"Bailey has passion for running" -- Sept. 9, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

Being the only girl in a quadruplet of siblings is just the start for Bailey Campbell.

Her brother Sean kicks up dirt off-road. Her brothers Colby and Jared peck away at computer keyboards, one for hobby and the other for games. But Campbell laces up spikes when it's wet, wears Under Armor when it's cold and chugs water when it's hot.

She's the athlete of the family, and she's fine with that.

"It seems normal because I've been doing sports for a long time," she said.

Bailey is a soft-spoken runner for Capital High School's cross country team -- friendly and quiet on the outside, "but really a fiery person" on the inside, said cross country coach Kevin Wright.

"She just doesn't show it the way other kids do," he said. "You're not going to see her jumping up and down and screaming, that's not Bailey."

"Pacer," a game Bailey played in sixth grade, sparked her passion for running. She and a bunch of elementary kids were lined up alongside the width of a basketball court, waiting for a recorded beep that signaled them to run to the other side.

She had to reach the other side before the recording beeped again. And she did -- many times.

"I realized that other people were dropping out," Bailey said. "I didn't really have anything, like, 'I'm good at this,' until then."

Bailey and teammate Katie Blue, both seniors, are co-captains for the Cougars. Blue said Bailey leads without words.

"She'll be in a race and be in so much pain, but she'll just keep going and get faster," she said.

And now Saint Martin's University, along with some Division II tech schools, has noticed the red-haired quadruplet and her dependable legs, just as the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Association noticed Capital's entire girls squad, ranking them 4th among 3A high schools in a preseason poll.

No Capital girls cross country team has placed higher than fifth at state, and with the Capital invite kicking off the season today, the Cougars' hunt for a higher placement begins in earnest. Last year the Cougars girls finished eighth at state.

"Our big thing this year is trying to get a team on the podium because no girls team at Capital has ever done that," Wright said. "A top-four finish is a high likelihood if we stay healthy and compete the way we have in the past."

Several girls competing for seven varsity spots are pushing the team to better themselves, said sophomore Emily Wallen, who bumped from JV to one of the team's top four runners.

Last season she started training two weeks before the season. This year she started three months before the season, running up and down the hilly terrain around her neighborhood for 40 minutes each day.

Sometimes her mom would ride beside her on a bike.

"It's encouraging and she distracts me from how hard I'm working," Wallen said. "I'll ask her to tell me a story."

Wallen's grueling workouts seemed to catch on with other Cougars this season. Blue said she's never seen a team this physically fit in her four years.

"We're seeing workouts I couldn't have completed as a sophomore or junior," she said. "We're seeing nine girls finish these workouts that, in earlier years, maybe two girls could have done."

Black Hills Wolves

COACH: George Zelenak
2005: Boys: 4-4 in league. Girls: 2-6 in league.
KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Tyler Alsin, sr. Girls: Rachel Miller, sr.
TOP NEWCOMERS: Boys: Eric Walsh, fr.
NOTABLE: Juniors Megan Zelenak and Dorothy Huynh return after missing their sophomore years to injuries.

Capital Cougars

COACH: Kevin Wright (girls coach)

2005: Third in league, fourth at district and eighth at state.

KEY RETURNERS: Amanda Wright, jr.; Johannah Verhulst, so.; Katie Blue, sr.; Laura Wolfe, jr.; Bailey Campbell, sr.; Maria McSharry, sr.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Emily Wallen, so.; Brianna Morkert-Burling, so.; Rebekah Calder, jr.; Kailyn Swarthout, fr.; Jenica Noviello, so.

NOTABLE: The six key returners were a part of the state team. The Cougars lost only senior Ariel Taylor from last season's state team. She is now running for Eastern Washington University.

Centralia Tigers

COACH: Andrea McLaughlin

2005: Both boys and girls teams finished in middle of the league.

KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Jacob Ehlers, sr.; Gabe Tippery, jr. Girls: Torin Shriver, so.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Boys: Mula Dafala, so.

NOTABLE: This is Dafala's first season running cross country, but "running is in his blood, and he has been right on Jacob's and Gabe's heels in practice," McLaughlin said. Also, Shriver ran 50 miles per week to get ready for the season.

Olympia Bears

COACH: Cris Violette

2005: Boys: Second in league, third at districts and seventh at state. Girls: Fifth in league, sixth at districts, 14th at state.

KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Jacob Goodin, sr. Girls: Annie Dear, so.; Carter Schick, sr.

NOTABLE: Dear placed 27th at state.

Tenino Beavers

COACH: Bryan Hoddle

2005: Boys: Second in league and fifth at district. Girls: Second in league and fifth at district.

KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Trevor Lewis, sr.; James Milnes, sr.; Kyle Kollman, jr.; Lance Adams, sr.; Cody Sharber, sr., Jarran Harris, fr. Girls: Megan Batten, jr.; Heather Wells, fr.; Krista Schaeffer, sr.

NOTABLE: Lewis, "The Wind," placed in two events at state last season.

Timberline Blazers

COACH: Linda Huyck

2005: Boys: 3-5 in league. Girls: Incomplete team.

KEY RETURNERS: John Perrine, sr. Girls: Sarah Bowen, sr., Rachel Estep, so.

NOTABLE: The Blazers haven't had a complete girls team for about five years, Huyck said.

Tumwater Thunderbirds

COACH: Rich Brown

2005: Boys: League champions, fourth at districts. Girls: One state qualifier.

KEY RETURNERS: Boys: Micah Pong, sr.; Nathan Duray, so.; Steven Acosta, so.; Rand Montermini, so. Girls: Christina Alexander, jr.

NOTABLE: Alexander was an individual league champion and state qualifier.