Alexia Martin heard the footsteps.
Instead of turning around to see how close those footsteps were, the Kent-Meridian sophomore shifted into overdrive and blazed a trail throughout Fort Steilacoom Park last Saturday afternoon during the sub-district cross country meet.
By the end of the afternoon, the only sounds Martin heard came from her own two feet as she broke the tape on the 3.1-mile course in a personal best 18:45.7 to win the district title by a wide margin.
How fast was Martin?
Tahoma’s Julianna Mock, who clocked in at 18:57.4, was the next closest finisher followed by third-place Carly Wilczynski (18:59.9) of Emerald Ridge.
“I heard footsteps and thought some girls would pass me up,” said Martin, who beat her previous personal best by a whopping 30 seconds. “I just kept pushing it.
“I don’t know what got into me. I went out hard and I just kept going hard.”
Kent-Meridian coach Ernie Ammons, who has been impressed with Martin’s ascension all season long, wasn’t surprised by the performance of his super sophomore.
“Going in, we thought she had a good chance of winning it,” Ammons said. “She had control from the start and never looked back.”
Tahoma, the South Puget Sound League North Division champions, cruised to the girls title with 44 points, well ahead of second-place Jefferson (144) and third-place Auburn Riverside (120). Kentwood, which took fourth with 145 points, was the top local team finisher among the girls.
Like the Tahoma girls, Auburn Riverside blistered its way to the boys title, finishing with 42 points. Curtis finished a distant second (134) followed by Kentwood (137). Outside of the Kentwood boys, Kent-Meridian was the next highest local team placer, taking fifth with 161 points followed by seventh-place Kentridge (199) and Kentlake (372), which came in 15th place.
The top 10 teams and 50 individuals in both the boys and girls races earned tickets to the West Central District meet, known as the Westside Classic, which is slated for Saturday (Oct. 31) at American Lake Golf Course in Tacoma. From there, the top six teams and top 30 individuals advance to state, which will be the following weekend in Pasco.
Locally, Kentwood and Kentridge will be the only complete girls teams to advance to Saturday’s district meet. The Conquerors were led by Kailey Ulland, who crossed the finish line in 10th place with a time of 19:32.7. Other Conquerors finishing among the top 50 were Marisa Stoick (29), Erin Chinchar (31), Alayna Wachter (35) and Sarah Belter (44). Kentridge’s Andrea Antrim (30) was the lone Charger to crack the top 50. Sarah Robbins led Kentlake, finishing in 20th place with a time of 20:39.9.
Martin was the lone Royal to finish among the top 50.
“It feels so good,” she said. “It wasn’t that I was surprised. I feel like I finally found what I’ve been looking for. Last season, I had a couple of courses I needed to improve on. But I’ve been practicing really hard, eating right … it all just came together.”
Things came together for the Kentwood boys in pretty good fashion as well. Kentwood, which took third, will advance its entire team to the district meet as will Kent-Meridian and Kentridge. The Conquerors were led by Danny Lunder (15th), Tim Pettit (17th) and Will Richmond (24th).
Kent-Meridian’s DJ Jigre (9th) and Derrick Daigre (10th) were the only two local runners to break the top 10. Both delivered personal bests, Jigre registering a 16:20.7 while Daigre wasn’t far behind at 16:25.3.
“Everything is firing where it should be,” said Ammons.
Other male local runners earning district berths included: Kentridge’s Alex Horton (22) and Alex Porter (48) along with Kentlake’s Kyle Koon (16:57.9).
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