The Action started early in the girls race that featured a strong team from Ocosta and a contingent of strong runners. From the start Onalaska’s Bernadette Hayden took off and would not relinquish the lead taking the ribbon in 19:33. Daphne Peek of Elma made an early challenge but couldn’t keep up the pace taking second in 20:06.
Willapa Valley Junior Dominique Kudasik faced the pressure of being the number one girl for the Valley/Raymond/South Bend runners. It was a battle for 8th place that got attention of the local runners. Dominique was having the best race of her career. Dominque was in a duel battle with Sararose Gallo of Ocosta. Dominique trailed for the first 1,000 then made a move and took a slight lead. Gallo threw in a surge and took over at the two mile mark setting up a dramatic finish. Dominique took aim at the Ocosta runner in the final two hundred meters and passed her taking eighth.
In the first race of the season, Dominique ran a monster race. We had hoped that she could get in a race with the second place Ocosta runner and not only did she run with her, Dominique beat her. It was really a fantastic effort. I worried when she was passed, she would fade but she showed a lot of grit and confidence running over a minute and a half faster than she did last year at this point. Behind Dominique there were a host of local runners who ran their first three mile race. South Bend Freshman Savannah Burbank finished 28th in 24:58. Diana Morales of Raymond finished 28th in 24:58 followed by team mate and friend Yassenia Perez who finished 31st in 26:12. Tessa Wilson from South Bend finished 35th in her first three mile tour. Katie Daniel of Valley took almost 3 minutes off her time from last year finishing in 30:32 in 38th place. This was a great race for our girls. Dominique ran strong, Daniels improved and for everyone else, this was their first 3 miler. Looks like a great season is on the way.
In the Boys race, Mark Morris swept the top three spots with Aaron Brumbaugh taking the lead early. Brumbaugh blistered the course finishing in 15:36 almost a minute ahead of team mate Austin Beasely . Michael Beck of North Beach was the top B runner finishing 5th in 16:58. Jose Buccio of South Bend took the lead for the local contingent and battled his way through a huge pack of runners. Once he got clear he established a position and was able to hold off a number of late challenges to finish 37th in a time of 19:35. Aaron deMontigney of Raymond fought through a rough stomach and finished in 20:08 good enough to take 46th. Following him was South Bend’s Koda Boothe finishing 49th in his first race in a time of 20:46. Team Captain Dominic DeLong of Valley finished in 21:17 taking 55th. For the boys this was a day to see what we had. We have not done speed work yet and they held their own in a very fast field.
Thursday, the local runners will be competing against North Beach, Ocosta and others at North Beach High School. As our young runners gain some experience and we get stronger as a group, this season promises to have plenty of twists and turns ahead.