Sweet Home’s cross-country runners continued to gain momentum on their young season Saturday with another wave of personal bests at the Oregon City Invitational.
The meet was moved to Clackamas Community College from the high school, where construction prohibited it from occurring this year, but the course was fast, though temperatures were a little high.
Overall, I was really pleased,” Coach Dave Martin said. “The kids made some significant improvements across the board.”
He said the meet, in which the majority of the 30-plus teams were 5A- and 6A-sized schools from Washington and Oregon, “gave our kids a chance to compete against a really good field.”
Fourteen runners posted personal bests and three others got marks for the first time this season, two of them freshmen for whom it was their first 5K race.
Junior Ryker Burr led the Husky boys with a PR of 17:37.70, followed by freshman Elijah Rodriguez, who broke 18 minutes in his second high school race, running nearly a minute and a half faster than he had the previous week at Tillamook to finish in 17:45.40, eight seconds behind his teammate.
“The big races of the day were Ryker and Elijah,” Martin said. “I haven’t had a kid under 18 minutes so far in the four years since I returned to Sweet Home.
“Elijah challenged himself. I love it. He’s already taken a look at what it’s going to take to get to the top of the list.”
Rounding out the varsity for the boys were sophomores Evan Knight, also in a personal best of 19:11.50, Acen Webber in 19:50.20 and Louis Kistner in a PR of 19:55.50; junior Conner Spencer in 20:08.10, and freshman Hudson Ogden in 21:04.40, also a PR for him.
Martin noted that both Webber and Spencer were running with some “physical challenges going on that day that made the races tougher.”
Kistner, he said, “had never been faster than 20:59 before, so he improved over a minute to set a lifetime best. He ran a good, tough race. He looked really good.”
Louie never been faster than 20:59 before, improved over a minute lifetime best. He looked really good.
The boys were 14th out of 22 teams with 419 points, but only 4A Division Madras finished ahead of them – by five points, while Scappoose (491), Estacada (537) and Gladstone (567) trailed the Huskies.
South Eugene’s Yosuke Shibata was the boys winner in a meet-record 14:53.80.
On the girls side, freshman Cassie Spencer was the only runner to post a personal best in a race that, Martin noted, there were less PRs across the field than any other that day.
Spencer ran 22:02.9, a 37-second PR over her time at Tillamook the week before.
Senior McKenzie Miller was ninth overall in a fast field of 142 runners led by North Eugene senior Cricket Phillips (18:13.70), ahead of South Eugene freshman Evangeline Johnson-Hess (18:39.90).
Miller finished in 19:53.30, ahead of sophomore Emma Whitton who was 15th in 20:19.70.
Junior Noelle Helfrich, in her first cross-country race this season, ran 25:22.60, followed by sophomore Madison Ciullo (26:56.60) and freshman Pyper Hall (27:34.90).
Like the boys, the varsity girls finished behind Madras (eighth, 232 points) in the team standings, 10th with 250 points, ahead of Scappoose (281), The Dalles (286) and Estacada (386).
The junior varsity runners were split into different races, with the boys in two different competitions, based on their times coming into the race.
In the boys Gold JV race, sophomore West Goff finished in 21:29.90, followed by sophomore Noah Strawn in a personal best 21:40.60.
In the boys Silver JV race, freshman Ryder Farris ran a PR of approximately a minute and a half to finish in 21:49.10, 35th in a field of 159, followed by senior Sam Strawn (24:34.90) and sophomore Eli Adams (25:26.20).
In the JV girls race, freshman Marian Helfrich, in her first high school cross-country competition, finished in 25:27.50, followed by senior Delanie Pratt (28:55.10), junior McKenzie Olheiser (28:59.70) and freshman Lexi Lee (32:30.60).
In a Novice 3,000-meter race, freshmen Zoie Allison finished in 20:35.80 – a PR for her at that distance, and Neveah Mize in a personal-best of more than four minutes in 25:17.30.
Sweet Home’s middle school club runners also competed at the 3000 distance, the boys led by eighth-grader Wiley Farris (13:41.60, a PR), closely followed by his fifth-grade brother Walker Farris (13:49.00, a PR), sixth-grader Brady Goff (15:52.00, a PR) and eighth-grader Zander Davis (19:33.40), who is a lineman on the football team.
Emma Davis, an eighth-grader, was the only girl for Sweet Home in the race, finishing 19th in a field of 57 runners in 15:39.70, a PR of nearly two minutes in her second cross-country race.
“Some of the kids came away a little disappointed that they didn’t run well,” Martin said. “I’m not disappointed at all. I like the fact that we competed well. Kids who didn’t PR have ideas about what they can do next time around.”
Next up for Sweet Home is the Northwest Classic this Saturday, Sept. 20, at Lane Community College in Eugene, where the high school state championships will be held. Races start with middle school girls at 10 a.m. and end for Sweet Home with the varsity boys at 1 p.m.