LAKEWOOD — Lilly Whitehead of Lakewood keeps getting better and better.

She won the cross country Cascade 2A title placing first with a personal best of 19 minutes, 51.10 seconds Oct. 24. She was named Marysville Globe-Arlington Times Co-Athlete of the Week.

“I didn’t focus on the time at all. My only goal was just to win,” she said.

So far that has worked for her.

As the senior keeps focus, she keeps shedding seconds off her time. Her first 5K of the season was 22:05.

“She’s incredibly coachable,” coach Jeff Sowards said and has “gained confidence” as her times continue to improve.

“[I] just try and not be stressed out — not worry about races,” Whitehead said. “[I] worry about school when it’s school, and cross country when it’s cross country.”

She hopes to continue her pace through districts and state with the goal of placing the highest she can.

Whitehead also helped her team place second overall in the league meet. She was also backed by other strong runners, such as teammate Britney Albro, who placed second.

“I think we all worked together well as a team,” she said. “We were on the same page.”

She knew her team could start and finish strong, she said.

“I think that was really important,” she said. “Knowing your team was going to do the best they can.”

She started cross country in middle school. Her goal to get better followed after running with high schoolers as an eighth-grader.

“I was just ok in middle school,” she said. “And then I wanted to get better.”

She wants to run cross country and track for a small college. She is interested in Lewis and Clark, Linfield and Willamette.