News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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The largest meet of the Nordic ski season resulted in the strongest performances of the season for the Outlaws team. The boys team finished second among 11 teams, and the girls placed third at the Skadi Cup Classic Ski Race, near Mt. Hood. The race featured the southern division of the Oregon High School Nordic league and most of the northern division of the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association as well. Parker Bennett once again paced the Outlaws boys, this time with... Full story
The Outlaws Nordic ski team faced its toughest challenge of the season at Saturday's Mt. Bachelor Pursuit and came through with some top finishes. Snow conditions were "absolutely perfect" for classic waxing, according to head coach Tom Blust. Pursuit racing includes two stages. In Saturday's race, stage one featured a 3.5-kilometer classic leg, followed by a 4.8- kilometer skating leg. The classic leg began as a mass start and results from the race determined the starting order for the pursuit leg. Amity Calvin finished... Full story
The New Year, perhaps along with our unseasonably mild weather, appears to have inspired a number of locals to get out on the trail, either for the first time or in increased numbers. I feel almost proud to report that I have run every single day of 2010 through the seventeenth, bumping my weekly total up to 25 miles as of January 16. I have my first race of 2010 planned for the end of February and hope some other Sisters folks will journey over the mountains to join me for the February 27 Buck Mountain Mudslinger Run at... Full story
The Matsiko Children's Choir, comprised of 35 Ugandan orphans, treated the fifth and sixth grade students at Sisters Middle School to an hour of singing and dancing on Friday, January 8, that left everyone in the crowd with a smile and possibly a new perspective on the impact of education. Sixth grade teachers Carol Packard and Deirdre Kanzig invited the group to come as a tie-in to the sixth graders study of Africa last term. "Any time you can expose American children to... Full story
Courtney Blust came through as the top individual performer for the Sisters High School Nordic team in an Oregon High School Nordic league skate race held Saturday, January 9, at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park. Blust finished fourth in a field of 65 girls, skating over the 5.8-kilometer course in 21:29 to lead the Outlaws. Janelle Hjelmstad scored next for Sisters in 26th place (25:25) and Amity Calvin, off her normal pace, finished in 30th (25:51). The remaining girls finishing... Full story
I got my New Year's resolution for Christmas this year when my daughter Claire presented me with a beautiful running calendar, complete with an "activity log" and a place to record my weight. As a runner who will turn 50 in 2010 and who needs to drop some pounds, it was a perfect gift. I have remained inspired in the days since then and actually made up a preliminary plan of some races to run in the first half of this year. My research led me to writing a New Year's column for the rest of you runners out there that includes... Full story
Tate Metcalf, of Sisters Athletic Club, loves to support a cause, so imagine his delight when more than 100 SAC members took part in the annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk in Bend on December 5, to help raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. In all, over $42,000 was raised, according to organizers, and folks from Sisters played no small role in that number. The 102 participants signed up through SAC ended up being the largest group from a single organization and the second-largest... Full story
Sisters High School junior Taylor Steele wrapped up a long cross-country season at the USATF Junior Olympic cross-country meet Saturday, December 12 at the San Rafael Regional Park in Reno, Nevada. Runners from throughout the country took part in the meet, which is divided into a number of age group races varying from three kilometers to five kilometers. Steele, running in the intermediate race, which included 15- and 16-year-olds, finished in 73rd place among the 180... Full story
Stefan Redfield, a 2007 graduate of Sisters High School, was the top finisher for Willamette University at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships held at Highland Park Golf Course near Cleveland, Ohio on November 21. Redfield clocked 26:26 for the eight-kilometer course, good enough for 57th place overall among 276 finishers. The Bearcat team placed 20th among the 32 teams competing in the meet. North Central College of Illinois won the team title by a landslide... Full story
"Fiddler on the Roof," the first dramatic musical at Sisters High School in nearly two decades, was a smashing success during its four-day run last week under the direction of choir director Michelle Summers. Playing to strong audiences each night as well as Saturday's matinee, the cast of performers set the bar high for future musicals and established the expectation for SHS to produce a musical every year, according to Summers. "People in town and at the school have wanted t... Full story
Parker Bennett and Taylor Steele continued their successful high school cross-country seasons, while an up-and-coming runner also did well in races held last weekend. Steele, who placed eighth in the OSAA State Championships for the Outlaws November 7, traveled to the USATF Regional cross-country championships in Spokane, Washington, ran his personal best of 16:41, placed fourth and qualified for the national meet, scheduled for December 12 in Reno, Nevada. Steele competed... Full story
Wrapping up fall means the end of cross country and most of the local trail races. A few notable efforts by locals highlight the competitive fall season. Stefan Redfield, 2007 SHS graduate, helped his teammates at Willamette University qualify for nationals as the Bearcats' number-two finisher last weekend in the NCAA West Regional Championships. Redfield finished eighth overall in the meet in 26:00.1 for the 8-kilometer (4.98-mile) course. Willamette's team finished second in the meet to earn an automatic berth to the Nation... Full story
Nearly every American can identify the Nike swoosh, the icon of one of the most successful sporting goods companies in the world. But they may have trouble imagining the company's humble beginnings by a small group of folks with ties to the University of Oregon track and field program. Geoff Hollister, one of the three original Nike employees, is coming to Sisters Athletic Club Thursday, October 22, to read from his autobiographical book "Out of Nowhere," which chronicles his days as a runner under Bill Bowerman, the start... Full story
The race is not always to the swiftest. Apparently, a good poker hand can also bring a victory, at least for those who took part in the annual Poker Run, held as a fundraiser for the Sisters Trails Alliance. Sisters Poker Run race director Gene Trahern reported about $700 in funds were raised to be used for further development and maintenance of the ever-expanding trail system around Sisters. The Poker Run attracted about 40 runners, many from outside the state, who ventured... Full story
Eight local women completed the annual Portland Marathon on Sunday, October 4. The 26.2-mile event, considered one of the finest, friendliest marathons in the West every year by Runner's World magazine, starts downtown, wends its way through northwest Portland and back, and includes music every two miles to help keep the runners and walkers moving. Rochelle Curtis and Kara Calmettes trained together on two long trail runs for the event, which helped Calmettes survive her... Full story
Garrett Trahern may have found the perfect Eagle Scout project. Not only will the finished product be available for others to use for years to come, it is tied to work his father, Gene, has done for the past few years and it will enhance his own experience as a runner for the Sisters High School cross country team. On top of all that, the location of the project is perfectly named: Eagle Rock. Trahern says he is one hard day's work from finishing a trail that will give hikers... Full story
Local ultra-marathoner Sean Meissner says any race with the word "death" in its name is something he takes as a personal challenge. So when race officials notified him in mid-July that a spot had opened up for him in the 125 kilometer (77.5 miles) Canadian Death Race August 1, he grabbed the opportunity. Good thing he did, since he became the first American winner of the race in its 10-year history, conquering the grueling, technical trail race in 15 hours, 4 minutes and 4... Full story
Truly an artist at heart, local resident and 2000 graduate from Sisters High School Ashley Reed has opened a tattoo studio and art gallery at 210 S. Elm St., adjacent to U.S. Bank in downtown Sisters. Reed's circuitous educational path following high school passed through Southern Oregon University, COCC, University of Oregon and finally the Art Institute of Portland, where she received a bachelor's degree in architectural design in 2007. "I have always loved art and found the... Full story
Brandon Pollard ran his way to one of America's showcase track meets this summer. His victories at local and regional races qualified him for the annual Hershey Track and Field Championships held in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, July 30 through August 2. The journey underlines Brandon's desire to do his best and continually improve, considering the local meet was held in Bend on the same day as the middle school district meet in late May, forcing Pollard to hurry from one... Full story
The heat and dust of high summer can kill the motivation to get in the daily run on the trails around Sisters, so adding a cooling element to the run is sometimes all the extra motivation you need to venture out. Of course that cooling element is water: streams, rivers, and lakes. Whychus Creek and the local irrigation ditches along parts of the Peterson Ridge Trail provide a break from the heat. The air temperature is a little lower near the flowing water and, of course, you... Full story
Four Sisters High School graduates are continuing their cross country and track careers in college for the 2009-2010 school year. Stefan Redfield, a 2007 graduate, has been part of the Willamette University program for the past two seasons and has made steady improvement in that time. Willamette, a NCAA Division III school located in Salem, has a long tradition of running success and last season was no exception. Redfield was part of the team that competed at Nationals where the Bearcats finished in the middle of the pack.... Full story
The 30th annual Cascade Cycling Classic, a multistage professional bike race which includes Lance Armstrong as one of its past winners, sweeps through Sisters on Wednesday, July 22, during Stage 2 of the multi-day race. The CCC, sponsored by Bend Memorial Clinic, is a national/world-class event, so getting a chance to be a front- row spectator is a rare and exciting experience. The race runs July 21-26. The 79.7-mile Stage 2 will begin at Summit High School and head toward Redmond and on to Terrebonne before coming toward... Full story
June showers bring July wildflowers, so if you are looking for one of the most abundant collections of Mother Nature's color palette, venture west on Highway 20 toward Sweet Home and check out Iron Mountain. Typically, early July is the best time to make this hike to catch the full glory of the flowers, and this year is no exception. Since you travel through a variety of ecosystems on the way there it seems that you are far from Sisters Country, yet the trailhead is only... Full story
With a focus on customer happiness, the Eckstine family has opened Coffee Depot near the Shell Station in Sisters. The coffee kiosk was formerly occupied by Outlaw Coffee at the west end of town. The shop, freshly painted and newly signed, offers customers the opportunity to start their day "on the right track." Joe and Lara Eckstine have lived in the area for a number of years, dating to when Joe managed Papandrea's and Espresso Junction. When owner Rudy Booher sold, three an... Full story
It hasn't felt like summer yet, with record wetness throughout the late spring, but there is a bright side to all this moisture: The running trails around Sisters are in perfect condition, grasses and flowers provide color to the scenery, and the moderate temperatures keep even the ultra-runners from overheating. The Dirty Half, which marks the beginning of the summer running season for many Central Oregon runners, included some stellar performances by a pair of Sisters runner... Full story
