Gig Harbor’s Peloquin takes fifth at Nike Portland XC

Gig Harbor junior Bradley Peloquin set a personal record and took fifth place against some of the best high school runners on the West Coast in late September at the Nike Portland XC meet at the Portland Meadows Race Track in Oregon, clocking in at 15 minutes, 22.2 seconds.

“It felt better than last year,” Peloquin said. “ I remember last year, I had gone out with the lead group. I just went out hard and tried to hold on.”

This year’s race went out fast, also, with Lincoln’s James Mwaura setting the place and taking first with a time of 14:54.3, well ahead of second-place finished Alex Slenning from Wilson High in Portland, who clocked in at 15:15.1.

“I was able to stay pretty close (to Mwaura) for most of the race,” Peloquin said. “You just have to stay tough in the middle part of the race. I definitely wanted to go out towards the front. When the gun went off, I wanted to makes sure I was in a good position. It’s one of those races where it’s so flat, you want to be in a good position at the mile. You don’t have a hill or anything to make up. So I just wanted to get in a good position.”

Peloquin said he faded a bit toward the end of the race, but was nonetheless pleased with his finish and setting a new personal record time.

Gig Harbor senior Nolan Carroll took 53rd at 16:27.2, while senior Finlay Adamson took 102nd, clocking in at 17:02.7. Gig Harbor will aim to win the Class 3A South Sound Conference championship meet this Thursday afternoon at Fort Steilacoom Park.

While Peloquin likely won’t win an individual state title this year — that spot, barring an unforeseen circumstance, should go to Mwaura — Gig Harbor is still among the competitors to win the team title in 3A.

“We’re just going to keep training the way we’ve been training,” Peloquin said. “We’re starting to enter the peak phase. We’re not going to be running as long as we have been. The workouts we’re doing are going to be more speed-based. We’re definitely getting ready for the postseason.”

This story was originally published October 18, 2017 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Gig Harbor’s Peloquin takes fifth at Nike Portland XC."