Twins look forward to regional meet

The twins are healthy.

University seniors Karen and Katie Owens, mainstays of the Titans’ cross country program for four years, are attempting a finish kick on their standout high school careers.

“They are healthy, which is nice,” coach Chrissy Francek said. “It’s been crazy.”

At least one of the twins has run in each of the past three State 4A girls championship races. Two years ago, as sophomores, both ran at state.

Francek would love to see the pair finish their careers in Pasco Nov. 4, when the state’s best will meet on the Sun Willows Golf Course.

“We’re hoping that the pattern holds where they both run every other year – we want to make it work out that way,” Francek said. “Freshman year Katie went, but Karen broke her ankle. Sophomore year they both went. Last year Karen went, but we didn’t make it as a team and Katie missed the whole year with a hip problem.”

Karen Owens has run with the U-Hi varsity all season long. Katie Owens, coming back from the hip problems that sidelined her all last year, has been up and down with the varsity, sitting out last week’s race.

“I wanted this year to be my best one and I’ve been trying to run on the varsity, but I haven’t been able to stay up there,” Katie said. “I take my Sundays off and try to keep my rest up and I am going to make a final push.

“It hasn’t hit me yet that this is my last season and that these are my last races.”

Karen Owens is looking forward to continuing her running career. She’s looking at area colleges and contemplates walking on at Eastern Washington University next year.

“I definitely would like to continue running,” she said. “I just want to do it locally. I don’t think I could stand going that far away from my family to go to school.”

Both sisters are intent on running well in their final meet Oct. 28 in Yakima at Franklin Park for the regional meet.

Neither sister had thought much about competitive running when former U-Hi coach Steve Llewellyn invited them to run with his varsity during the summer.

“We were in the seventh or eighth grade when he invited us to run with them,” Karen said. “It was so much fun. Coach Lew always made you feel so good about yourself and really boosted your self-esteem. It was so much fun getting to know the team and to run with them and we decided to stay with it.”

When Francek took over last year, the twins noticed a subtle change in the team.

“Chrissy is so much more competitive,” Karen said. “I don’t think I’m that competitive, but my friends disagree. It’s a different atmosphere, but I like it. And we still have fun on our bus rides and we still love to run together.”

It’s the running together part that has been rare.

The twins erupted onto the scene at U-Hi as freshmen and went right to the front of the pack. The pair ran well during the season. Katie went on to run at the State 4A meet after Karen suffered a broken ankle at the team’s first meet.

“They had been worried about my knee, and I was running for times,” Karen recalled. “I was running down the back side of Big Bertha, the hill on our home course. I moved out of the way of another runner and when I started up the next hill, it just snapped.”

Sophomore season the twins stayed healthy through the cross country season, but hip problems flared up for Katie during track.

“They really still do not know why it happened,” she said. “Some coaches thought it was because we’d all been running in the same direction too much, since it was on my right side. But we tried going the other direction, but that didn’t help.

“And it didn’t get better running cross country, where you’re turning all different directions.”

“My junior year was horrible. I was trying so hard to get back, but I just couldn’t.”

As meet veterans, the twins have experience running in the rarified air of state.

“Being there is amazing,” Katie said. “Everyone is so excited to be there and you can’t believe you made it. Everyone is cheering and running around. It’s just a lot of fun.

“It’s different from regionals. At regionals, everyone is so competitive and is so focused on making it to state. Once you make it there, it’s a different feel. It’s the last race and you can focus on just that.”

“I’d tell someone running at state for the first time to relax,” Karen said. “Everyone is so intent on getting off to a good start that you can go out too fast.

“That’s what was so difficult about running there last year. I was alone and I was a little lost without having my teammates to run with.”