The Rainier High School cross country program made history at the 1B/2B District 4 championships at Rainier Elementary School Saturday, Nov. 2 as both the boys and girls teams clinched a top four finish to qualify for state for the first time in program history.
Rainier’s girls secured their fourth consecutive district title in dominant fashion, with four Mountaineers taking the top four spots and six taking the top eight overall. Freshman Komaire Robles won the district title by nearly seven seconds, finishing in 20 minutes and 2 seconds.
“It’s cool. It’s not something I thought I was going to experience,” Robles said of earning the district crown as a freshman.
Junior newcomer Jazzlyn Shumate was the district runner-up, overcoming an early stumble to cross the finish line in just under 20:09, her best time yet. Madison Ingram, the 2023 district champion, placed third with a time of 20:31, while freshman Alexis Myers earned fourth place at 21:42. Sophomores Kinsley Barlow and Rayanna Wisner achieved sixth and eighth, respectively.
Ingram, who has taken first place in the majority of races this season, said one of the biggest areas of growth for her is how she roots for team success. In the past, she admitted that she would be upset that she would finish behind her teammates. But she is proud of Robles for accomplishing a feat that she once did in 2021, winning the district title as a freshman at Northwest Christian.
“It was like that for a little while where I was scared and a little upset, but then I realized, when I was a freshman, I was at that point and I was the one that was surprising and beating teammates,” Ingram said. “I know how that feels, and I don’t want to take that away from them. It just makes me happy because this is just the start of what they’re doing.”
While the girls earned another first-place victory at districts, the Rainier boys clinched fourth place to qualify as a team for state. Junior Ean Viik was the first Mountaineer to cross the finish line in 15th place, narrowly missing his personal best at 19 minutes and 19 seconds. He credited volunteer coach Robert Ingram and the rest of the coaching staff for his improvement over his career.
“He held optional practices during the optional summer practices. He pushes us a lot because he knows we can do better,” Viik said. “I’ve been consistently running for four months now, and last season, I think I was running in 21 and 22 minutes on these courses, and now I’m running in 19 minutes.”
Sophomore Owen Timbers shattered his PR by about 42 seconds, earning 18th place with a time of 19:30. Senior James Meldrum (20th, 19:41) and junior Zach Hamilton (21st, 19:49) also finished in under 20 minutes.
“Owen had an incredible run today. He put in a lot of time over the summer. They just really stepped up when we had some guys hurt, and they took on that mantle,” Rainier head coach Rob Henry said of the boys.
Henry praised the youngsters on the girls team, including Robles and Myers, for fitting right into a program that already had established a winning culture and elevating it to another level.
“The acceptance from everybody was amazing. It’s a very giving group and an accepting group, and that’s just so cool,” Henry said. “There’s been no attitudes or any of that kind of stuff. That’s leadership.”
Shumate, who never competed in long-distance races in track or cross country before this fall, said she knew that a strong finish at districts could be in the cards for her when she ran a 20:12 in the Twilight Invitational last month.
“I was really in disbelief of myself, and then after that race, I wanted to do better. I wanted to beat that time,” she said. “That’s what I’ve strived for every single time.”
Myers said running on a familiar course was an advantage for the Mountaineers, despite its many hills and valleys along with some muddy patches. She believes the girls have a great chance to win the state championship on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Pasco.
“We just have to stay positive to succeed. If we just keep it mental, we can physically do it,” she said.
In order for the Rainier girls to win in Pasco, Henry said the whole team, from top to bottom, needs to be ready for the challenge.
“It’s gonna take our fourth and fifth-place finishers to run PRs. They’ve gotta be ready for the challenge and ready to go, so if they can run PRs, they’re right there,” he said. “It’s gonna take a whole team effort.”
State races, held at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, begin with the 2B and 1B girls kicking off at 9:30 a.m., and the 2B boys will start at 11:30 a.m.
