Outlaws cross country runners tune up for district race

The Sisters Outlaws tuned up for this week's district meet on the fast course at Elmira.

Emi Conrads set a new school record for 5,000 meters to highlight the day. Facing three of the top 4A teams and one of the very best 6A teams, the Outlaws boys and girls teams more than held their own.

Conrads set a fast pace with the help of a group of four South Eugene runners and ran to a sixth-place finish in 19:22 to pace the Outlaws girls. Most of her teammates came through with season bests, helping Sisters to a solid second-place finish in the 14-team meet. South Eugene, ranked third in the latest 6A polls, won handily with 31 points, while Sisters outdistanced the rest of the field with 87 points.

Kirsten Clarke finished 14th (20:01), Jena Rickards 16th (20:10), Claire Kanzig 24th (20:29) and Tia Berg 29th (20:44) to score for the Outlaws, among 146 finishers. Ryanne Conrads (21:20), Lani Ulmer (22:31), Hillary Stroup (22:33), Haley Palmer (23:37) and Brittany Baldessarri (23:37) also competed at the varsity level.

"We're really starting to look like a championship-level team," said Coach Charlie Kanzig. "This group just seems to get better every time we toe the starting line."

The boys didn't see a school record but did show once again why they are rated among the top five 4A teams by finishing a solid fourth place, despite a couple of misfortunes.

Running without Parker Bennett, typically one of the top three Outlaws boys, and despite a fall by top runner Benton Urquhart, Sisters remained very competitive.

South Eugene squeaked by Marist by a single point to win the meet with 47 points. Defending state champion North Bend, running without their number-two man, placed third with 122 points, while Sisters was fourth with 157.

"It's good to experience some adversity before the most important meets," said Kanzig. "It gives other guys a chance to step in and shine."

Jared Henderson (16:51) and Lucas Glick (16:54) did just that, running a very strong second half to go 1-2 for the Outlaws in 18th and 21st places respectively.

Mike Calavan, hoping to become the fifth Outlaw to break 17 minutes this year, narrowly missed his goal, finishing 31st in 17:02 for his best time ever.

Urquhart, who spent the first 2.5 miles in the top 10, struggled against tightness and possible dehydration and finished in 40th place in 17:10.

Seth Schneider continued his rapid improvement setting yet another personal best to finish 52nd in 17:29, while Drew Harrison remained consistent, finishing in 18:22.

Looking ahead to the district meet set for Thursday October 25, Kanzig is optimistic about his teams' standing. The top two teams at district qualify for the state meet which is scheduled for Saturday, November 3.

"The Marist boys team is ranked first in the state for a good reason, and they look unstoppable right now, but we're planning to make them aware of our presence at district and state," said Kanzig. "If the girls just keep doing what they've done all year, they should take the district title and contend for a trophy at the state meet as well."