Riverside Looking To A Strong Future

Thu., Nov. 9, 2000

Nathan Joyce Correspondent

You can’t really blame Riverside cross country coach Bill Kemp for having high hopes for his girls team next year.

The Rams ran to a second-place finish last Saturday at the State 2A Cross Country Championships in Pasco, with four freshman on the team.

Assuming all four return for next season - along with junior Katie Prichard (ninth place) who has three top 10 state finishes - Riverside has a chance for its first team title since 1987.

“We don’t know how far we can go,” said Kemp, who was fielding hugs from seniors Averie Powell (53rd place) and Patty Tallant (28th place) after the race Saturday.

“I wasn’t sure they could handle the pressure (of the state meet),” Prichard said of the four freshmen, Beth Kemp (42nd place), Tirzah Spackman (39th place), Maria Taylor (17th place) and Natalie Wilson (38th place).

Some of the freshmen runners thought the Rams should have been able to go a bit further Saturday.

“Some of the freshmen were crying (after the race),” Kemp said. “I think this was a great motivator.”

The high finish will likely encourage the girls to train hard in the off-season.

“It’s going to be a big difference next fall,” Kemp said.

Decent showing for Eagles

Both Lakeside teams had a little something to celebrate Saturday.

The Lakeside boys finished ninth and were content to be the top finishing team from the Great Northern League. The Riverside boys finished 12th in the 16-team field.

The Eagles certainly didn’t get any breaks to claim that ninth spot.

“I thought it was an uphill battle,” Lakeside coach Matt Sullivan said.

First there was the stiff wind, with gusts estimated at up to 50 mph at the Sun Willows Golf Course.

Sam Hensold was cleated at the beginning of the race, resulting in a long gash above his ankle. Hensold finished 57th before hobbling off to the medical tent.

It wasn’t all bad though.

Tyler Johnson, who has autism, posted Lakeside’s fourth-best time (18 minutes, 23 seconds) and finished 85th.

Lakeside freshman Katie Blackwell became the second Eagle girl to claim a state cross country trophy. Blackwell finished 11th. The top 12 finishers earn trophies.

The Lakeside girls finished eighth in the eight-team field.

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