Sunfair overview
October 2, 2008 by Scott Spruill
No offense guys, but the marquee race in Saturday’s Sunfair Invitational cross country meet will be the girls. When introductions are made to point out elite entries in the final girls race at 3:30 p.m. it could take a while.
Two former Sunfair champions is just the start of it.
A good measure of depth over the years in the final girls flight has been how many break 19 minutes on Franklin Park’s three-mile layout. The record is nine and it’s been done four times.
This year, plan on double digits and then some.
The top five finishers from last year’s elite flight are returning led by defending champ Ruby Roberts, a junior from Kingston who is in good form again. Mead’s Baylee Mires and Davis’ Sandra Martinez are in that returning group, and Mires has been especially sharp in September.
That quintet doesn’t include three other big contenders — reigning Class 4A state champion Andrea Nelson of Shadle Park, 2006 Sunfair winner Sarah Lord of Redmond and Annie Moore of Sehome.
But based on the past month’s results, the race favorite should be Gig Harbor senior Alyssa Andrews, whose only loss came last week in the Stanford Invitational. In that 5,000-meter race she clocked a swift 17:52 to finish second to a sophomore from California.
Andrews leads a Gig Harbor program that has won three 4A state titles in a row and brings a No. 1 state ranking to Yakima this weekend. But the Tides haven’t yet solved Sunfair’s seven-flight format, placing second the last two years and third in 2005.
Gig Harbor will get a look at six other state-ranked teams who hope to derail the Tides’ quest for a fourpeat in Pasco next month, including No. 2 Eastlake and No. 4 Davis.
The boys final flight goes off at 3 p.m. and it appears wide open with top contenders being Southridge’s Andrew Gonzales, Gig Harbor’s Conner Peloquin, Auburn Riverside’s Julian Blake-Cowan and Redmond’s Aiden Irish.
Eisenhower’s Bryan Simison and Davis’ Emmanuel Contreras should be in the mix on their home course.
The Cadets’ second-ranked boys will get their first look at No. 3 Mead and No. 4 Gig Harbor.
PAST TEAM WINNERS
BOYS
2007: Central Valley
2006: Central Valley
2005: Flathead, Mont.
2004: Auburn Riverside
2003: Eisenhower
2002: Mead
2001: Flathead, Mont.
2000: Flathead, Mont.
1999: University
1998: Flathead, Mont.
1997: University
1996: Mead
1995: Mead
1994: Mead
1993: Mead
1992: Mead
1991: Mead
1990: Mead
1989: Mead
1988: Mead
1987: North Central
1986: Gig Harbor
1985: Mead
1984: West Valley-Spo
1983: Richland
1982: Ferris
1981: North Central
1980: Borah, Idaho
1979: Kennewick
1978: Kennewick
1977: Selah
1976: Davis
1975: Davis
GIRLS
2007: Mead
2006: Snohomish
2005: Thousand Oaks, Calif.
2004: Flathead, Mont.
2003: Snohomish
2002: Mt. Spokane
2001: North Central
2000: Snohomish
1999: Eisenhower
1998: East Valley-Spo
1997: Newport-Bell
1996: Mead
1995: Ferris
1994: Mead
1993: Snohomish
1992: University
1991: University
1990: Eisenhower
1989: Mead
1988: Eisenhower
1987: Eisenhower
1986: University
1985: West Valley-Spo
1984: Tumwater
1983: Carroll
1982: Carroll
1981: Columbia River
1980: Bellarmine
1979: Newport-Bell
1978: Bellarmine
1977: Mead
1976: Selah
Filed under Preps blog
