Sweet Home runners turned in a slew of personal bests Wednesday, Oct. 17, in their final regular-season tune-up before the Oct. 24 District Championships, at the Country Fair Classic near Elmira.
The race was held at Richardson Park on the north end of Fern Ridge Reservoir because the Country Fair, which is where the race has traditionally been held, was unavailable.
Six boys and two girls posted all-time personal bests over the 5000-meter distance, which was run on a flat, relatively fast surface in temperatures hovering around 70 degrees.
“I was very happy with how most of them ran,” said Head Coach Kambria Schumacher. “At districts they should all be able to drop their times even more.”
Junior Tristan Saultz finished first among Sweet Home runners, running 17:48 to finish 51st out of 197 runners. It was a personal best and the first time under 18 minutes over the 5000-meter distance for Saultz, who finished 10 seconds ahead of freshman teammate Eddy Martinez-Maya, who was 59th.
“Tristan did really well,” Schumacher said. “Eddy got a PR but he wasn’t quite where he wanted to be. He knows what he needs to do at districts. He should do better there.”
Sophomore Treyson Smith, a rookie to cross-country, was third for the Huskies, 77th overall, in 18:22, also a PR and his first time under 19 minutes.
“Treyson did very well,” Schumacher said. “I was very happy. At districts he should be able to drop his times even more.”
Austin Sills, also in his first year of cross-country, was fourth, in 18:30.9, good for 84th place overall and a PR as he finished under 19 minutes for the first time.
Sophomore Gavin Walberg was fifth, in 19:02, in 103rd place overall, followed by freshman Nate Coleman (19:41) in 128th place, and freshman Brian Frick (19:55) in 138th place.
“Gavin didn’t have a good day, but he knows what to fix,” Schumacher said. Senior Noah Dinsfriend was injured but should be available for districts, she noted.
Sophomore Vincent Messler of Sheldon caught East Linn Chritsian’s Jedaiah Wasson just yards from the finish line to win the varsity race in 15:42, to Wasson’s 15:43. Jimmy Talley of Cottage Grove was third (15:50) and Sisters’ John Peckham was fifth in 16:16.
In the girls varsity race, Husky sophomore Jessy Hart was 34th out of 144 runners in 21:24.4, her fastest time in more than a month over the 5000-meter distance. Senior Madelyn Neuschwander was 54th, a time just three seconds off her personal best. Sophomore Sicily Neuschwander did set a personal best of 25:05, good for 103rd place.
The girls race was won by Junction City sophomore Anika Thompson in 18:43.3, ahead of senior Kaylin Sheley of Sheldon (18:57).
Only three Sweet Home runners ran the junior varsity boys race, with Eric Roddy finishing first in 21:11, a PR, 49th out of 136 runners. Bryce Porter was 80th in a season-best 22:10.8, followed by Jaren Adams, 105th in 23:54.
The Oregon West Conference Championships will begin for Sweet Home with the boys junior varsity race at 3:10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at Lane Community College. The girls varsity race will follow at 3:50 p.m. and the varsity boys will run at 4:30.
If Sweet Home is going to be represented in the state meet on Nov. 3, it will most likely be an individual, as the Huskies don’t have enough girls to score as a team and the varsity boys come into the race seeded sixth, based on their performances in other races this year.
Hart is currently ranked eighth in the league at the 5000-meter distance, though in cross-country the conditions can vary widely between races and times are somewhat relative. At the Country Fair, two Oregon West runners finished ahead of her: Sisters’ Kate Bowen in 19:18.1, the second-fastest time in the league this year, followed by teammate Ella Cole (20:39.9), who is ranked sixth based on that performance.
To qualify, an individual runner will need to place among the top five finishers in the Oregon West district meet at Lane Community College.
“Jessy should be able to make it,” Schumacher said. “She knows she needs to push herself. If she can stay in the first group, she should be able to make it.”