Dragons, Cronrath, Rose win

PASCO – Where had Justin Rose been?

Fourth in State 2A cross country last year and the highest-finishing underclassman, Rose spent much of this year running behind teammate Jake Hastings.

“I just went through a slump,” said the Colville senior and four-time state placer.

The slump ended with his second-place district finish last week, and not even a wrong turn Saturday could deter him at Sun Willows Golf Course.

Rose blew away the field and claimed the title in his final try. He was joined by Odessa’s Matt Cronrath, who won the 2B/1B championship.

St. George’s boys repeated as B team champion on a balmy fall day in Pasco.

2A

The Great Northern League had a banner day with Rose’s title and four team trophies among six top-six placing schools.

Colville and Cheney finished third and fourth, respectively, in the boys race, and West Valley (third) and Riverside (fourth) were strong among girls.

Rose built an 8-second lead with less than a mile remaining before he ran off course and had to backtrack into the race.

He said adrenaline carried him the rest of the way, and he won going away by ultimately doubling his lead.

Hastings placed 11th to help the Indians to their trophy. Cheney grabbed the final award, four points further back. West Valley’s Richard Keroack placed fourth.

WV’s girls finished third and Riverside was fourth, led by eight-place Amanda Wilson. Deer Park’s Chantel Duenich placed 11th.

B

Cronrath bleached his hair. His father will be shaving his.

Mark agreed to the shearing if Matt won state. In a battle with league foe Jeff Pope of Valley Christian, Cronrath made good on his end of the bargain.

“We are like so close, I’d go for a mile, he’d pass and take on a mile,” said Cronrath. “We switched off and on and the one with the best kick wins. This put the icing on the cake.”

Cronrath (16:40) won by 2 seconds, fulfilling a dream.

While the two Bi-County runners competed, St. George’s won with depth. The Dragons defended their boys title 31-73 over Northwest Christian of Lacey. Earlier, NWC nipped St. George’s 34-37 in the girls race.

St. George’s had three finishers among the top 10 and both boys and girls had all five scorers in the top 19 to split races with NWC of Lacey for their awards.

“It was a good day,” said Dragons coach Josh Hayes. “I knew the girls race would be very close. There was an instant where we had it about the 3-mile mark and they came through at the end like the champions they are.”

1A

The four-point difference between a repeat state title and second place for Lakeside’s boys seems readily explainable. Royal’s Humberto and Rigoberto Jimenez went 1-2 for three team points, and the Eagles’ Kyle Johnson and Tim Welch were third and fourth for seven points.

Newport’s Joey Ward finished sixth and in the girls race, Lakeside’s Kayloni Jones was eighth.