March 24, 2018, 1:04 P.M.
Lynden- What started off as a nice, sunny day in Whatcom County, turned into a cold, cloudy evening at Lynden High School for the annual Bedlington Twilight Invite where multiple local teams competed in front of a packed stadium.
Nooksack's Harlan Patiently Wins the 3200
It sure wasn't a fast race to start off, but that did not bother Nooksack's Alyce Harlan as she took home this year's 1st place in the 3200. Harlan started off with the lead pack for the first mile due to some high winds as she came through at 6:07, but then ran a negative 2nd mile split in 5:45 on her way to victory in 11:51.
Harlan said she listened to her coach to run this race smart.
"I had a pretty good race. My coach told me keep it pretty easy and relaxed for the first mile, and so I did that so I would have enough energy to run a negative split on my last mile."
In Harlan's eyes, it doesn't matter how fast her time was, it matters what place she got.
"It always good to win, no matter what I run. It helps me bring glory to God and represents my team well."
Squalicum's Salomon Upsets LC's DeWaard In Very Tight Mile, Sehome's Kirker Wins on the Girls Side
Lynden Christian's Brooks DeWaard looked for redemption from last year's 2nd place finish in the 1600 at this invite, but Squalicum's Jonah Salomon had other ideas.
In a massive personal best time of 4:36.17, Salomon upset the Lynden Christian senior coming from behind on the last lap to claim the win.
Salomon wasn't even planning on going for the win. He just wanted to run another P.R.
"My goal was to get as close to 4:40 as possible, but I am really happy with the time I got. My plan for the race was to pick off at least one person per lap, and it seemed to work out alright."
The plan certainly did work for the Squalicum senior as he ran 11 seconds faster then he did last week at Civic. But one thing he noticed that was different about this race than the one the week before had to do with the track.
"This might sound silly, but honestly the track looked really small." he said in a joking manner. "Psychologically, it kind of helped me perform at my best because the straightaways looked really small."
Sehome sophomore Rosie Kirker won the 1600 in 5:38.8 on the girls side beating Bellingham's Grace Much by 3 seconds.
Ferndale's Sturdevant and Sehome's Hodges Win the 800
Ferndale freshman Landon Sturdevant knocked off 3 well known upperclassman, in what was probably the most exciting race of the night, as the young 14 year old won another close race this spring in 2:00.36, outkicking Lynden's Nick Kildall the last 100 meters.
Going out in a 58 second first lap, Sturdevant felt he had enough to kick at the very end to beat out the Lynden senior.
"My original plan was to go out in 60 the first lap, and then kick under 60 the final lap. The lead pack ended up going out in 58, but I felt like I had a lot left in me and just went for it at the end."
A field full of veteran guys (Cade Brown, Bellingham, Lucas Cunningham, Sehome, and Kildall from Lynden) Sturdevant has watched these guys growing up, he felt it was quite an honor running against these upperclassman.
"It is an incredible feeling to get the opportunity to run in a fast race with these guys. It was a total honor."
In the girl's race, Sehome sophomore Cameron Hodges would go on to win in 2:23.11 beating Ferndale's Jaclyn Denham by 5 seconds.
It would be another race with a veteran field, but that didn't seem to change Hodge's game plan despite the cold temperatures in the late evening.
"It was a little harder to run a good time today with it being cold, but I think that first lap started out pretty strong and the first 200 felt really good."
Hodges is not your typical runner though from Sehome High School as the majority of the people who run track for the Mariners also do cross country. In her case, her fall sport is volleyball. But Hodges did she say she began her running career in middle school as a 6th grader.
LC's Steiger Victorious in Second Consecutive 3200
For the 2nd year in a row, Lynden Christian senior Eric Steiger would cross the Bedlington Invite finish line as the 3200 champion winning in a time of 9:50.
Steiger went out very conservative the first mile running with Meridian's Nathan Schneider, Sehome's Tadeusz Pforte, and Bellingham Ty Veldhuisen. Just like the girls 3200, the wind was also a factor in this race.
"I was able to do what I wanted to do in the race, trying to go out in control, especially with the wind in front of me on the back stretch." Steiger said. "The rest of the race was hard trying to stay focused and keep going, but overall I think it went really well."
Bedlington Invite Results
Boys
800- 1st Landon Sturdevant (2:00.36, Ferndale), 2nd Nick Kildall (2:00.7, Lynden), 3rd Lucas Cunningham (2:01.21)
1600- 1st Jonah Salomon (4:37.17, Squalicum), Brooks DeWaard (4:38.52, Lynden Christian), 3rd Isaiah Ellis (4:43.01, Lynden)
3200- 1st Eric Steiger (9:50.9, Lynden Christian), 2nd Tadeusz Pforte (10:05.83, Sehome), 3rd Nathan Schneider (10:06.61, Meridian)
Girls
800- 1st Cameron Hodges (2:23.11, Sehome), 2nd Jaclyn Denham (2:28.35, Ferndale), 3rd Aspen Allsop (2:31.6, Sehome)
1600- 1st Rosie Kirker (5:38.8, Sehome), 2nd Grace Much (5:41.19, Bellingham), 3rd Brooke DeBeeld (5:43.16, Nooksack Valley)
3200- 1st Alyce Harlan (11:51.53, Nooksack Valley), 2nd Jess Gill (11:56.09, Sehome), 3rd Zoe Thompson (12:45.75, Bellingham)