Kenny Krotzer didn’t envision finishing ninth in the last cross country race of his highly-decorated prep career.
However, competing in a fast and furious field, the Auburn Riverside senior had to settle for a top-10 effort at the state 4A cross country championships at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
“I was hoping for a better finish,” Krotzer said. “I was so ready, I wanted to be in the top three and finish with Conner (Peloquin, of Gig Harbor, second place) and Shane (Moskowitz, of Central Kitsap, first place).”
Krotzer said he was mentally ready to go when the starting gun sounded and the pack took off. But a mass collision of runners on the first turn caused officials to call for a restart.
“There was a callback right at the beginning,” Krotzer said. “We were waiting on the line for about 15-20 minutes. From there, my nerves just went way up, and I kind of mentally fell apart right there.”
Despite the delay, Krotzer managed to keep up with the lead pack for the first couple of miles.
“For the first mile or so, it was Shane, Conner, Adam (Thorne from Ferris) and I,” he said. “After that first mile, Shane figured no one could keep up with him and just took off, and we just kind of let him go. Then it just turned into a battle for second place.
“Going into the two-mile mark, I looked back and saw a pack of guys right on my back,” Krotzer added. “I just ran out of gas the last 800 meters, which isn’t like me. I usually have a pretty good kick, I was just mentally spent.”
“Whenever I go into a big race like that, I get really, really nervous,” he admitted. “It’s just something I have to work on for the track season.”
Krotzer finished the 5-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 43 seconds. Moskowitz powered to a 15:06 time for the championship, with second-place Peloquin coming in at 15:22.
Krotzer’s finish helped the Ravens capture sixth as a team with 171 points.
“I was pretty pleased with our finish,” said coach Bill Sumner, whose Ravens improved from a ninth-place showing a year ago. “More impressive was the overall team average of about 16:21. You look at the third, fourth, fifth and sixth teams, and we’re all within a few seconds of each other. A couple of the kids on the other teams were a couple of seconds faster and if we had been a couple of seconds faster, we would have finished faster.”
AR’s Nate Gesell finished 21st with a time of 15:56, with Korey Krotzer coming in 62nd (16:33), followed by teammates Nick Lawrence (69th, 16:42), Skyler Cowan (83rd, 16:49) and Jeff Miles (85th, 16:51). Keefe Hanson, running in place of Hunter Cowan who was out with shin splints, rounded out the team at 102nd (17:02).
“It was a young group at the meet, just two seniors and five underclassmen,” Sumner said. “Kenny went for it and was a little short, but still had a great time. All the runners ran pretty well and we’re all pretty pleased.”
Elsewhere
The Auburn Riverside girls finished 16th in the 4A field. Sophomore Rachel Atwood finished 82nd overall with a time of 20:08. Also competing for the Ravens were Cassidy Brown, Lauren Saunders, Megan McCabe, Elise Jones, Emily Morisawa and Jessica Hall. … In the 3A boys race, Auburn Mountainview finished 16th with 436 points. Senior Nick Lipinski led the Lions, finishing 89th (17:16). Other Lions who finished were Chris Shcarer, J.J. Lacey, Garrett Raphael, Matt Anderson, Dylan Summerlin and Aarun Rumbaugh.
