Vikings’ Gomez blazes her way to top in cross country

Did anybody get the license plate on that blue-and-white streak that went by at the State 5A cross country meet in Idaho Falls over the weekend?

All signs – and a state-champion medal hung around her neck after the race – indicate it was Coeur d’Alene High’s Kinsey Gomez.

Further investigation reveals that Gomez, purportedly still a freshman, not only won the race, she also defeated the defending state champion and broke the noteworthy 18-minute barrier in the process with a time of 17:56.23.

For confirmation of all of this, we went directly to the source.

“Yeah, I’m really excited,” said Gomez, who became the first Viking since the late Corissa Yasen to win a state title. “I’m overwhelmed.”

In conversation, it immediately becomes clear why Gomez didn’t let an obstacle like senior Nicole Nielsen of Borah, last year’s champ, get in her way in what she said – at least to this point – was the race of her life.

Instead, she used Nielsen to her advantage.

“I’ve been running since I was in kindergarten,” said Gomez, who plans on continuing her exploits at the Footlocker Western Regional race in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Dec. 1. “So it’s nothing new to me, and I love being able to race against that kind of competition – it’s fun.

“(Nielsen) pushed me the whole way, and I couldn’t have broken the 18-minute mark if I hadn’t have stuck with her – she definitely helped.”

Turns out Gomez, apparently a stranger to prerace butterflies, had even predicted finishing lower than 18 to teammates and coach Cathy Compton.

“I was just joking about that,” she said. “I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to go out and break 18 on this course,’ and all the guys told me that was pretty fast and they didn’t know if I could do it or not.”

Gomez, who both runs and talks beyond her years, credits much of her success to those same teammates.

“They’re so much of an encouragement – they’re there for you every step of the way,” she said, also mentioning the “incredible support” she’s received from parents Shaun and Cheryl, both runners. “And cross country is a sport where you become like a family.

“It’s really wonderful: I love that aspect of the sport.”

Finally, just how fast can she go?

“I don’t know,” said Gomez. “I’m just going to take it one race at a time and see what happens.”