Sea-King 3A Cross Country | Prep sophomore is comeback kid
ISSAQUAH - From next-to-last to first.
After finishing 88th of 89 runners at the Sea-King 3A District championships last year, Seattle Prep’s Laura Sauvage did a tad bit better Thursday. The sophomore won the meet on a muddy, 3.1-mile course at Lake Sammamish State Park in 18 minutes, 49.10 seconds, more than six seconds quicker than second-place Clarkie Hussey of Lakeside.
“I’m really excited,” said Sauvage. “It feels really good.”
Sauvage’s breakthrough victory rounded out a solid day for the Seattle Prep girls. After missing state last season, the Panthers will have three runners at next Saturday’s state championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. Prep junior Carey Parker finished third and sophomore Krista Beyer was 12th.
The Panthers were third with 77 points, behind second-place Newport (55) and champion Lakeside (53).
“Last year we were Metro [League] champs and didn’t go to state at all,” said Panthers girls coach Jimmy McArthur. “So this is like the monkey off our back.”
The Seattle Prep boys had something to celebrate, too. The state’s second-ranked team won with 60 points, followed by Bellevue’s 74.
Prep got four runners to state, led by fifth-place Drew O’Donoghue-McDonald. The top 20 finishers in both races qualified for state.
The boys’ race came down to the final straightaway, with Skyline’s Simon Sorensen edging Sam Wegman of Bishop Blanchet. Sorenson, who won last week’s KingCo 3A championship, finished in 16:12.91, less than two seconds better than Wegman. Wegman won last week’s Metro meet.
“Simon’s a pretty fast guy with real good footspeed,” said Spartans coach Brendan Hyland. “If it’s close, he really feels pretty comfortable that he’ll be there.”
Sorensen was there Thursday, and he’ll look for a high finish in Pasco.
“There are a lot of fast guys at state,” Sorensen said.