SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Mount Rainier swept the girls and boys cross country team wins over Highline, Evergreen and Tyee in Seamount action at the Evergreen High School 3.1-mile course Thursday.

The girls are 4-0 this season while the boys are 6-2. Both can be tough in the coming postseason, which starts with the Seamount League meet this coming Saturday morning at Evergreen.

“The girls have to have all their times drop 30 seconds per person to have a chance at state,” said longtime Rams head coach Brian Jacobson.

“The boys have to stay healthy. Otherwise they are in trouble,” said Jacobson.

The girls of Mount Rainier won, 25-33, with a 18-44 win over the Wolverines and no team score for the Totems while the MR boys beat the Pirates 19-38 and the Wolverines, 18-44, and no scores for Tyee.

The Rams have a super runner in Michael Miller after having had a super runner in Ryan Prentice, who won the 3A title last year, but graduated. Miller is a transfer from Alaska who won the state title there before now trying to bring in a broom to sweep up another state’s top prize. And from the same school having two different number ones in all the Northwest land. But it certainly could happen, as astounding as that seems.

“He is one of the top five runners in the state,” said Jacobson. “He has got great speed and he is very strong and is an all-around solid runner.”

Miller raced Thursday but he did not take first. He also was not trying to take first. He was trying to get all the other guys to stay ahead of the Highline guys, so, in fact, he settled for fifth, to push the others.

“He was just chillin’,” said Steven Dolan, who took sixth of the Rams runners, clocking in at 17:58, just a second behind Miller’s 17:57.

Dolan appreciated Miller’s unselfish act to stay behind and help push the top five, which is who make up the points in a cross country meet.

“I have been out for awhile and I needed something to keep me up.”

Miller said some good things, so we can call them “somethings?”

“I was just encouraging everyone,” said Miller, who is a senior. “I was telling them, ‘Does it feel better if you put in the pain and feel really good about yourself or if you don’t give it your all you feel like what could have been.”

“Yeah, that is the worst feeling in the world,” said Trevor Larson, a sophomore for the Rams who took third overall in this race, going 17:53, to Highline’s second placer, Justin Simons. First was the Rams’ Devin Powell, 17:52, in a close race between those two top runners in this one at the end, with Powell holding off Simons’ kick at the wire.

“I was holding back, just trying to stay with the pack,” said Simons, a senior who was the only one close to the Rams’ pack of the Pirates in this race. The Pirates’ second runner came to the finish in 18:34.

But Simons, who was happy with what he did, admitted what happened in a class meet distance race of two miles against Miller earlier this fall season.

“Michael destroyed me,” said Simons. “He is a great runner.”

James McClean is the only runner not mentioned yet of this competition. He went 17:56.

The girls did great on the front, especially for Mount Rainier team-wise, getting the win as a fivesome, with senior Alison Vrbanac taking first this time, in 23:16. Then Aasha Sagmoen in 23:27, Cajsa Carlson in 24:25 and Janie Oliphant in 25:32.

Though those five ran well, the best runner for the Rams maybe “runners,” would be not there on this day.

“Our No. 1 is Palka Mwensa,” said Jacobson of the sophomore, who he said decided not to run because of an injury. Another, Elissa Johnson, also a sophomore, was out as well with a twisted ankle.

The girls did well for the Rams as a whole, but the one who won was not a Ram. She was for Rex Post’s Pirates and she would be Tracey Stolz, a freshman.

Stolz ran a 21 minute time, a good minute ahead of second place. Stolz almost wasn’t going to come out for cross country.

“I decided between three different sports -- soccer, swimming and cross country,” said Stolz. “I almost chose swimming. It’s new and I like to swim.”

But you chose cross country.

“I run track and I kind of chose it because it will help prepare me better for running.”

So that was how things went. After Stolz and Vrbanac and Sagmoen was the Pirates’ Danielle Sanchez, 23:27, and the Rams’ Carlson, the Pirates’ Julianne Stone, 24:25, and, Oliphant and Lyndsey Headley of the Rams was their fifth runner across, in 25:25, to make it a Rams win.

But the girls race was about Stolz. She was fast. She still thinks she can be faster.

“I could get a better pace,” said Stolz. “I sometimes run the first mile not fast enough and then sometimes I run it too fast.”

Stolz’ goal for this year is to get down in time a little more.

“I want to break 20 minutes,” she said.

Stolz has only lost to three runners in the Seamount and only two count. One was to a runner from Lindbergh that was a gift win because Stolz did something wrong.

“I took a wrong turn on the course,” said Stolz.

The one from Hazen that beat Stolz is catchable.

“I want to catch her, I’ll go for it,” said Stolz. “Racing her will help me reach my goal.”

Post, in his first season, was there to keep his young star in check.

“Don’t let it all go to your head,” he said, as he walked by.

There still is a lot of time in Stolz’ cross country, not to mention spring season track. She just may be ahead of just about everyone before this is all through.