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It was just the kind of homecoming Greg Billington was hoping for.
The 16-year-old Billington returned to Spokane for the first time in 14 years and finished first in the young men’s division at Saturday’s USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships at Plantes Ferry Park. The race featured athletes from 48 of the 50 states.
Billington, 16, was born in Spokane and lives in England. He was eligible to compete for the Spokane Mercury because his father is in the military. He finished the 5,000-meter race in 15 minutes, 39 seconds.
“It was pretty cool to come back (to Spokane) and win,” Billington said. “I knew I would do well, but I didn’t know that I would win.”
Team Idaho’s Nick Bolinder and Sean Huey finished second and third, respectively, to help the team win its third consecutive young men’s team title.
“We knew we could do it again,” Bolinder, a senior at Boise High, said. “But we also knew this would be the toughest year for us. Some of us weren’t feeling very good, so that makes it even sweeter to win.”
In the young women’s division, Katrina Drennen of Federal Way, Wash., took top honors with a time of 18:20.
Spokane Mercury athlete Anna Stone finished fifth with a 19:05.
The Coeur d’Alene High senior, who placed third in the Idaho State 5A Championships in November, was less than thrilled with her performance.
“I felt OK,” Stone said. “I fell when I was trying to pass for third and lost my momentum. But I’ve done it before and you just have to keep going.”
Billington, Stone and more than 2,300 participants in five divisions faced cold, windy and wet conditions. But it seemed to bother the spectators more so than the athletes.
“I don’t mind it,” Stone said. “I don’t love it, but it was fine and it was still a good race.”
Jacque Taylor from Santa Rosa, Calif., won the intermediate girls 5K race with a time of 18:10.74.
Ryan Prentice of Federal Way placed first among boys in 16:01.96.
In the youth girls 4K race, Kelley Robinson of Ric Rojas won in 14:13.24 and Daniel Rosales won in 13:01.62.
In the midget boys race, North Idaho Track Club’s Cody Curtis held on in the final stretch of the race and edged Fast Feat’s Tate Schienbein by 6 seconds, finishing the 3K race in 9:51.
Katie Shirley of the Equalizers won the girls race in 10:36.51.
In the bantam boys division, Steven Fahy ran unattached and won with a 10:47.65 in the 3K race.
Paige Rice of Oregon won the girls race with a time of 11:08.78.
Complete team results were not available at press time because some of the races were under review by officials. Complete results, when posted, will be available at www.usatf.org.