second place to state. The interesting races became for the third team spot and individual berths.

The Big Nine’s Richland broke through for third place, with 137 points. North Central (151), surprising LC (197) and U-Hi (208) finished out of the money, although fifth-place Ryan Johnson of LC, and Jon Cabellero (seventh) and Justin Hill (14th) of NC moved on.

So did Cameron Hatch of Rogers, an early leader who dropped to eighth, and 15th-place Jim Rucker of Gonzaga Prep.

The Mead boys took the loss hard, gathering for a long team meeting by Hangman Creek while meet officials took more than 2 hours to sort out results.

Tyson came out of the meeting with a relatively positive feeling.

“You can take it as a loss or say there are three winners today,” said Tyson, referring to the available team berths.

“Our minds, I think, were looking at state and not at this meet.”

There’s always next week to begin a new dynasty, since three of Mead’s top five runners are juniors.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo