Cheney, WA - Kobe and Caden Deutscher of Pope John Paul II both ran two personal best times and finished first and second in the 1B boy's 1,600-meter state race on Friday, May 24, at Eastern Washington University.
Kobe dropped his previous best time by three seconds running 4:29.69 and Caden dropped nine seconds off his previous best time running 4:30.74.
Last year, Kobe and Caden finished third and sixth in the same race.
Winning wasn't easy for Kobe as he, his brother Caden, and Trout Lake's Justin Peck were all within each other for three laps.
"The race was a lot of fun," said Kobe. "We had three guys up with us and every lap the lead was changing so nobody was getting tired up there. It was just this battle going back and forth."
With this being Caden's last 1,600 race in high school, not only was he happy he got to P.R. by an enormous amount, but seeing his brother win was the highlight for him.
"Just running with my brother one last time and having him push me was awesome," said Caden.
"Getting beat by him was awesome, so great for him. With my time, you never realize how fast you are really going until you look at the clock at the end and realize, 'Dang, that's pretty cool'."
Between the two, Pope John Paul II managed to score 18 points as they are in the hunt for the team trophy.
Finishing in third was Trout Lake's Peck as he ran 4:37.19.
In other 1,600-meter races, Walla Walla Valley's Justin Roosma defeated defending state champion, Austen Apperson of Adna, in the 2B race running a time of 4:15.07.
For being a small school event, this race lived up to the hype as both runners went back and forth, changing places, making surges around each other, all the way to the end for a great a finish.
With the conclusion of the race, Roosma came right off the track and went immediately to lay down for a solid 20 minutes by a tent on the turf of Roos Field as he was just trying to process what he had done.
"I wanted to give it everything I had," said Roosma. "Both me and Austen had marks that were really close this season. He's a great runner, puts in a ton of work, but I was feeling really good today and I got four second P.R.."
As Apperson took the early lead the first two and half laps, Roosma made his move heading down the home stretch into the final lap and took the lead running a negative split to win the state championship.
"My splits were a little uneven, so I think I could have run faster but it was kind of a tactical race. I'm really happy with my time."
Apperson, a Boise State University commit, ran a second place time of 4:16.6. Northwest Christian of Lacey's Garrett McSheffrey was third running 4:27.94.
Cashmere's Rob McManus pulled off a shocking come-from-behind win in the 1A race as he ran a personal best time of 4:24.19 edging out South Whidbey's Callahan Yale, who also ran a personal best time of 4:24.76.
Charles Wright Academy's Adam Briejer, the defending cross country state champion this past fall, led from the start and continued to be in the lead heading into the final lap, with McManus in second and Yale in third.
With some grand stands in the way at the 200 meter mark, no one could see what was going on back and there and could assume Briejer was still in first.
Coming around the final turn, it was McManus who took the lead running into the homestretch and Yale was not too far behind him.
"Last 200 meters, I really started to kick it in because Briejer was way ahead of us for most of the race," said McManus.
"I was starting to think on the end of the third lap it was going to be hard to catch him. The 200 meter rolled around and I started to pick it up. With 100 meters to go, I realized I might have a chance so I tried everything to give it my all."
McManus ran a two second P.R. from last week after winning the District 6 championship race and came in as the second seeded runner.
Finishing in third after having fallen back from first place was Briejer with a time of 4:28.73.
Valley Christian's Phillip Croft won his fourth consecutive state championship in the 1,600 wheelchair race with a time of 4:32.69.
The 1B/2B/1A State Championships continue today at Eastern Washington Unversity starting at 10 a.m. with the 4 x 200-meter relays. The first distance event is set to start at 10:30 with the boy's 800-meter.
Results:
1A
1. R. McManus, Cashmere - 4:24.19
2. C. Yale, South Whidbey - 4:24.76
3. A. Briejer, CWA - 4:28.73
4. B. Merrill, Lakeside - 4:29.14
5. L. Davies, Cascade (Leav.) - 4:29.19
6. I. Cortes, Granite Falls - 4:32.61
7. N. LeBar, King's - 4:32.91
8. A. Hart, King's - 4:33.07
2B
1. J. Roosma, Walla Walla V. - 4:15.07
2. A. Apperson, Adna - 4:16.6
3. G. McSheffrey, NWC - 4:27.94
4. D. Quintana, Ilwaco - 4:31.3
5. G. Merritt, Tekoa-Rosalia - 4:31.71
6. N. Phillips, NWC - 4:36.48
7. A. Smee, Kalama - 4:37.01
8. N. Marty, Toledo - 4:40.94
1B
1. K. Deutscher, PJP2 - 4:29.69
2. C. Deutscher, PJP2 - 4:30.74
3. J. Peck, Trout Lake - 4:37.19
4. A. Lazar, MVC - 4:47.25
5. I. Immel, Riverside Chris. - 4:47.57
6. D. Duncan, Entiat - 4:47.98
7. P Boersema, Shoreline Chris. - 4:53.13
8. J. Brown, MVC - 4:53.39
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