Port Townsend distance runner Nathan Cantrell is already off to a hot start this season.
Cantrell won the 1,600-meter run at the Retro Flying “A” meet on March 28 in Port Angeles, his third win of the year in the distance events.
However, where Cantrell is really shining so far is in the 3,200-meter run. Cantrell put up an eye-popping time of 9 minutes, 49.43 seconds in the 3,200 at the Bedlington Twilite meet in Lynden on March 22.
That was a personal record for Cantrell, who won the West Central District III 1A championship in the 3,200 last year and finished 17th in the state. He also finished 19th this fall at the state 1A cross-country championships.
More impressive, however, Cantrell’s Bedlington run is the No. 1 time so far this season in the 3,200. His race was 14 seconds faster than his district-championship time in 2018 and would have put him fifth in the state in last year’s state meet.
It will be interesting to see how well Cantrell’s outstanding time holds up for the rest of the season.
