State girls XC: St. George’s Regan Thomas, Josie McLaughlin take top two spots in 2B meet

PASCO – Three strides from crossing the finish line, St. George’s junior Regan Thomas finally wiped the stoic look off her face and let a smile out.

For good reason, too. Thomas dominated the State 2B/1B cross country championship race from start to finish, winning in 18 minutes, 20.3 seconds Saturday morning at the 3.1-mile course at Sun Willows Golf Course.

Thomas’ time was the fastest in the history of the State 2B meet.

Teammate Josie McLaughlin, state champ two years ago, bounced back after missing state last year by finishing second (19:16.8).

Thomas went from 10th a year ago to state champ. The metamorphosis in her running is nothing short of impressive.

She quit soccer to concentrate fully on cross country. Her decision paid the ultimate dividend .

Thomas and McLaughlin took off from the get-go and pulled away quickly from the field. Thomas separated herself from McLaughlin at a steady pace.

“The strategy was to run the first mile hard,” Thomas said. “The race really started at the top of the second hill, so we wanted to charge the hill and hold the pace for as long as we could. Our plan was to win it by the first mile. It worked. Kudos to our coaches, for sure.”

McLaughlin missed most of September fighting an illness. She returned in early October but never regained form.

“Obviously, Regan had an amazing season,” McLaughlin said. “Sickness took me out for a month. Even though I came back, I know I’m not in the best shape, so it’s kind of disappointing to end my senior season like this. At the same time, I’m very proud of Regan.”

It wasn’t lost on Thomas the improvement she’s made in the last year.

“From 10th to first is just crazy,” Thomas said. “I definitely chalk it up to my coaches. One of our coaches runs with us and he’s honest about recovery. That ups volume, that ups integrity and it ups intensity of the workouts. The increased mileage this summer did it. And Josie’s been a great training partner. She’s really helped me a lot.”

St. George’s coach Rick Riley praised his 1-2 punch.

“That’s as well as Regan has run all season,” Riley said. “I am surprised at how she totally dominated. Josie had one goal – finish a strong second, run a great time and stay as close to Regan as possible.”

Rainier won the team title with 71 points. St. George’s took third (85) and Garfield-Palouse (114) was fourth.

Other area medal winners were: Charlotte Soliday of Davenport (sixth, 19:50.1); Allie Robertson of Northwest Christian (seventh, 19:51.4), Emma Kritzeck of Gar-Pal (14th, 20:03.9), Josie Wynecoop of Davenport (15th, 20:12.3); and Amber Eppel of Chewelah (20:14.4).

4A

Mt. Si won the team title with 90 points.

Gonzaga Prep finished sixth (187). Freshman Erin McMahon, who took 14th (18:35.2), and sophomore Claire Gee, who was 17th (18:38.2), led the Bullpups.

3A

Mt. Spokane took fourth with 144 points. Mercer Island won the team title with 90.

Junior Jane Wycoff, who was 18th (18:50), led Mt. Spokane. The top 20 in 3A earned medals.

Wycoff said she was sick all week and didn’t travel to Pasco with the team on Friday. She drove down separately Saturday morning.

Despite being under the weather, Wycoff improved three spots over the year before and broke the 19-minute barrier at state for the first time.

Sophie Rodriguez of Mercer Island set the course record (16:48.2).

Mackenzie Munn of Central Valley took 20th (18:50.3).

2A

West Valley finished fifth with 190 points, and Sehome defended its title (40). WV’s Hadassah Duff took 11th (19:13.6).

1A

Lakeside took second with 133 points, and Cedar Park Christian captured the title with 102.

Kaylee Dennler of Medical Lake took fourth (19:08.6), Zadi Zier of Colville was 11th (19:33.9), and Sadie Meyring of Lakeside took 14th (19:49.8).