Cross Country: Justin Janke and NC take aim at 10th straight state championship

By his and his coach’s admission, Justin Janke had a disappointing cross country season as a junior.

Still, he was the second finisher, 12th overall, for North Central, which captured a record-tying ninth straight state championship.

He’s the first to say that team comes before individual. But he wasn’t satisfied with the individual outcome within the team concept.

Part of his struggle certainly had to do with the heavy academic load he carried. Janke, who ranks first academically in his class, was taking all college-level classes last fall.

But to lay it all on academics isn’t fair either.

“Last fall was a struggle,” Janke explained. “I loaded myself up with five AP (advanced placement) classes. My whole life last fall was running, eating, sleeping and doing homework. It was almost like solitary confinement. It was hard. I had no social life. But it was a good experience. I learned a lot from it. I learned my limits.”

Listen to Janke talk and you can tell he’s relieved and poised for an outstanding senior year – both academically and athletically. It’s like a burden has been lifted.

“Junior years often time are very difficult,” NC coach Jon Knight said.

What he may not be carrying academically this year could be exchanged for high expectations in cross country and track.

Janke is the fourth-highest returning state placer. He’s not the highest returning placer in the Greater Spokane League. That distinction belongs to Mt. Spokane junior Hayden Dressel, who finished 10th. The highest overall returner is senior Nathan Beamer of Arlington, whose time of 15 minutes, 37.64 seconds, about 7 seconds ahead of Janke, earned him eighth.

“He was capable of more than that,” Knight said of Janke’s state finish last year. “He wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders.”

There’s no doubt Janke wants an individual state title. By doing so he would become the second straight NC state champ after Tanner Anderson rallied late to knock off John Dressel of Mt. Spokane last year.

Janke would become just the third NC individual state champ behind Ben Johnston and Anderson, who won twice.

“That is my goal,” Janke said before adding, “but, honestly, that isn’t the most important goal out of everything. Definitely the most important thing is the whole idea of going after Pat Tyson’s record and getting a 10th straight title. That’s way more important. Cross country is a team sport. The team success comes first.”

That’s music, certainly, to Knight’s ears.

“Justin is very capable of being a state champ if he stays healthy and runs smart,” Knight said.

NC is heavily favored to win again. The Indians return the most state points. Which team will emerge to challenge is yet to be seen. Other top NC finishers were senior Sam Sjoberg (15th) and juniors Jacob Christner (22nd) and Hank Knight (42nd), the coach’s son.

Anderson attracted much national recruiting interest, ultimately signing with the University of Oregon. Janke also is attracting interest. Purdue, Washington, Syracuse, Portland and Northern Arizona, where his cousin, Nathan Weitz, is a senior.

“I’m not even close to coming to a decision yet,” Janke said.

Janke wants to major in mechanical engineering.

“I was always that one kid who you’d see building stuff,” he said. “I tinkered with tools. When I was younger Legos were my thing.”

So, Justin, you must be a nerd, right?

“You could say that,” he said, laughing. “I am a little bit. The last step is acceptance. I’m almost there.”

He comes from a family of runners. In addition to Weitz, Janke’s mother, Jan, a Weitz, ran on West Valley’s state championship cross country team in 1977.

“Both of my parents run,” Janke said. “I’m proud of them for that.”

Janke knows who has had the biggest influence on his running.

“Coach Knight is an incredible man,” he said. “He’s chock full of wisdom about everything. It’s insane what he’s done in coaching. He’s very knowledgeable. He has three rules – be kind, work hard and don’t do anything stupid. That hits everything. I’m very lucky to have him as my coach. I trust him completely with my training. He’s kind of a sensei, a wise mentor. He makes better runners, but he makes better men, too.”