ARLINGTON — KJ Mullin of Arlington placed fifth in the 3A district cross country meet Oct. 29. He and the rest of the boys team qualified to the state meet at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco Nov. 5 at noon.
The weather wasn’t ideal, but Mullin isn’t complaining.
“I thought maybe on a perfect day I could’ve done a tiny bit better—maybe fourth or third,” he said.
Mullin finished in 16 minutes, 43 seconds.
“He followed the race plan well,” coach Jon Murrey said. “He followed an even pace and just hung tough on that third mile.”
The senior was pleased that Arlington won its third-consecutive district title, and also that he kept up with the top runners.
“I was really proud of myself for sticking with that top pack and going out at the right pace—I followed the right strategy given by my coaches,” he said. “I went out smart and got into the race after the first mile, and I was able to stick to those four guys in front of me fairly well.”
He was placed ideally ahead of everyone, but he couldn’t quite get up to the four guys in front.
“There was a bit of a gap, but I didn’t drop as much as other people were,” Mullin said. “It was a really tough race in terms of there was no one ahead in front of me that I could catch up with. They were far enough ahead where I couldn’t do much.”
He’s ran for Arlington all four years, also running track. He wrestled once in middle school, but learned running long distances was his niche.
“When I got into this I said, ‘hey this is something I can improve in and maybe get onto that varsity squad eventually,’” he said. “Before then, I wasn’t really doing much.”
Arlington alum Nathan Beamer championed in the district run last season and placed second in state as a senior. Luckily, Mullin has been close friends with Beamer and pushed him to become a better runner.
“He’s been a great friend of mine these past four years,” Mullin said. “Him being as good as he is has been an influencing factor in pushing me to try and get through to those achievements.”
Last year Beamer pushed Mullin to try and break previous records set by Beamer.
“He’s always kind of supported me,” Mullin said. “He encouraged me to try and break his records, and I personally didn’t think that I can.”
Mullin wants to hit any time below 15:45 at state.
“I have confidence if I can do that on the track if not at state,” Mullin said. “My coach ran that in high school, and I would like to beat that.”
Murrey said Mullin is ready for adversity at state, and can see Mullin finishing in the top 10 or 20.
“Second half of the race, he really has to buckle down and focus,” Murrey said. “He knows what it will take to do that.”
Mullin wants to continue cross country in college. Right now, he’s eyeing Western Washington University.
“I had a friend go there who had nothing but great things to say about the coaches and atmosphere and how the team meshed together,” Mullin said. “It was very reminiscent of how we operate here.”
Murrey thinks he can do it. “He’s more than capable of it if he keeps progressing he should make it to the top squad,” Murrey said.
He wants to study business administration, fundraising specifically. “My dad said that is a very rewarding and entertaining profession to go into,” he said. “I have that talent and charisma.”
His teammates and coaches see his charisma as well. Though not an official team captain, “Heads turn toward me when questions are asked,” he said.
Murrey agreed.
“He’s put himself in a great position as a leader on this team because he dreamt big,” Murrey said. “He works very hard in school and in distance running and that’s because he’s going to college.”
