PORT ANGELES — Jack Gladfelter had a remarkable year for the Port Angeles boys cross country team.
It began when he won the prestigious Salt Creek Invitational east of Port Angeles in September.
And then it just kept getting better.
Gladfelter went on to win the Olympic 2A League championship. Then he won the District 2/3 Westside Classic. Afterward, he finished third at the state 2A meet, the highest finish ever for a Port Angeles cross-country runner.
“I had a great year in general. Some races went exactly the way I wanted. Others, I wasn’t so happy,” Gladfelter said.
But, most of all, Gladfelter set an all-time Port Angeles cross-country record for the 5K. One week later, he broke his own record, setting a new Port Angeles record.
Gladfelter set the record at the John Payne/Curtis Cross-Country Invitational on Oct. 1 with a time of 15 minutes, 35.4 seconds. A week later, he shattered that record at the huge Nike Hole-In-The-Wall meet in northern Seattle with a time of 15:15.6.
For his accomplishments, Gladfelter has been named the All-Peninsula Cross-Country MVP.
And he isn’t remotely done, with many more races to come this spring and summer.
Gladfelter said he wasn’t initially aware he had established a new Port Angeles record.
“The first time I did it, it was almost perfect conditions,” he said. “I was running with Conner Wirth of Emerald Ridge and we said, ‘let’s just have fun with it.’ “
Wirth finished first at the John Payne race two seconds ahead of Gladfelter. Gladfelter was a full 20 seconds ahead of the third-place runner in the elite varsity division. That’s elite varsity runners from a variety of divisions, and Gladfelter came in second out of 137 runners.
“My dad [Joe Gladfelter] showed me that I got the school record. That’s insane, I wasn’t thinking about it,” Gladfelter said.
At the Nike Hole-in-the-Wall, Gladfelter said the conditions were again and he felt good running in an exceptionally fast field in the most elite out of eight divisions. He came in sixth with a couple of Oregon runners ahead of him.
Winning the race was Zach Munson of Sehome, a runner Gladfelter would face off with again weeks later.
Gladfelter easily won the league and district championship, with sub-16 minute times. He won league by 38 seconds and district by six seconds (with his teammate Max Baeder coming in fifth at district).
Though he had the best finish ever for a Port Angeles runner at state, Gladfelter believed he could have done better at the Pasco race. He ran a 16:01 race, fantastic for most runners, but a bit off of his best times.
“It was blowing and cold. The wind was so bad,” Gladfelter said.
Gladfelter said he decided to keep up with Munson as much as he could. He stayed with him for more than a mile, but lost contact after that. Munson won with a time of 15:37, 24 seconds ahead of Gladfelter.
Despite a top-three finish, Gladfelter said it wasn’t his best race.
“It was not what I wanted, but I proved that could keep up with the No. 1 runner in the state for a mile or two miles,” he said.
Gladfelter plans to run in college, but has not picked a school yet.
“I’ve done a couple of visits, but I have three more left,” he said.
However, he has a lot more work to do this year. He is running in some indoor events and track and field in the spring. Last year, Gladfelter finished fifth at state in both the 1,600 and the 3,200 meters.
Gladfelter said he has some time goals he wants to set — a low 4-minute time in the 1,600 and a sub-8:50 in the 3,200. His best times last year were 4:17.98 in the 1,600 and 9:20.46 in the 3,200.
But, the ultimate goal?
“I want to win both at state,” he said.
Other members of the All-Peninsula Cross-Country Team include:
• Max Baeder, Port Angeles — Baeder and Gladfelter were a great one-two punch for the Roughriders are all. Baeder finished third at league, fifth at district and 17th at state.
• Aliyah Yearian, East Jefferson — Yearian had a fantastic season with three first-place finishes and for a period this season, she had the No. 1 girls’ 1A time in the state. Unfortunately, due to injury, she didn’t get a chance to run at district or state. She likely would have finished top-3 at state.
• Sebastain Manza, East Jefferson — Manza was part of a great year for East Jefferson runners. He was a district champion and came in 11th at state.
• Soare Johnston, East Jefferson — Johnston was second at district behind his teammate Manza and 15th at state.
• Fiona Fraser, East Jefferson — Fraser was fourth at league and third at district and 25th at state, helping to lead the East Jefferson girls to a sixth-place finish at state as a team.
• Camryn Hines, East Jefferson — Hines was third at league and fourth at district. She came in 35th at state.
• Kaitlyn Bloomenrader, Sequim — Bloomenrader had six top-10 finishes, coming in sixth at league and sixth at district.
