Senior Terrence Burnell teamed with Reagan McGuire to help Humphreys place third overall and second in the Far East cross country meet Division I team relay. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan – Monday’s gloom turned to Tuesday’s joy for Tyler Gaines.
A day after winning the Division II boys race but finishing what he called a disappointing fourth place overall, Gaines teamed with girls D-II winner Jane Williams to win the team relay and pace Matthew C. Perry to a sweep of every Far East cross country D-II title.
“Awesome. What a season,” Perry coach Brad Cramer said. His Samurai won the girls and overall school title in last year’s virtual Far East meet, but Perry did that one better this year, taking the girls, boys and overall school banners.
In the Division I ranks, American School In Japan won the team relay and took first place, with Nile C. Kinnick placing second.
Down in the dumps after Monday’s individual race, Gaines was all smiles as he and Williams talked about their victory following Tuesday’s team relay at Misawa’s Gosser Memorial Golf Course.
“Having Jane definitely boosted my confidence,” Gaines said after he and Williams clocked the 6.24-mile relay course in 34 minutes, 59.5 seconds. “All I needed to do was to keep the lead.”
“But he gained time for us; he didn’t just keep the lead,” Williams said, adding that Monday’s run left her a bit on the exhausted side.
“I felt a little different, a little tired from all those hills,” Williams said. “But it was good.”
Seniors Jane Williams and Tyler Gaines paced Matthew C. Perry to a Division II sweep in the Far East crosscountry meet. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Senior Jane Williams paired with Tyler Gaines to pace Matthew C. Perry to victory in the team relay and a sweep of every Far East cross country meet Division II title. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
It was all victory and smiles for Tyler Gaines on Tuesday; the senior paired with Jane Williams to pace Matthew C. Perry to victory in the team relay and a sweep of every Far East cross country meet Division II title. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kai Liljequist anchored American School In Japan to victory in the Division I team relay and the school's ninth overall Far East title dating back to 1982. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Senior Reagan McGuire teamed with Terrence Burnell to help Humphreys place third overall and second in the Far East cross-country meet Division I team relay. They each transferred last summer from Junction City (Kansas). (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Gaines and Williams came in about 40 seconds ahead of the D-I winners, Kai Liljequist and Chloe McCormick of ASIJ. Liljequist described winning the overall team championship, ASIJ’s ninth overall dating back to 1982, as “amazing.”
He trailed Humphreys’ Terrence Burnell on the first of his two relay laps, but said he “wasn’t worried,” that his teammate McCormick was keeping relatively close to Williams of Perry.
“I just had to stay composed and outkick him in the end,” Liljequist said of outrunning Burnell. “I’m an 800-meter runner (in track and field) so I have that speed in my legs.”
As for capturing the overall D-II title and Gaines and Williams winning the relay, Cramer said he was proud of his charges. “It was a good season for them,” Cramer said.
“They (Gaines and Williams) had a gameplan coming into it and they executed it, flawlessly,” Cramer said. “They did what they set out to do. Obviously, they wanted to be the overall champions. The whole team came together to make sure they were champions.”
The season isn’t over for some of the teams. Kinnick, Yokota and Zama will compete in the Kanto Plain finals at Tokyo’s Tama Hills Recreation Center, while Humphreys and Daegu will run in the Korea league finals at Seoul Foreign, both on Saturday.
