Sweet Home’s cross-country runners posted more PR’s Saturday, Oct. 12, in a more low-key Celtic Invitational meet after three straight large-field competitions.
The meet, hosted by McKay at Keizer Rapids Park, was made up of just eight teams, of all sizes, from 6A-sized McKay, McNary and Glenco, down to 2A/1A Crosshill Christian, Lowell and St. Paul.
The top finisher of the day for the Huskies was Jessy Hart in the girls varsity race, fifth in 20:32.69 behind four McKay runners.
That was still half a minute off Hart’s PR for 5000 meters, but it was a season’s best by 40 seconds.
Sicily Neuschwander was 10th, in a big PR of 22:22.56, nearly 40 seconds faster than her previous best.
Meeja Bitter was 21st in 25:09.66 and Lexi Schilling finished 24th, in 28:16.91.
For the varsity boys, Gavin Walberg upset usual No. 1 runner Tristan Saultz by finishing sixth in a PR of 17:16.06, an 18-second improvement over his time the week before at Bryant Park in Albany.
Saultz was seventh, in 17:19.69, also a personal best, with Treyson Smith four spots back at 11th, in 17:30.56, which was a 37-second PR for him.
Tristan Calkins was fourth for Sweet Home, 23rd overall in 18:42.44, followed by Eddy Martinez-Maya, 25th in 18:52.91, and Nate Coleman, 27th in 19:00.12.
The Huskies finished third, with 65 points, behind McNary (51) and Glencoe (55).
In the JV race, Sweet Home also finished third, with 71 points, also behind Glencoe (30) and McNary (42).
Jorel Leyba led the Huskies, in a PR of 19:17.31, to finish third overall. Zach Zanona was ninth in 20:08.72, Bryce Porter 16th in 21:06.97, Aiden Shamek 17th in 21:15.94, Jaren Adams 33rd in 24:17.34 and Dakota Seiber 38th in 27:59.81.
Sweet Home is off until Wednesday, Oct. 23, when it will have a final tune-up before districts on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the inaugural Creekside Cross Classic at Creekside Golf Course in Salem.
Among the 30 teams registered will be Sisters, Philomath and Stayton, so the Huskies will get a sense of how they stand amid some of the better teams in the league.