ARLINGTON — Arlington’s Nathan Beamer and Emma Janousek traveled to Pasco to compete in the 4A State Cross Country Meet on Nov. 9. Beamer finished in 51st place in his race, while Janousek finished in 59th place.
Arlington Cross County Head Coach Mike Shierk said he was very pleased with the performances of both of his runners.
Shierk pointed out that Beamer ran a record-setting performance at the Nov. 2 Bi-District meet to qualify for the State Meet.
“He was 18th overall at the Bi-District Meet, and broke the school record with a 16:08,” said Shierk, who added that new record cut 13 seconds off of the previous school record.
“At the State Meet, he also did very well,” said Shierk. “He ran a 16:18, which was about 10 seconds off his season PR, but it was also the second fastest time he’s ever run. That performance at State would have broken the school record, if he hadn’t already set a new one at the Bi-District.”
Shierk said that Beamer, a sophomore, handled the pressure of the State Meet really well.
“There is a lot of hoopla that goes along with running that race. You go from our league meet that has hundreds of spectators, to a race where there are thousands,” said Shierk. “It’s a huge leap, and can be a bit overwhelming, and he handled it very, very well. I am really proud of his efforts.”
Shierk said that Janousek also had a very strong performance at the Bi-District Meet to qualify for State.
“Emma was 24th at the Bi-District Meet,” said Shierk. “She did really well. She matched her lifetime PR of 19:08 at the Bi-District. That young lady really gave it her all, because she was on the verge of exhaustion at the end of the race. We always tell the kids to give 100 percent, and she clearly did that.”
Shierk also praised Janousek’s performance at the State Meet.
“She had a great performance,” said Shierk. “She was in there, and she knew what position she was in and what she had to get done.”
The coach said that Janousek, who is a sophomore, also handled the pressures of the State Meet very well.
“In previous meets, we always ran as a team, but Emma was the only one to qualify for State,” said Shierk. “She always had her teammates around her for every race, and all of a sudden, in the last and most important race, she didn’t have them there. But she dealt with that and ran exceptionally well.”
Shierk said that he is not only very pleased with the performance of Beamer and Janousek, he is also very pleased with how the boys and girls cross country teams did this year.
“It has been a pleasure coaching them. They are the best group of kids, and very hard working,” said Shierk. “I don’t know if every person can say that at the end of the day, one of the last things they check off from the list of things to do is the best. Mine always is, and that’s working with these kids.”
