Guermali, Roe fastest at Washington state meet

By Adam Kopet of DyeStat

Yacine Guermali fell to his knees after the finish of the Washington WIAA Cross Country State Meet Class 4A boys race on Saturday, full of emotion after he won his first state title.

From the start of the season, the Camas senior had his eyes set on winning state. “It was the goal to win the state championship,” he said after the race. Guermali did so with a six-second margin, completing the 5k course in 15:12.7. His previous best finish at the state meet was 26th as a sophomore.

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In the Class 4A girls race, Taylor Roe ran away from the field to repeat as state champion in 17:34.1. It's the ninth fastest performance at the state meet since 1997.

“My plan was just to go out hard and try to maintain all the way through,” the Lake Stevens sophomore explained. It was a strategy that paid off with a 19-second victory. Roe's first state title as a freshman came while running for Kamiak.

In the team races, the Bellarmine Prep boys won with 70 points. Central Valley and Eisenhower finished second and third, 105-106.

In the girls race, Issaquah upset pre-race favorite Camas, winner of the last two state team titles, 90-108. Glacier Peak finished third with 122 points.

In Class 3A, the North Central boys continued their win streak, which now stands at a record 11 straight team titles. Individually, junior James Mwaura of Lincoln ran 15:32.8 for a 10-second victory. He became the first runner from one of Tacoma's four public schools to win a state title since 1974.

Senior Jordan Oakes of Holy Names Academy won the Class 3A girls race in 17:44.0, leading her team to the team title with 53 points.

Senior Silas Griffith of Ridgefield came away the winner in the Class 2A boys race, running 15:47.5, leading his team to fifth place. Sehome won the team title with 97 points. 

Elyria Kabasenche, a junior, led Pullman to a fourth place finish with her 18:41.3 win. Selah scored 92 points to win the team title.

Tibebu Proctor, the senior from Northwest School, repeated as the Class 1A state champion, running solo from the start to win in 15:22.30. Deer Park came away with the team title, scoring 83 points.

In the Class 1A girls race, senior Erin Mullins of Cascade (Leavenworth) ran 18:05.2 to win her second state title. She also won as a freshman before finishing second the last two years. Northwest won the team title, led by third and fourth place finishes from junior Isa Meyers and sophomore Macenna Hansen.

In Class 1B/2B, senior Luke Schilter led Northwest Christian of Lacey to a 64-point win with his 15:56.4 individual win. In the girls race, freshman Novie McCabe led Liberty Bell to their first ever girls state title in 18:51.8. Liberty Bell scored 24 points to win the eight team meet.