ARLINGTON — Having a high pain threshold is one of Nathan Beamer’s strengths. It’s described as “ungodly” by his cross-country coach Mike Shierk.

Beamer of Arlington won the league title at the Wesco championships with a time of 15 minutes, 41.5 seconds Oct. 24.

As a result, he is the Marysville Globe-Arlington Times Co-Athlete of the Week.

“The course was dry that day compared to the Hole in the Wall,” Beamer said of the previous meet at Lakewood. “It was nice having less people in that race.”

It also helped that he knew the trail quite well. He trained there knowing the league championship would take place there.

“He knows that course inside and out,” Shierk said.

When Beamer was 1,200 meters out from the finish line, he was instructed by Shierk to give it his all and sprint to the finish.

“You could be exhausted, but when you see the finish line all the pain of the race goes away,” Beamer said.

“He’s pretty strong to be able to do that,” Shierk said.

He’s going to need that when he competes at state, Nov. 7 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. “There will be five or six guys that will go toe-to-toe with him,” Shierk said.

Beamer carries a chip on his shoulder. As a senior he was enjoying an undefeated season stringing together three first-place finishes in the 5K. It was going smoothly until Oct. 3 at the Twilight Invitational at Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville.

He was leading most the way but 4A Eastlake’s Nathan Pixler outsprint Beamer in the final stretch.

“It bugs me because I couldn’t tell where the guy was,” Beamer said. “I thought he was farther behind me. By the time I knew where he was he blew right by me.”

It was bittersweet because it was Nathan’s best time ever at 15:14.

“That’s the type of stuff that haunts Nate,” Shierk said.

Beamer assures the race will be closer if they race again. He learned to never underestimate the competition. “It was a wake-up call,” he said.

It’s achievable because he’s “ultra-competitive in every facet.” He goes to camps and trains, but also in “silly games” like playing tag with teammates.

He has been in communication with college coaches from Boise and Adams State University. Gonzaga has also been keeping track of Beamer.

But now his sights are set on becoming the 3A state champion. His goal is to run a 14:50.

“He’s talked about it ever since I had him,” Shierk said.