The undermanned Husky cross-country team got a up-close-and-personal look at what the rest of the Oregon West Conference is looking like Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Stayton Invitational.
The meet, held on the nature trails that border Stayton Middle School, drew all of the teams in the conference.
“It was kind of like a conference preview,” said Coach Kambria Schumacher.
Although the Huskies couldn’t score as a team because they were lacking the necessary five runners to do so, junior Jacob Sieminski placed ninth overall in a field of 75 runners, in 18:20.
South Albany put four runners in the top 12 spots, including winner Logan Parker (16:32), who was followed closely by Philomath junior Brody Bushnell (16:42), as the Rebels edged the Warriors 46-49.
Sophomore Mathew Resnik was third overall for South Albany (17:16, and freshman Zander Campbell was sixth (17:33).
Newport senior was the second finisher from the conference, running fourth in 17:18.
Behind Sieminski, Nate Coleman was 37th in 20:03, followed by Aiden Shamek in 60th (21:54) and Dakota Sieber in 26:53.
Schumacher said she was pleased with Sieminski’s performance.
“He’s actually doing really well for where he’s at, with less than a year of training and racing,” she said. “He’s ninth in our conference right now. If he puts the work in right now, he could qualify for state.”
Coleman, a senior, is coming off a cold and it showed, she said.
“I definitely see him doing better.”
Sophomore Lydia Wright, who is currently the Huskies’ only girl, after Meesha Bitter decided not to continue, was unable to run Saturday due to a cold.
The Huskies are scheduled to compete Saturday, Sept. 18, at the Northwest Classic at Lane Community College. The meet will feature some 70 teams of all sizes from throughout western Oregon,as well as a few from east of the Cascades.