Panther runners head to state
A car rental firm used to use it as a slogan: “When you’re No. 2, you try harder.”
Erica Hattamer knows that sentiment well.
As a sophomore, the Valley Christian runner finished second in the State B 400-yard championship race.
Second.
“She got edged just in the last few yards,” Valley Christian track and cross country coach Terry Templeton said. “I think that was difficult for her to take.”
“I want to finish first,” Hattamer said.
That drive prompted Hattamer to drop soccer, where she played for Central Valley because Valley Christian does not field a team, and take up cross country.
“My coaches talked to me about running cross country and told me that it would help for track season – so long as I kept running over the winter,” Hattamer said. “Before, when I ran the 400, I had to pace myself early in the race so that I’d have something left for the finish. With cross country training, I should be able to go all-out the whole race. That will be the difference, I hope.”
The transition was difficult.
“I think part of it was that, in track, right away she was a top contender,” Templeton said. “That didn’t happen for her in cross country, but by the end of the season she was happier with the way she was performing and with the way she was running.”
Adding to the stress was the fact that there were only two girls out for the sport at Valley Christian this past fall, with Janelle Wagnill. That meant training runs with the boys.
“I liked training with the boys,” she said. “You don’t like to get beaten by the slower boys and you try to keep up with the faster, better runners. I think that helped.”
Still, cross country isn’t as engrossing as playing Greater Spokane League soccer, and it took a while for Hattamer to find a comfort level.
“My first cross country meet was pretty difficult for me,” Lattamer said. “It was a little boring for me, just running. And I think the distance got to me – three miles of just running. I ended up having to sit out about a half-dozen meets.
“But by the end of the season I think it was finally coming together for me.”
That’s an understatement.
Hattamer placed eighth overall in the Class B regional last week and qualified to run in Saturday’s state Class 1A/B Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
“It’s ironic, really,” Hattamer laughed. “Last year I was the only girl representing Valley Christian at the state track meet. Now I’m the only girl representing Valley Christian in Pasco.”
Just not the lone Valley Christian Panther.
The school’s boys qualified as a team for the third time in school history.
Two freshmen, Jeff Pope and Tyler Stewart, led the Panthers to a third-place finish in last week’s regional, behind St. George’s and defending state champion Reardan.
“I’ve never told a team this at the beginning of the season before, but I told this group of guys that they could win a state championship,” Templeton said. “We ran right there with Reardan – we’re not outgunned by anyone. I think if our No. 5 runner can improve about 20 seconds or so, we could do it.
“Anything can happen in a state meet – we’ve seen it happen before.”
Freshman Jeff Pope goes into the state meet as the Panthers No. 1 runner, with fellow freshman Tyler Stewart a close No. 2. Junior Justin McNamara placed 10th at last year’s state meet and is the team’s No. 3. Pope’s senior brother Josh and junior Teddy Mattfeld round out the top five, with team captain and four-year runner Nick Crooks and freshman Reed Wells completing the varsity.
“Justin came down with pneumonia the second week of the season and he’s just now getting back into shape,” Templeton said. “I think he’s ready to have a really good race at state.
“I tell people that I’ve built the program on Nick’s back. I started here four years ago and Nick’s been with me from the very beginning and he’s helped get a lot of kids out for the team. He’s 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds and is built more like a football player than a runner, but he’s been so important to this program.”