Moskowitz runs alone to state cross country crown
KEVIN ANTHONY; For The News Tribune
PASCO — Conner Peloquin came into Saturday’s 4A state cross country meet with a plan for winning.
Halfway through the race, his plans changed.
The four-time state veteran from Gig Harbor found out along with the rest of the field that Central Kitsap senior Shane Moskowitz had every intention of making it a race for second place.
Moskowitz blazed through the 5-kilometer course at Sun Willows Golf Club in a record 15 minutes, 6 seconds to win the 4A title by 16 seconds over Peloquin.
“It’s kind of bittersweet (finishing second) because I wanted to win — that’s always the goal,” said Peloquin, who finished 13th and 19th the previous two seasons. “Right after the mile mark, he put on a huge surge, but I didn’t think it would last the rest of the race.
For Moskowitz, who will do his running for Oklahoma State next year, it was a matter of not wasting any time before making his move.
“I didn’t want to leave it to the end,” said Moskowitz, one of the favorites last year before being upset by Redmond’s Mack Young. “I was not going to let that happen this year.”
Moskowitz said he came into the race planning on taking off at the mile mark, but after 400 meters he figured the pace was too slow.
“It was time to take off,” he said. “I just dug in as hard as I could.”
Ferris’ Adam Throne finished third, leading the Saxons to the team title.
It was the 22nd straight year a Spokane school has won the big-school boys championship.
Gig Harbor finished ninth in the team race, well out of contention for a trophy.
The Tides did win a trophy on the girls side, placing fourth behind Maureen Tremblay’s sixth-place finish and Erin Hull in 14th.
Eastlake, which edged Gig Harbor by a single point last season to end the Tides’ three-year run as state champion, won the team title by 24 points over Tahoma.
The Peninsula boys won the race for the “rest of the state” in the 3As as powerhouse North Central of Spokane dominated for its fourth straight title.
Chris Borg finished third to lead the second-place Seahawks, whose 118 points were more than twice North Central’s winning score of 47.
In the 1A boys race, Max LaBerge finished third for Charles Wright Academy behind a pair of Port Townsend runners. However, the Tarriers fell off the pace and wound up fifth in the team race, one spot from a trophy.
Northwest Christian of Lacey repeated as double winners in the Class B race. The Navigators edged Republic by eight points for the boys title behind a 1-2 finish by Lucas Graham and Justin Holden.
See a photo gallery from the state meet at
www.tricityherald.com.
