Sisters team tackles favorite meets

The Outlaws cross country team ran in two of its favorite meets with its home meet at Cold Springs on Wednesday, September 21, and a trip to the Oregon Coast for the Seaside 3 Course Challenge on Saturday, September 24.

The first meet, which featured teams from Regis and McKenzie high schools, included an element of excitement before the race began. Sisters Ranger Station officials warned the race might be moved due to a fire just west of the campground on the McKenzie Highway. But the race proceeded as scheduled with good results for the Sisters teams.

In the 4,000-meter short course the top official finisher was the Outlaws’ own Jared Henderson (16:05) who finished just ahead of teammates Andrew Wilson (16:07) and Kyle Rickards (16:08).

Three Regis runners leading the race at the mile mark made a wrong turn and were disqualified.

The girls short course included a perfect sweep by the Outlaws who took the top seven places. Erin Kanzig topped the field (18:40) ahead of Lani Ulmer (18:50), Alison Gusick (19:31), Maren Burck (19:35), Angela Barry (20:00), Jamie Kemp (20:18) and JJ Ashley (20:20).

David Sherman of McKenzie and David Rannabarger of Regis dueled for the individual title in the boys longer race (4,800 meters) with Sherman prevailing in 16:05 over Rannabarger’s 16:16.

Lucas Glick finished first for the Outlaws in third place (17:43) and freshman Benton Urquhart placed fourth (18:01). Dan Purvis (18:33), Cory Bigelow (19:08) and Justin Lefor (19:26) completed the scoring for the team, finishing seventh, ninth and 10th respectively.

The Outlaws trimmed the Rams 25-30 in the team scoring.

Jena Rickards ran away with first place in the girls race in a time of 20:58 over teammate Kaitlin McAlister who was the runner-up in 21:28.

Ryanne Conrads placed fourth (23:06), Chelsea Addison fifth (23:08) and Sydney Randall 14th to help the Outlaws edge McKenzie 30-33.

The 3 Course Challenge in Seaside, which has grown into the largest cross country event in Oregon, provided the Outlaws with a fun road trip and the chance to test their bodies on three rigorous courses set at Camp Rilea.

Varsity athletes draw poker chips from a can to determine which course they will run: Easy, Moderate, or Difficult.

Sisters competed in Division Four in which the scores of the top two team finishers in each of the three races determine the team score. The boys team placed second and the girls fourth in the team race. Marist of Eugene won the Division Four titles for both boys and girls.

Chelsea Addison and Lani Ulmer places ninth and eleventh respectively on the Easy Course among Division Four runners, while Jena Rickards (4th) and Erin Kanzig (11th) scored for the team on the Moderate Course. Kaitlin McAlister (8th) and Ryanne Conrads paced the team in the Difficult Course.

On the boys’ side, Kyle Rickards finished seventh and eighth respectively for the Outlaws on the Easy Course. Lucas Glick (6th) and Justin Lefor were the top two for the team on the Moderate Course and Stefan Redfield (6th) and Daniel Purvis (10th) powered through the Difficult Course.