North Central runner Neale’s biggest rival

SNOHOMISH — With all the success Glacier Peak junior cross country runner Amy-Eloise Neale has had in her first two years of high school, one could begin to question whether or not she is racing the competition or if she is racing the clock.

Neale is the two-time defending champion at the Class 3A state meet and the competition hasn’t been close — with the exception of one girl.

That girl is Katie Knight of North Central High School in Spokane. Knight has placed second behind Neale both as a freshman and sophomore, losing the races by less than eight seconds combined. Neale beat her by just one second in 2009.

Knight’s father and coach, Jonathan Knight, recalled that first state championship race the two had in 2009.

“The first year they were both young and they were both going for it,” Knight said. “Katie had never been out-kicked and Amy had never been out-kicked.”

Neale said both state races against Knight have been similar.

“Both years it was pretty close,” Neale said. “Freshman year, obviously, I was way more nervous because I really didn’t have an idea what to expect. Sophomore year was pretty similar competition and the race actually played out in a similar way. It turned out to be in the last half mile where the pace really started picking up.”

Last year though, Neale wasn’t just thinking about winning the race, she had a loftier goal in mind.

“Last year, was really important for me because I was going for the state record,” Neale said. “I actually got it by a couple of seconds.”

Neale’s state record time was 17 minutes, 31 seconds.

While Neale is looking to continue her run of greatness today at Sun Willow Golf Course in Pasco, Knight is looking to score the upset and take home her first individual state championship in cross country.

According to Knight and her father, Neale’s finishing kick has been the difference at state the first two times around.

“Amy’s got a blistering kick and she has got a lot of experience,” Jonathan Knight said.

Katie said she and Neale are friends, but it doesn’t get in the way of Knight’s quest to win a state championship.

“We are friends at the start when we are saying good luck, and we are friends at the end when we are saying good job. But there is no, ‘She is my friend, so I’m not trying to beat her.’”

In 2010, Neale separated herself a bit more from Knight in the final part of the race. Something she said might have been due to more experience.

“I guess the last mile last year, I knew what I was capable of more,” Neale said. “I knew that I wouldn’t die in the last part if I picked it up earlier, so that played into it as well.”

The approach that Knight takes isn’t just about beating Neale. In fact, coach Knight said that would be the wrong approach.

“Your success needs to be based on what you have accomplished for yourself,” Knight said.

Neale follows the same philosophy.

“We both want to win each race that we do,” she said. “But we also are more focused on the times. The faster she gets, the faster I’m getting and the faster I get, the faster she gets.”

Though Knight has not beaten Neale in the cross country state championship, she has beaten Neale at other events before and has a very impressive running resume herself.

“I try not to focus on just beating Amy,” Katie Knight said. “It’s not just about beating her. It’s about running the best race I can.”

That said, Knight would said she would love to finally win the big one, while keeping everything in perspective.

“Winning a state championship is kind of the pinnacle,” Knight said. “I’d be ecstatic if I won, but I think I would be able to recover if I didn’t.”

When Knight spoke two weeks before today’s state race, she didn’t yet know what her racing strategy would be.

“I don’t really know what my strategy is going to be,” Knight said. “Something has to change. I don’t know what it would be yet.”

What Knight does have to hang on to is the knowledge that Neale is not unbeatable.

“I have beat her in other events, so I know it’s possible,” she said.

Despite all of Neale’s success, she said that there are always factors that could keep her from winning. But it is her drive to win that she relies on.

“In a good field, like state, there is always a possibility of injury,” Neale said. “You could trip, I have done that before. There is a point in the race, for me at least, that I have to make a decision. You could let them go and be like, ‘I don’t want this,’ or you could make that decision and say, ‘Yes it is going to hurt, but I want this more than they do.’

“It can go either way. It is just more about the mental strength I think.”

Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Contact him at aaronlommers@gmail.com or follow him on twitter @aaronlommers.