Tapia wins first state championship for Lady Warriors since 1994

The 3A State cross-country meet on Oct. 21 in Cheyenne was a historic day for the Worland cross-country program. The Lady Warriors had their first state champion in 29 years, and the Warriors finished second for the first time since 1994.

Lady Warrior Zena Tapia ran a dominating race on her way to her first 3A State championship, crossing the finish line at 19:33.30.

With her victory in Cheyenne, Tapia became the first Lady Warrior to win a state championship since Kristen Mathison did so in 1994.

"This is crazy, and it's really cool to be the first champion in so long," said Zena Tapia. "At the one mile, I had this huge lead. The wind wasn't going to kick up before that hill. I just felt great the whole race."

Running for a state championship is a strong motivation, but sometimes against a tough field of runners, that extra little push is needed. For Tapia, the motivation for that clear, perfect day in Cheyenne was her leftovers from Old Chicago, and she told her coach, Tanya Kienlen, what the motivation was.

"Can I be honest? I was really hungry the night before, and we went to Old Chicago. I got spaghetti and meatballs, and they were really good, but I couldn't finish them. I told Coach Kienlen my motivation was the Old Chicago meatballs. They're in the cooler right now," said Tapia after winning the 3A State girls title.

As Tapia continued to widen the gap between her and the competition, Kienlen reminded her of those Old Chicago leftovers.

"Some things motivate everybody differently," laughed Kienlen. "That helped relax her and enjoy the moment as she was out there. That was good for her. Then, the motivation coming off of conference, she wasn't going to settle and wanted more. All of that combined to fire her up and get after it. Even at the mile, she had already created a gap. I was kind of surprised at that point, too, and that was fun."

Among Tapia's other motivations, finishing second at the 3A East conference meet the week before and wanting an offer to run at the collegiate level were among them, too.

"It feels amazing, knowing that I'm healthy and can kick butt in this race. The minute conference ended, I was in the mindset and ready to go," said Tapia. "I'm trying to get an offer, and junior year is the year to get it. By the third race, it clicked that if I want one, I'm going to have to work for it and keep dominating."

Along with Tapia, the Warriors team pulled off a program first since 1994. The Warriors finished 3A State runners-up, scoring 81 points.

The Warriors were aiming for the championship, and while they fell short, they still ran strong at state.

"You had to focus on the positive. We knew there were some tough competitors, and we had never run against Evanston. That's hard when you go in blind against other runners. That was tricky, but overall, when you walk away with three all-staters and a second-place finish, it was an honor. We're changing our program by doing something we haven't done in 29 years," said Kienlen.

Evanston won the 3A boys title with 57 points. Riverton was third with 97 points. On the 3A girls side, Powell won with 65 points, Cody was second with 76 and Evanston scored 84 points to finish third.

Worland had a total of three all-state runners. Zena Tapia earned one with her championship. Lady Warrior and Zena's sister, Ava Tapia finished sixth, running 20:35.20. For the Warriors, Trajn Swalstad finished 3A State runner-up, running 16:17.80.

Cody's Charlie Hulbert won the 3A boys race at 16:10.20.

To earn all-state, a runner must finish in the top 10 of their race at state.

Warriors Jacob Holiday and Will Bishop missed all-state honors by less than 10 seconds. Holiday was 13th, running at 17:28.50, and right behind him was Bishop at 17:30.10, finishing 14th.

"Everybody across the state is getting faster. When it comes to your final race, anything can happen. The Mountain View kid had had super low times, and he was able to get up there. Evanston, one of their runners, their fourth runner, was ranked 35. And he was one of the top 10. But I couldn't have been prouder of our athletes. I told both Will and Jacob to keep their head high. They ran a very strong race. There were no regrets in that. If you gave 100%, you went out with class, and both runners did."

As competitive as the 3A field was, having top five runners is nice for a team, but oftentimes, team success depends on the fourth and fifth runners.

"Just because you have a one or two doesn't mean you have it. It was a good lesson for everybody to understand we are a team, and we're only as strong as our four and five," said Kienlen.

Lady Warrior Nyssa Leyva didn't finish in the top 10, but the senior still ran a determined race as she finished 35th at 22:11.08.

"She did not settle. She was an all-conference runner. And to turn around the following week and finish strong, while also enjoying the moment of it being her last cross-country race," said Kienlen.

As expected, the elevation played a role at state, especially for teams not used to running at higher elevations.

The course layout was another variable for the Worland runners to consider. The course narrowed quickly after the starting line, and toward the end of the course, there was a slight incline.

And while those were factors, it wasn't the reason for how things played out for Worland.

"It did funnel quickly, which we expected. A part of the course that was tricky that maybe we overlooked. It was more around that 2.3 area, clear on that other side back corner. It was removed from the public and a bit of an incline.

"Adjusting at that point, they were breathing a little bit harder with the elevation, according to them. As a coach, yes, we can look at these things, but I don't want it to become an excuse. What I'm hoping they will take away from this is everybody was in the same boat, and how can we get better next year," said Kienlen.

Look to next week's edition of the Northern Wyoming News for a recap of the WHS cross-country season.