Hockinson High School senior Graysen Aldridge finished first in the girls race with a time of 19 minutes, 11 seconds, at a 2A Greater St. Helens League cross country meet on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at Hockinson Meadows Community Park.
The Hawks hosted Columbia River, Ridgefield and R.A. Long in the league competition, where Aldridge continued to build on her senior season while helping lead a growing Hockinson girls team.
Aldridge said she entered the race hoping to break the 18-minute, 45-second mark, which would have put her under a six-minute-per-mile pace on the 5,000-meter course. Although she fell short of that goal, she was pleased with her performance.
“I felt pretty good. I know I can still do better though,” Aldridge said.
The senior has taken on an expanded leadership role this season as team captain, helping guide a group that has grown considerably from last year. Hockinson has welcomed several freshmen, and the girls team has nearly doubled in size, she said.
“We have a bunch of new freshmen, so it's just been really cool to watch them do really well,” Aldridge said.
She added that having more teammates has made her captaincy especially rewarding.
“I'm captain this year, so it's been really fun to have a better team to lead,” Aldridge said. “We only had a couple girls last year, and our numbers have basically doubled this year.”
As the season progresses, Aldridge hopes to translate her training and leadership into personal milestones at the state level.
“I'd love to break 18 (minutes). That would be pretty cool. Top 10 at State would be pretty cool too,” she said.
Aldridge has yet to place at the state meet, making a top-10 finish an important goal during her final high school season.
She said improvements away from competition have helped her prepare, including focusing on sleep and nutrition.
“Just making sure I'm doing all the little things like sleeping more and nutrition,” Aldridge said as the background preparation for her keys to success. “The whole team culture being better has helped a lot, too.”
In the boys varsity race, Hockinson senior Tanner Hood led the way with a time of 16 minutes, 10 seconds.
