Noble dials top 800 number

KIRKLAND, Wash. – A few weeks ago in Pasco, after effortlessly dusting the competition in the 400-meter sprint, Rogers standout Becca Noble admitted she had “fire in her feet” for a classic matchup.

She had one girl in mind: Bellarmine Prep’s Brianna Felnagle, the two-time Class 4A state 800 champion.

The two met on the track for the first time Saturday at the 29th annual Lake Washington Invitational, and seemingly on Felnagle’s turf – a two-lap, tactical sprint in the 800.

Noble stayed close to the pack, matched Felnagle’s burst with 250 meters to go, and passed her with just more than 100 remaining to win in 2 minutes, 6.75 seconds – the best time in the state this season, and No. 7 all-time.

Felnagle was second in 2:08.99, followed by Everett’s Cori Moore (2:12.84) as seven of the state’s eight fastest half-milers were entered in the race.

But the signature moment came on the home stretch when Noble, the state 200 and 400 champion, made up the deficit in a hurry, powered through a slight breeze and finished with no one around her.

Shocked?

Most in the grandstands at Mac Field were floored.

“The plan was to stay right on her, and for the second lap not to get too far behind,” Noble said. “I was right next to her, and it came down to power at the end.”

Noble answered the one question many have when a sprinter moves up: How much is in the tank for the second lap?

The answer: plenty.

“I didn’t run the first lap hard enough, and Becca has a crazy kick,” said Felnagle, suffering her second in-state 800 loss, and first since 2003 when she lost to Eastmont’s Amanda Miller in the state finals. “Becca has a crazy kick. I could hear her coming in the last 200. When she passed me, I just had nothing.”

The three lead runners – Felnagle, Moore and Noble – came through the first lap in 1:07, much too slow for Felnagle.

“We came around and I heard (the time) and I knew it was going to be bad,” Felnagle said. “I could hear her pounding the whole way. I knew I was getting tired, and I know how fast she is.”

Felnagle was counting on Moore to be the pace setter, but the Everett runner was coming off last week with the flu, and was not 100 percent.

“I would have bet money on Brie, because of her 2:07 she’s run already,” Moore said. “I knew if Becca was able to stay with us, she had the kick.”

All parties knew if the race came down to a sprint, it played into Noble’s hands.

“When you’re an 800 or 1,500 runner, you’ve got to make the 400 runner wish, with 200 meters to go, that she was already done,” Lions distance coach Matt Ellis said.

For Felnagle, it was a rare loss, one that won’t sit well with her. The two are expected to meet in the 800 state finals on the first weekend of June.

“I’m fine. I knew it was going to be close,” Felnagle said. “I’m just kind of upset that I didn’t even give her a race. She just flew right by me. That’s never happened before.”

Wenatchee won the 56-team meet with 57 points. Ferris finished fourth with 34, as two individuals and the 1,600 relay team finished on the podium. Kelsey Adams placed third in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 2 inches, while Tanya Romanchuck placed third in the shot put at 36-3.

Gonzaga Prep’s Corrina O’Brien scored the Bullpups’ six points in the meet, finishing third in the 400 in 59.66. Noble’s 800 win accounted for Rogers’ 10 points.