Spudders’ senior believes he is in prime position to achieve his goal
RIDGEFIELD — Kyle Radosevich already knew how to run fast, and he knew how to run for distance.
He was already pretty good at those things.
Still, for his senior year, he wanted to run faster, he wanted to run longer. He wanted to put himself in position to make sure his final season with the Ridgefield Spudders cross country team was a special one.
So he left the soccer field last school year to join the track and field squad. He hit the weight room to make his body stronger. He extended his training, too.
“When I don’t run, I just feel bad. My head hurts,” Radosevich said. “I need to go out on a good run. I don’t know what I’d do without running.”
That mentality has put Radosevich in prime position to achieve his goal. Saturday, he will race for the Spudders, with the Spudders, at the state cross country championships in Pasco.
Both the boys and girls teams qualified for state. On Friday, they got a school-wide sendoff along with a police escort on their way out of town.
No, they did not run to Pasco. Had to take vans, you know, to keep their legs fresh for the big day. The Spudders, led by Radosevich, probably felt like they were flying.
That is part of the plan, too, by the school’s new athletic director Brynan Shipley.
“She made Ridgefield a lot bigger,” Radosevich said, noting the team had never received this much school support.
He called it Spudder Spirit.
It helps that the school has a legitimate shot at bringing home a trophy from Pasco. The boys are ranked fifth in the state. The top four teams earn a trophy. And Radosevich, who finished sixth at state last year, allows himself to think there is a shot at an individual championship.
“There’s a little bit of pressure this year, but not much,” he said.
His goal?
“To stay with the fast pack and hopefully get a state title,” he explained. “Every race is different. I’ve stuck with really good competition over the years. I know I can put myself in a really good situation to have a good race.”
He is not the only one from Clark County expecting big things Saturday at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s cross country championships.
The Camas boys and girls teams look like state championship contenders in Class 4A.
Emily Phelps of Fort Vancouver has the fourth-best time in the state among 3A girls.
Gabriel Dinney of Washougal is also a contender in 2A, along with Radosevich. The Washougal boys team is ranked second, according to Athletic.net.
In 2A girls, Amelia Pullen of Washougal, Lucia Ianello of Columbia River, and Allyson Peterson of Hockinson have top-five times in the state.
In 1A, the La Center girls are ranked second as a team.
(See below for a list of all athletes from Clark County who have qualified for state cross country.)
Radosevich’s confidence is high after a sensational senior year that saw him finish sixth at the Nike Portland event at Portland Meadows, an elite race featuring high school runners from all over the West. He finished the 5K course in 15 minutes, 30 seconds — 10 seconds faster than his goal. Later in the season, on what he acknowledged was a fast course, he finished in 15 minutes, 9 seconds. (That time is the best among 2A boys runners this season, according to athletic.net.)
He credited his improvement to a decision he made much earlier than the fall season.
A longtime soccer player, he helped the Spudders reach state as a freshman and a sophmore. As a junior, though, he had to say goodbye to the pitch to keep running, to join the track team.
“It was hard, but knowing if I wanted to compete at the next level, that’s what I needed to do,” Radosevich said.
While he is undecided about where he will go to college, he expects to run. He has talked with coaches from Gonzaga, Boise State, Washington State, and Southern Utah, to name a few.
He placed sixth at state last spring in the 3,200. The main thing, though, is he kept building his base, from the spring, through summer, and into the fall.
He also hit the weight room.
“Running can take a toll on you. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any weeks,” he said, noting that if his muscles weakened or if he got sore, he might have to tone down his schedule. “I did more stuff to make my body better and more resilient to the training.”
A year ago, he was running about 40 miles per week. This year, he is at 60 miles a week — and he said he feels better than ever.
“Here I am now,” he said.
On Saturday, he just might be on the podium, celebrating with his teammates, showing off that Spudder Spirit.
Clark County runners at state
Sun Willows Golf Course, Pasco
Class 4A boys (2:30 p.m.)
Battle Ground: Kyle Ganoung.
Camas (team): Jackson Lyne, Daniel Maton, Luc Utheza, Sam Geiger, Spencer Twyman, Evan Jenkins, Carson Frawley, Austin Weese, Andrew Puffer
Heritage: Ryan Cibart
Class 4A girls (1 p.m.)
Camas (team): Halle Jenkins, Aspen Ashcraft, Camryn Mock, Elizabeth Nilles, Jenna Lukowiak, Ashley McKinstry, Katelyn Flolo, Callie Ulin, Candice Owen
Skyview (team): Isabella Abbruzzese, Presley Timmons, Phoebe Abbruzzese, Samantha Williams, Emily Norton, Maia Luther, Grace Leonard, Grace Maruca, Allison Yajko
Union: Haylee Brodahl, Serena Smith, Brooklyn Baldwin
Class 3A boys (2 p.m.)
Fort Vancouver: Drew Weber
Mountain View: Shun Yamaguchi
Prairie: Luke Lund, Landon Gunter, Isaac Moulton
Class 3A girls (12:30 p.m.)
Fort Vancouver (team): Emily Phelps, Anna Harrison, Dhamar Campos, Shelby Willett, Khonnie Ecklund, Jessica Vicente, Emma Cortez, Gillian Snyder, Christina Tran
Mountain View: Jasmine Bates, Jessica Fidler
Prairie: Meri Dunford, Andrea Cernuda-Herraiz, Mary Lynn McLeod, Sally Anderson, Alysia Fraly, Hannah Kneeshaw, Hannah Clouse, Aleah Vojak, Dyana Vera
Class 2A boys (1:30 p.m.)
Columbia River: Aidan Rowley, Daniel Barna
Hockinson: Trevan Bischoff, Kai Conradie, Joshua Saeman
Ridgefield (team): Kyle Radosevich, Ian Abrams, Logan Newman, Mason Barry, Ethan McQuivey, Micah Abrams, Joey Blick, Tyler Lehnertz, Austin Vega
Washougal (team): Gabriel Dinnel, Ian Palmer, Troy Prince-Butterfield, Jonathan Wells, Jackson Keyser, Koy Chaston, Caden Lowman, Andrew McElhaney, Warren Henderson
Class 2A girls (11 a.m.)
Columbia River: Lucia Ianello, Hanna Dyer, Makenna John
Hockinson (team): Allyson Peterson, Julia Zora, Taylor Kopp, Abby Orman, Ellie Ritter, Adyson Dyer, Marissa Bulder, Briell King, Tenlee Pulsipher
Ridgefield (team): Jane Kuebrich, Ashley Hunter, Ashley Vega, Grace Goode, Ariel Griffith, Caitlin Kong, Kellie Nguyen, J’lyn Davies, Brooklyn Howlett
Washougal (team): Amelia Pullen, Savea Mansfield, Meryl Keeler, Brooklyn Bausch, Annabelle Palmer, Paige Maas, Clara Best, Kaylee Timmons, Olivia Dayley
Woodland: Lauren Kaiser
Class 1A boys (Noon)
King’s Way Christian: Nathan Rose
La Center: Garrett Shapovalov, Jackson Leavitt, Spencer Holm
Seton Catholic (team): David Carrion, Koen Ross, Josh Freitag, Hayden Miller, Paulo Vidales, Steven Sanders, Michael Piazza, Eugenio Vidales, Paco Gomez-Paz
Class 1A girls (10:30 a.m.)
King’s Way Christian: Savanna Woody
La Center (team): Natasha Lewis, Roselynn Martin, Emily Graham, Lauren Fox, Sierra Harris, Alison Brown, Morgan Harris, Mikah Smith, Ambrielle Wiseman
Seton Catholic (team): Sydnee Dyer, Lara Carrion, Abigail Wall, Alexandra Traffalis, Jerrica Pachl, Katelyn Junker, Emma Watkins, Sydney Clark, Madison Beauchamp
