2022 Fall High School Sports Preview: Abby Crossley, Logan Hofstee lead East Valley girls cross country to bigger things

At the beginning of the 2021 cross country season, then-junior Abby Crossley and then-sophomore Logan Hofstee weren’t on anyone’s radar.

Crossley was coming off her first year in cross country during the COVID season as East Valley’s No. 1 runner and ran a 5K in 21 minutes, 24.6 seconds – a time ranked 56th in 2A that spring.

“I don’t think I was really in the competitive mindset yet,” Crossley said. “We had a lot of fun that year and that was the moral of the year.”

Hofstee couldn’t race due to an impact fracture in her knee, keeping her out of the Knights’ five races.

The two didn’t appear to bring enough to the table at first, but throughout the season they began to prove the doubters wrong – so much that by the end of the year they were state podium finishers.

“I’m willing to put the work in,” Hofstee said. “I’m not afraid to enter the zone where it’s going to hurt.”

The work began over the summer when newly appointed coach Lauren Bergam, a former EV runner who later went on to compete for Gonzaga University, was hired after working as an assistant during the track season. She saw the possibilities in the two and started working right away with them.

“They were just beginning their potential,” Bergam said. “Before I saw Logan race her first 400 after she had gotten off crutches, she had done maybe two weeks of sprint work and then ran like a 63 for her 400. That’s when I saw a ton of potential in Logan. Then there’s Abby who brings consistent effort and is consistently always bringing down the times all throughout the year.”

The rise of these two East Valley runners was a topic of conversation among other Greater Spokane League schools throughout the season. As their personal -best 5K times dropped, not only were they one of the best duos in the league, they also became one of the best duos across all 2A schools in the state.

“We had more consistent coaching,” Crossley said. “We didn’t just have one workout given to everybody. My sophomore year, we were told to go run 3 miles, in any direction. When Bergam joined, we actually had specific workouts where we had people running to push their abilities.”

In their first state meet appearances last year, Hofstee and Crossley had the best combined finish of any podium athletes in the 2A race. Hofstee placed second overall and Crossley was not far behind in 11th. The two scored 13 points together.

“My motto for running – and anything really – is you get what you put into it,” Crossley said. “You put in the miles, and you put in the hard work, then you’re going to have a good season.

“I think it helped me become a better athlete running with Logan. I didn’t have anyone to run with, so I know Logan pushes me to do better.”

The two continued to show positives strides during the spring track season as they both qualified for the state meet in their respective events. Hofstee was a top-three finisher in the 1,600 and 3,200, while Crossley earned another podium spot, finishing sixth in the 3,200.

This past summer, Hofstee stepped away from racing and focused on improving her strength – mental and physical – for the upcoming season.

Crossley raced a few more times with the Valley Flash Club at the USATF National Junior Olympics Championships. In the three races she competed in, she came away with all-American honors in the 1,500, 3,000 and 2,000 steeplechase in the 17-18 age division.

“I think I finally gained my confidence as a runner,” Crossley said. “I feel a lot stronger and a lot more conditioned. I know that my times are now going to reflect on how I feel I can do this season.”

The two runners have set individual goals for the upcoming season – to place top three at state – but they’re hoping to bring along a young Knights team with them to Pasco. The program hasn’t sent a team to state since 2011 .

This year’s team features three more returning varsity athletes and three incoming freshmen who are all beginning to show what the possibilities that lie ahead could be.

“This group is very rambunctious, but they have a lot of spirit,” Crossley said. “The hope is to get two people in 20 or 21 (minutes). If we can get three people there, that’ll be enough for us to get out of districts and hopefully straight to state as a team. I think it’s possible, and it’s going to take a lot of work, but this is the most promise this team has shown in a very long time.”

“I want to see my team on the state start line with me and Abby,” Hofstee said. “I’d like to get myself a state championship and lead our team to at least podium at state.”