Academic sweep for Capital cross country

WIAA Awards: Cougars boys, girls teams No. 1 in state in classroom work, too

GAIL WOOD; The Olympian | • Published November 05, 2009

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Capital's boys and girls cross country teams aren't only good at running.

Besides winning league titles this season, they also won state academic championships for having the highest team grade-point average among 3A cross country teams in the state. It’s the third state title for the boys and the second for the girls.

It’s the first time both teams were No. 1 in the same year.

“It’s a work-ethic thing,” Capital boys coach Jerry Miller said. “It’s the understanding that if you put work into something there will be a payback.”

With a couple of 4-point students, the Capital boys finished with a 3.86 GPA as a team.

The Capital girls boasted a 3.99 GPA, the best among all classifications in the state. Six of the 10 girls on the varsity had straight A’s. The lowest grade was an A-minus.

“I’m lucky enough to have a good group that wants to do well academically and wants to do well athletically,” Capital girls coach Kevin Wright said. “That’s what they expect. That pervades through the team.”

It’s not like runners on either team are filling their schedules with easy classes. Five of the 12 girls on Wright’s varsity are taking honors classes.

Neither coach has set up a study table for his team, but studying is something both emphasize. They thought peer pressure also factored in. Miller has made the state academic award a team goal.

“Kids who are drawn to cross country aren’t afraid to work and want to get better,” Miller said. “They have that mentality.”

Capital boys won the state academic and state cross country team title in 1997. Miller wasn’t sure if a team had ever won both titles before.

Wright estimated his team’s average GPA over the years is 3.7.

“We don’t always win it, but we’re usually pretty high,” Wright said. “We’ve been in the top 10 a lot.”

The Capital girls team GPA this year was the highest for all sports in all classifications. The Edmonds-Woodway girls cross country team had a 3.98 GPA in class 4A. Royal City’s volleyball team had a 3.91 GPA in 2B.

Olympia High School won the state academic award for girls swimming for the 4A classification with a combined 3.79 GPA.

Gail Wood: 360-754-5443

gwood@theolympian.com

www.theolympian.com/sports/blog