So close, but so far.
Since the turn of the decade, that had been the all-too-familiar sentiment for the Rainier High School girls cross country team on its way home from the state championship in Pasco. The girls always performed well, including back-to-back top-five finishes the last two years, but their names were always stamped behind the same teams: Pope John Paul II, Garfield-Palouse, St. George’s, and Liberty Bell.
This year, it was finally the Mountaineers’ turn to be the last team standing on the podium with the state trophy in hand. The Mountaineers won their first ever state championship Saturday, Nov. 9 to cap off the postseason triple crown in which they also won the league and district titles.
The Mountaineers weren’t just motivated to improve upon their previous finishes in Pasco and prove that they belonged with the top dogs at the 2B and 1B levels. They were on a mission to prove they were the top dog. Rainier, which scored 71 points, did so with a one-point victory over Pope John Paul II, 72 points.
“This is the most competitive team I’ve ever been on. Their mindset is… they just lock onto something. [Head coach Rob] Henry told us that we might not get first, but they were like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna get first,’” senior Emma Mathson said. “Pope John Paul II has won almost every year we’ve been here, and we were focused on kicking them down. We deserved to get first.”
Rainier’s athletes and coaches erupted in applause when they learned they had finally got over the hump. It was a moment they had dreamed of all season, but the rich feeling of hoisting the trophy atop the podium was much sweeter than any fantasy their minds could have concocted.
“I was so emotional. I’m so proud of everyone,” senior Madison Ingram, whose 13th-place finish (20:03.10) marked her fourth time at the state podium, said. “I was most emotional about how good our team did. Everyone was being emotional, and I just wanted to be emotional with them.”
Junior Jazzlyn Shumate placed 11th with a new personal record of 19 minutes and 58 seconds in her state debut, while freshman and district champion Komaire Robles finished right behind her in 12th at 20:00.50.
Shumate began the cross country season doubtful about how she would fare, considering her longest event in track and field was the 400 meters and she was coming off of an injury suffered last year. By season’s end, she was the first runner to cross the finish line for the state championship-winning Mountaineers team.
“I’m not gonna lie, going into cross country, I was like, ‘I don’t know about this.’ I was just doing it to keep up my endurance,” Shumate said. “Then coming here and placing top 16, it was a big accomplishment for myself. I’m extremely proud of myself.”
Freshman Alexis Myers crushed her PR by one minute with a 23rd-place finish of 20:50. Sophomore Kinsley Barlow improved from her 54th-place finish at last year’s state meet by two minutes, setting a new lifetime mark to take 39th at 21:55. Sophomore Rayanna Wisner recorded her slowest time since Sept. 26 at 23:17 and still took 49th, and Mathson rounded out the Mountaineers with a 127th-place finish and time of 27:34 in her final state meet.
Not only is the championship the first in program history, but it’s also the first girls team trophy in school history. Head coach Rob Henry said the 2024 Mountaineers were the team to accomplish that feat because of their leadership and cohesiveness, especially in the postseason.
“They were there for each other. They pushed each other, and they supported each other. Maybe one didn’t have as great of a race, but somebody else picked them up,” he said. “They’re probably the most mentally strong group of kids I’ve ever seen. You can’t put it into words.”
Robles set a new PR by one millisecond at 20:00.50, but she wasn’t too concerned about her own personal accomplishments. She had her eyes set on helping her team compete for a state title.
“It’s incredible. This is the best girls team we’re gonna have for a long time. I’m really proud of my team,” she said.
No Mountaineer was perhaps more emotional after the finish than Mathson, who, despite battling injuries, competed one final time for a program and a group that means so much to her.
“It means a lot to me because there was a lot on the line today. It hasn’t really hit me yet,” she said. “I was a little upset about my time, but I had to tell myself that it wasn’t about my time.”
Mossyrock junior Joan Wedam clinched her second-best time of the season at 22:49 to finish 63rd after taking 32nd at state last year. Natalie Cardenas Hernandez of Winlock set a new lifetime best at 23:46 to earn 87th, while Toledo’s Lilly Cooper also set a PR of 24:07 to come in 91st. Winlock’s Victoria Sancho finished 96th with a time of 24:24.
