Hay adds to fun of short course for SK, CK runners

By Elisha Meyer Port Orchard Independent • October 18, 2024 1:30 am
Elisha Meyer/Kitsap News Group photos Runners in all races at the Hawk’s Nest Invitational came across the occasional hurdle of hay, a fun part of the speedy 3,000-meter course.
Elisha Meyer/Kitsap News Group photos Runners in all races at the Hawk’s Nest Invitational came across the occasional hurdle of hay, a fun part of the speedy 3,000-meter course.

When you ask for a cross-country race of equal parts speed, navigational ease, repetition and hay, there is only one race that fills that criteria for South Kitsap and Central Kitsap.

The second annual Hawk’s Nest Invitational at Peninsula High School near Purdy commenced Oct. 16, and the races got faster and louder under the lights of Roy Anderson Field at nightfall. Music blaring from the stadium speakers and a decent-sized crowd added to the noise.

With postseason right around the corner, the short 3K course was conceived as the perfect showcase of local cross-country programs while also adding some fun elements to an otherwise everyday meet. “We really take a lot of pride in our athletes, and we think we deserve recognition,” Peninsula coach Tyler Nugent said.

The course kept runners within the field’s fence line for the majority of each of its four loops. Runners weren’t the only occupants as each straightaway were taken up with bales of hay. “I never did get to run a course with that kind of obstacle,” CK Cougars coach Alexa Carr said. “I wish I had. It gives our runners an opportunity to remind them of what they love about running and racing with their team and maintaining good energy.”

The Cougars have plenty to be excited about in the next few weeks, with both their boys and girls teams ranking No. 4 in the 3A Oct. 13 WSCCCA polls. Sophomore Mana Voss has solidified himself as one of the top runners in his class, followed by a great senior season from Michael Vlach. The Palmer sisters, senior Taylor and junior Audra, and senior Clare Herring have helped make the Cougar girls capable of a run at defending their 2023 team championship.

Taylor Palmer and Herring finished the Hawk’s Nest in 7th and 8th place, separated by just .27 seconds. Audra Palmer took 11th. Voss took fifth place in the boys varsity race, followed by Vlach in 7th and junior David McClain in 14th.

For South Kitsap, coach Ed Santos called the Hawk’s Nest meet a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate the Wolves’ own hopes to make some noise this postseason. “With as well as we’re running, it proves that they’re totally ready to go,” he said. “This is a great lead-in with us talking about having to get out, and this is a fast course.”

Seniors Lauren Laws and Emma Schmutz have continued to lead the way for the girls, and senior Isaac Benjamin and junior Jefferson Smith have completed multiple first- and second-place finishes in the season’s smaller meets. In the polls, the boys are just shy of breaking into the Top 10.

Benjamin took the win in the boys varisty race at just over 9 minutes, followed by Smith in 3rd place and senior Blake Butherus and sophomore Benson Bouck in 11th and 12th place.

Laws and Schmutz crossed in 3rd and 4th place for their race, with senior Noelle DeCrona and sophomore Joan Hampton following less than a minute later in 13th and 14th place.

The Wolves will race in the SPSL League Championship Oct. 24 and the Westside Classic on Nov. 2. The Cougars will race in the Puget Sound League 3A League Championships Oct. 26 before joining the other Kitsap County schools for the Westside Classic.