Will you chip in to support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation today? Yes, I want to support My Edmonds News!
Edmonds-Woodway High School alumnus Miler Haller fought through cold, rain and a slick and muddy course to claim All-American honors in his last cross country race as a collegian Saturday at the NCAA National Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Haller finished the 10K course in 30th place with a time of 31:12.9 to receive the honor, leading his Boise State team to a 21st place overall finish.
Sophomore Yukino Parle, another Edmonds-Woodway alum running for Boise State, also had a strong race, completing the women’s 6K course in 21:09.1 to finish 83rd at the national championships. The Boise women were 17th overall.
“I was happy with my race,” said Haller, a senior. “It is my last season so I was trying to become an All-American — that has always been a goal of mine.
“My strategy was to go out hard — that was very important with it being so cold, and to maintain that hard pace to the end,” Haller continued. “I was able to execute that through the end. My teammates Ahmed (Muhumed) and Logan (Rees) were where we needed to be that first couple of kilometers of the race — we wanted to be top 75 at that point, top 50 at the 5K mark and try to move forward from there. I was able to do that.”
Haller said the magnitude of the race creates a wide range of emotions.
“In a big race like this, at times you feel this is tough, then you get a shot of adrenaline and that keeps you going,” he said.
Haller said his four-year cross country season has gone by in a flash.
“Looking back, it was very fun and exciting with past and new teammates. I am just happy to end it as an All-American.”
Parle also said she got caught up in the importance of the national competition.
“I don’t think I have been in a race this big or this competitive so I was nervous and excited,” she said. “As a team, we wanted to make sure we went out hard that first kilometer, and we did, but we weren’t able to sustain that. I felt like I was in a good spot for the first two kilometers, but at the mid-race point, I wasn’t feeling good. Mentally I was fine but I went out too hard at the start and my body wasn’t able to handle the pace the whole race.”
Parle said that she is happy with her Boise State season overall.
“It has been a good learning experience for me as a sophomore,” she said. “I have two more seasons so I am looking forward to improving on it.”
— By Greg Russell, reporting from Indiana
Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.
By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.