Camas Girls Surging on Youth

The news that her star runner Alexa Efraimson was turning pro didn’t come as a surprise to Camas head coach Laura Porter.

The surprise came less than a month later.

With an Efraimson-less team that featured five freshmen, the Washington squad captured the season-opening Sundodger Invitational on Sept. 20, defeating Okanagan Mission, 40-80. But the real shocker wasn’t necessarily the convincing victory.

“Five of the girls made the top 10 all-time list of school cross-country records,” Porter said. “I knew at that point, we had the best team that we ever had.”

On Dec. 6, Camas will be competing at the Nike Cross Country Nationals (NXN), toeing the line at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon with some of the best teams in the country.  How did the Papermakers do it? By ignoring eight inches of snow and a talented field to take team honors at the NXN Northwest Regionals on Nov. 15 at Eagle Island Park in Idaho.

“I felt we could do it.” Porter admitted. “Even though I looked at all that was said and we were barely mentioned.”

Camas’s young squad, which won the WIAA 4A state title on Nov. 8, has just two returning veterans from last year’s state runner-up squad, senior Alissa Pudlitzke and junior Maddie Woodson. The remaining five are ninth-graders’ Emma Jenkins, Emily Wilson, Kaylee Merritt, Brooke Roy and Ellie Postma.

Porter sensed that even with the loss of Efraimson, undoubtedly one of the country’s top distance runners last year, she would have a quality squad this season with her incoming freshmen. She didn’t quite realize it would be this good, though.

“We have two middle schools that feed into our high school. I knew some of the best girls in the whole district were coming from those school,” said Porter, whose team’s five scoring runners averaged a crisp 18:17.69 for 5K this year. “I knew some fast girls were coming in. I just didn’t know they would be this fast. It’s really exciting.”

Since their impressive victory at the Sundodger Invite, Camas has put together a string a strong performances this fall. In a preview of their upcoming conquest, the Papermakers placed eighth among 21 schools at the Nike Pre-Nationals in Portland Meadows on Sept. 27. The next month and a half included victories at the Mizuno Harrier Classic (Oct. 4), the GSHL District Meet (Oct. 23) and the state championships (Nov. 8).

Porter credits the veteran leadership of Pudlitzke and Woodson as a major reason for her team’s success. With the young and older runners mixed together, it was a gradual climb to the top.

“At the beginning of the season it seemed like they were racing each other,” Porter said. “As the season unfolded, and with the leadership of Alissa and Maddie, we are now racing for each other. It’s more of a team. They are all like sisters now.”

Jenkins, who was teammates with Postma and Roy at Liberty Middle School – Merritt and Wilson attended Skyridge MS – has been the No. 1 runner for Camas the last three meets. She was second overall at the districts, finished third at the states (with a personal best of 17:55.34) and was eighth at the NXN meet.  

Pudlitzke, a sixth-place finisher at the 2013 state meet, occupied the top spot for Camas for most of the season. Jenkins defeated her older teammate at the districts by taking second in 18:35, eight seconds ahead of Pudlitzke, who placed third.

“Early on, (Emma) was the second girl; her and Emily were kind of fighting for that second spot with Maddie and Kaylee up there,” Porter said. “Ever since (districts), Emma has figured out how she can run faster. Now she’s leading the pack.”

In preparation for the Nike Regionals, the Camas coach wanted to get her team accustomed to the potential harsh conditions in Idaho. Less than a week prior to the meet, she took her girls up to a place higher in elevation where they ran two timed miles with a five-minute rest at 5K race pace after a series of drills. Where the weather was cold and windy, the workout made her realize there was potential for greatness at the regional competition.

“I wanted them to feel what it’s like to run at higher elevation,” she said. “I just wanted to give a feel for what they are going to experience. If anything, it gives them confidence that if I can do a hard work out here, I can do it there.”

Under miserable conditions where fast times were not the top priority, Oregon’s Ella Donaghu of Grant upset pre-race favorite and the nation’s top runner Allie Ostrander of Alaska’s Kenai Central by nearly four seconds with her time of 18:55.80. Jenkins led Camas with a 19:27.60 clocking for her placement. Pudlitzke was 14th in 19:48.60. She was followed by Woodson (36th, 20:43.50), Merritt (38th, 20:47.90) and Wilson (44th, 20:51.90).  The Papermakers defeated second-place Coeur d’Alene of Idaho, 67-101.

Porter’s daughter Sarah Porter, a Division II 10K national champion while at Western Washington State, now runs professionally for ZAP Fitness. In fact, just last month she was the seventh women and third American to cross the line at the Chicago Marathon where she ran an Olympic ‘A’ standard time of 2:32.44. Porter knows all about elite runners.

She also know that when she lost Efraimson on Aug. 25, when the national two-mile record-holder and last year’s NXN titlist signed with Nike, it wasn’t going to be as big a blow to her team as most would assume.

“She was very inspirational to the girls, but sometimes it might also be a distraction a little bit with all the attention on her,” Porter said. “I do miss her and everything. But right now the girls are totally focused. It’s not really about one person. It’s all about the team. As you know, the No. 1 person is not the most important runner. It’s the four and five, the runners further back that are more important. I look at it that way.”

The Camas coach is now hoping her team’s current success continues at Nike in a couple of weeks.

“I really don’t know. You never know for sure with people coming from different parts of the country,” she said. “I think they’ll be up there. I have a feeling they are going to do really great. I just really feel they are definitely on a roll. In this race, there will be 20 teams plus several individuals. It’s all about passing as many people as you can.”