Scott Swanson
Any girls out there who’d like to join one of Sweet Home High School’s most successful athletic programs this fall?
The Husky girls cross-country team has, in the last six years been to the state championships as a team five times – making it one of the school’s most accomplished sports programs, along with swimming and competition cheer.
But a low turnout this year has Coach Billy Snow, in his 11th season, wondering if the Huskies can do it again.
“It’s going to be an uphill battle,” he said of his team, which includes one veteran senior, three sophomores and two freshmen, one of whom is running a limited schedule while also playing volleyball.
On the boys side, though, the Huskies are looking stronger than they did last year, when they were beaten by La Pine for a trip to the state meet. The runners have turned out in force and they’ve prepared, Snow said.
A sizable percentage of the team – both boys and girls – did consistent roadwork this summer, which is critical to success in Sky-Em Conference cross-country, and Snow said his boys are looking promising.
“We have a solid one-two,” he said, of junior Jakob Hiett and senior Ian Wingo.
Hiett is the defending conference champion and Wingo, whose preparation for his junior season was interrupted by an auto accident, spent this summer putting in consistent mileage.
It shows, Snow said.
“Ian has put in the miles. He’s just looking good. Jakob’s got speed but Ian has to just put the hammer down and go. As (legendary Ore-gon runner Steve) Pre(fontaine) would say, ‘If you’re going to beat me, you’re going to have to bleed.’ That’s the kind of runner Ian is and that’s what he’s going to have to do.”
More promise for the boys comes from freshman Issac Justham, who also put in consistent mileage this summer and turned heads at a 14.47-mile mountainous trail run in August with a 2:24.16 finish, roughly three minutes behind Wingo, as both finished in the top 25 in a field of 129. Hiett was second overall, in 1:58.42.
“From what I’ve seen from Issac, he could be our third runner,” Snow said.
Right behind the top three are Stephen Bishop, Chace Hutchins and Robert Gourley, who will all challenge for scoring spots – the top five in cross-country.
There’s intriguing potential there, led by Hiett, who has shown he can run with the top distance stars in the state, placing fifth in the 3000 state championship last spring as a sophomore, and eighth last year in the state cross-country championships after winning the district title in a duel with Sisters’ Brandon Pollard.
“Jakob’s goal obviously is to defend his district title,” Snow said. “It’s going to be a big job because Brandon Pollard is a very, very good runner.”
Also running for the boys are sophomores Joseph Rasmussen, Aaron Blanchard and Julian Hesberg, junior Mark Taraski, and freshman Nick Tolman.
For the girls, senior Nicole Rasmussen is back after placing 12th last year at state in an abbreviated season. In fact, her return from North Dakota late in the season was what gave the Husky girls the lift they needed to secure their fourth straight trip to state.
The 2011 district champion, Rasmussen managed a second-place finish behind Sisters’ Zoe Falk last year and, Snow said, shows purpose coming into this season.
“Nicole seems to be running with a mission,” he said. “She realizes it’s much harder for her to get (to state) this year.”
That’s because the Husky girls are thin, with two other runners back from last year, Sierra Swanson, third overall on the team last year, and Maria Daniels, both sophomores, and minus Paige Sanders, last year’s second runner, who graduated and is competing for Lewis and Clark College.
New to the team are freshmen Dana Hiett and Natasha Rasmussen, the latter also playing volleyball; sophomore Kayleen Keeney; and senior Brianna Warth. Snow said he has some others who have expressed interest, so the ranks could enlarge.
“Paige is a big loss,” Snow said. “She was our No. 2 runner, but we also had someone, Hailey Hummer, who could run with Sierra. This year we’re looking to see what they want to be.
“They’re young. They’re still developing. Kayleen ran all summer, but if she hadn’t done that, she’d be a brand new runner just starting right now.”
Snow said he expects Sisters to be the class of the league again this year, though the Outlaws have a new coach, who has been a track coach at the school and is a runner himself. Typically, Sisters is at least twice the size as Sweet Home’s team, numbers-wise, and the Outlaws are led by runners who can challenge the best the Huskies have to offer.
He said Cottage Grove “always comes up with something, and Elmira is just a smaller version of us.”
Snow said he’s waiting to see what the Huskies will do, with the mileage they’ve put in this summer. Bishop, Gourley and Hutchins will be keys to the boys success, he said.
“If those guys can push 18 minutes by the end of the season, I think we are sitting pretty good, league-wise. Jakob’s PR is 16:27 and he ran 16:37 at district, so that course is pretty fast.
“We’re looking for a state berth and the guys have a better shot than the girls.”