Glenwood senior Neola Putnam pulled away from a small pack of runners in the final mile last Saturday to win her first WIAA cross country championship on her third try.
Putnam placed first in the girls 2B/1B final in the second-fastest time in the three-year history of the small-school meet.
She made her way around the 5,000-meter layout at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, in a state meet personal-record time of 19 minutes, 18 seconds. Her margin of victory over runner-up Kate Reidy of St. George's (Spokane) was 19 seconds.
"Last year, Katie got me," Putnam told a reporter after the race, recalling how Reidy caught and passed her in the stretch run of the 2007 final. "I didn't want that to happen again."
And it didn't as Putnam stayed with the lead pack until pulling away in the final mile.
During the first two miles, though, it was a four-way race between Reidy, 2006 winner Lisa Vandenberg of Northwest Christian (Colbert), Mikel Elliott of White Pass and Putnam.
Said Putnam of her racing strategy: "I decided to let them set the pace, then finish strong."
Putnam placed third as a sophomore in 2006 and was fifth last year.
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