Snohomish, WA - It all started in a distance medley relay race which showed how dominate the Glacier Peak girl's track team was at the 2019 Nike Eason Invite at Snohomish High School this past Saturday winning the team title scoring 53 points.
The Grizzlies DMR team, featuring Adisen Stratton, Greta Henrie, Alexis Palmer, and Brooke Wallace, took first place running a combined time of 12:43.41.
Palmer led off the relay as the 1,200 meter leg putting the Grizzlies way out in front of everyone else, giving the rest of her teammates a comfortable lead.
"For me, it was my first race of the day and I know I just wanted to start off on a good foot," said Palmer as she went on to run the 3,200 meter later on.
"I think we all went in and did great today. Going in as the No. 1 seed felt good. Knowing we were the top team today, we definitely lived up to it."
However, Palmer felt she hadn't created a big advantage at the start which motivated her even more to continue picking up the pace.
"The whole time I thought somebody was running right behind me," said Palmer laughing.
"Overall we couldn't be happier with today. Winning is always going to be the goal for us."
Peak's WESCO opponent, Edmonds Woodway, ran 12:58.59 for second. Newport of Bellevue was third with a combined time of 13:11.44.
Glacier Peak's Aviry Stratton kicked off the evening session with a 1,600 meter victory in the girl's elite race running a season best time of 4:59.23.
Stratton was well under five minute pace from start to finish crossing through the first 800 meters in two minutes, and twenty-two seconds.
"I knew I had to get out fast and create separation for myself," said Stratton.
"The second half of the race was slower than my first, but I just tried to give it all I had."
Had she kept this pace for the second half of the race, she would have run one of the top 1,600 times not only in the state but in the entire country.
But to run a time Stratton put together, the Glacier Peak junior shouldn't be disappointed at all what so ever.
"Last week, I didn't run as good as I hoped, so I was just really excited to break five today."
Bear Creek's Andrea Markezich ran a season best time of 5:08.44 for second, and Orting's Madeline Drennen was third running 5:09.4.
After competing in the DMR earlier, Glacier Peak's Brooke Wallace returned to the track later on as she went on to win the girl's 3,200 by a good amount running a personal best time of 10:58.34 to cap off the successful day for the Grizzlies.
Wallace's solo winning effort turned into a 15 second P.R., which she ran a month prior to the Eason Invite.
"It was really tiring," said Wallace about her efforts.
"I felt strong though in the race, which is not something I usually feel in the two mile. The weather made it even better as it's been a great day."
Northwest Christian of Lacey's Ava Shackell was second running a personal best time of 11:07.29.
Shackell made near comeback coming within 20 meters of Wallace.
Muckleshoot Tribal's Rosalie Fish was third running a personal best time of 11:16.51.
An intriguing 800 meter girl's race went down to the final 25 meters with Bellarmine Prep freshman Ella Borsheim defeating Issaquah's Julia David Smith.
Borsheim ran a personal best time of 2:12.26 and David Smith also ran a personal best in 2:13.01.
On lap one, Borsheim settled behind David Smith and Kamiak's Alicia Anderson knowing they could pull her through a fast first lap since are veteran runners in this event.
"We went out fast, but it was something I knew I could handle," said Borsheim.
"I was just trying to stay in the race, stay behind the leaders and made sure I stayed connected with them on the backstretch."
David Smith was out front after lap one, followed by Anderson in second and then Borshiem in third.
Under 300 meters to go, Borsheim surged past Anderson gaining ground on David Smith.
The Bellarmine freshman shot around the final turn like a slingshot going down the homestretch on her way to one of the biggest wins of her young career.
"I kept driving my arms and tried to go as fast as I can those final meters. I really wanted to win and get a P.R. today and that's what I did. I am super happy with it."
Finishing in third was Holy Names' Maeve Hoffman, who ran a season best time of 2:16.58.
For more results from this invite, visit: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=351693&show=all
For more photos from this invite, visit: https://www.facebook.com/pg/therunnerwa/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1282525691898004
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