Not to be outdone*
Mount Shasta girls cross country team defends state title
The 2006 state champion Bears, from left to right, Katie Fritzke, Joanna Beem, Heather Nesheim, coach  Steve Nesheim, Cynthia Laiacona, Maggie Strong, Natalie Sojka and Amy Detrich.
 
By Rob McCallum/Mt Shasta Herald  - Wednesday, November 29, 2006

It was a year ago that a van carrying Mount Shasta cross country team was returning from Fresno with the state championship trophy. It's driver - coach Steve Nesheim - realized how much pressure was now on the seven Bears, all of whom were underclassmen. A year later to the day, the same van returned with the same trophy, only this time, Nesheim and his seven passengers felt that much more proud to have defended their state title.

The Mount Shasta girls cross country easily won the CIF Division V championships at Fresno's Woodward Park on Saturday, turning in a performance even faster than their 2005 race. The boys also fared well, finishing fifth in a tough field.

"When you know that you have a good chance to do something that remarkable, the pressure is going to build," Nesheim said. "A year of thinking and hoping has all passed. I'm excited and relieved." The Bears placed all five of their scoring runners within 12 places and 48 seconds of each other. Mount Shasta scored only 60 points in the lowest-score wins formula, nearly half the output of runner-up Chadwick.Their aggregate team time of 1 hour, 38 minutes, 35 seconds at Woodward Park broke their own Division V record and is the fifth-best in California of all-time for Division 5.
 
It was also the fastest aggregate time for any North Section girls team since inception of State Cross Country Championships in 1987."They attacked the course immediately and put the race away in the first mile," Nesheim said. "They were confident and it showed." All five Bears broke the 20-minute barrier over the 5,000-meter course, led by senior Katie Fritzke's seventh place finish in 19 minutes, 7 seconds and followed closely by sophomore Cynthia Laiacona in eighth at 19:08.

Junior Natalie Sojka was 14th in 19:42, sophomore Joanna Beem was two places back in 19:51, and freshman Maggie Strong rounded out scoring with a 19th-place finish in 19:55. The final races for Amy Detrich (93rd) and Heather Nesheim (108th) were the best in four years.

"We are still peaking," Nesheim said. "A lot of teams use whatever they have up getting here. We held that edge for two weeks - we were able to run well at sections and at state - which speaks really well for the program." The Bears made history four weeks ago by sweeping both boys and girls titles at the Northern Section meet against schools of all sizes.

While three Mount Shasta girls recorded 5K personal records in Fresno, four boys turned in big PRs and the three others ran that distance for the first time. Despite the drop in time, the Bears couldn't crack the top 4, and had to settle for their third top 10 finish in as many years. Mount Shasta was third last season and eighth the year before. "The ran exactly where they should have," Nesheim said. "The wanted to get into the tent, but the field just got better and that's all there was too it. We're very happy with any top 10 finish."

Junior Ramon Rubio led the team with a 22nd place finish in a PR time of 16:50. Senior Cory Coppin was not far behind in his final cross country race, at 26th in 17 minutes. "Ramon ran like an animal," Nesheim said. "He was sick all week, and pretty weary-eyed at the start line, but he just bulled his way through it." Sophomore Mitchell Nesheim ran almost three minutes faster than his race a year ago on the same course, finishing 52nd in 17:29. Junior Nick Kennedy, in only his second race ever, was 60th in 17:35. Senior Kale Coppin crossed the line for the last time in Blue and Yellow at 81st in 17:54. Sophomore Andy Beem (117th) and Larz Warn (146th) got their first taste of state competition.

The only losses for the Bears are the Coppin twins, who turned into coach-athletes of sorts for Nesheim on the course."Their grandfather was a fine runner and coach and Kale and Cory took all they could from him," Nesheim said. "They've kept every piece of paper I've given them. True students of the sport." But Nesheim is confident that the Bears will be able to match or even improve on their placing, thanks to the influx of talent the last three years. "In Division V, you're able to take non runners and do good enough to impact the state level," he said. "I'm pleased with the young boys who came along this year. They're eager to run and are talking about running camps already. We're not going to drop off anytime soon. We're tying to stay at the top."

*The Mt Shasta foothill team won the North Section Division III championship 8-7 over Live Oak a few days prior to the state cross country meet.