Neither Husky cross country team will send runners to state this year.
The girls finished fourth of four complete teams at the Capital Conference district meet Friday. The boys finished fifth among six teams.
The top Husky runner was Jess Keys at 15th and a time of 18:37.7. The girls’ top runner was Ashley Danielson at 19th with a time of 23:05.9 for the five-kilometer course at Bush Park in Salem.
“The kids ran pretty well,” Coach Billy Snow said. “We had a couple that didn’t run as well as the could have, but that’s nothing against them.”
The runners that didn’t set a personal record (PR) only missed it by a small amount. Some improved their PR by more than a minute, and a couple improved by more than two minutes.
Anthony Ertsgaard had some kind of “stitch” in his side, and it showed in his time, Coach Snow said, and “Sam (Bishop) didn’t have a good race for Sam.”
In terms of placing and points, the meet was close to where Coach Snow thought the runners would finish.
At the front end, it could be any of a handful of boys taking Sweet Home’s lead spot.
“I thought the kids did pretty well,” Coach Snow said. “I’m excited we’ve got a good nucleus coming back next year.”
He hopes to build on the improvements this year. He points to the improvements made by Peter VanDerlip improving by about two minutes and Sam Crain, who has run for four years and improved by two and a half minutes this year. Dallin Holden had a big improvement, finishing in 19 minutes flat.
“We just need to take that next step,” Coach Snow said. The team gets its top three finishers back next year. If the team can get two down into the 17-minute range and the rest into the 18-minute range, the Huskies would be competitive team at that point.
All-league honors are based on how runners place at district. Keys missed second-team by one place and received honorable mention. VanDerlip also received honorable mention. Danielson and Jessica Trautwein received honorable mention also.
Varsity Girls
Ashley Danielson, 19th, 23:05.9; Jessica Trautwein, 22nd, 23:22.4; Heidi Wilson, 25th, 24:57.5; Staci Grove, 27th; 26:07.2; Chelsea Hackworth, 28th, 26:17; Heidi Darden, 30th, 27:57.5.
Varsity Boys
Jess Keys, 15th, 18:37.7; Peter VanDerlip, 17th, 18:38.4; Dallin Holden, 26th, 19:00.9; Alex Ritzman, 32nd, 19:35.7; Sam Bishop, 33rd, 20:15.9; Ryan Sipe, 34th, 20:16.7; Anthony Ertsgaard, 38th, 20:22.4.
Junior Varsity Girls
Danyel Cranford, 21st, 31:28.1; Diane Kennelly, 23rd, 33:40.9.
Junior Varsity Boys
Jake Smith, 13th, 21:30.6; Sam Crain, 24th, 23:17.8.