The Sweet Home girls cross-country team won its first meet ?in a looong time,? according to coach Billy Snow, with a first-place team finish at the Junction City Richardson Invitational at Fern Ridge on Oct. 4.
Kambria Schumacher, who led the Huskies, was the top overall finisher, the first Sweet Home runner to win a race since Jessie Schra in the early 1990s. Shumacher ran 20:57 to finish ahead of the 33 other runners.
Sweet Home scored 30 points, followed by Stayton (52), Cottage Grove (69), Junction City (72), Monroe (137) and Creswell, which did not finish enough runners to score.
Cassandra Schumacher was fourth in 21:40 for Sweet Home, followed by Jessica Trautwein (eighth, 22:41); Julia Henthorne (10th, 23:21); Heidi Wilson (11th, 23:39); Staci Grove (20th, 25:11), Korina Thompson (26th, 28:52) and Lacey Hightower (30th, 30:57).
The girls ran without Ashley Danielson, who is nursing a sore knee ?and is a key to our success,? Snow said. Five Huskies finished in front of Stayton?s second runner, and all but the Schumachers posted personal-best times.
The boys finished second with 43 points, behind Cottage Grove (34) and ahead of Stayton (64) and Junction City (71).
Jess Keys led the Huskies with a sixth-place finish out of 44 runners (18:14), followed by Jake Smith (ninth, 18:30); Peter VanDerlip (10th, 18:31); Dallin Holden (11th, 18:32); Ramiro Santana (13th, 19:14); Sam Bishop (15th, 19:42); Robert Callagan (18th, 19:52); and Josh Rice (33rd, 22:33).
?To a person we ran well, or at least up to our abilities, given where we are at,? Snow said. He noted that, four runners under 19 minutes puts the Huskies at that level for the first time since last year?s Districts and everyone had a personal-best time.
In a larger meet Saturday, Oct. 10, at Philomath, a greatly depleted boys team finished in 18th place out of 23 teams with 418 points, behind Cascade (sixth, 215) and Sisters (eighth, 235), but ahead of North Marion (20th, 464).
The boys were missing Holden, Callagan and Anthony Ertsgaard, who was running well but slipped on a patch of concrete midway through the race. Keys was the top finisher for the boys, 54th out of 161 runners in a PR of 18:03.6.
Snow predicted that Sweet Home?s boys will have to ?run the race of our lives? to catch Molalla, Sisters or Cascade in District and make it to the state meet.
The girls finished 11th out of 16 teams with 253 points, but ahead of Sisters (12th, 296) and North Marion (16th, 425).
Cascade finished in eighth place with 200 points. The girls ran without Heidi Wilson and Denielson, who likely would have helped them.
Kambria Schumacher was the top finisher for the girls, in 22nd place out of 128 finishers in a PR of 20:19.2.
All of the Husky varsity finishers PR?d.
?We are tired and a bit banged up,? Snow said, adding that he plans to adjust workouts so his runners will be healthy and rested when they reach Districts on Oct. 28.
?We should be OK in two weeks, but those with owies have to get healed up some,? he said.