Middle school runners shine at district

The Sisters Middle School Cross Country running team once again showed their mettle at the district meet last week. Nearly every running team in the county challenged the Outlaws, but even under the extreme pressure, SMS stepped up.

The eighth-grade boys ran away with the first-place trophy. Seven of the top 10 belonged to Sisters.

Evan Rickards placed first, ending his nearly flawless middle school cross country career. He finished the race in 10 minutes, 30 seconds. Jake McAllister, Devon Calvin and Brandon Pollard finished together in third, fourth and fifth place, while the other top 10 finishers, Trevor Barry, Zach Bellew and Landon Prescott ended their races in eighth, ninth and 10th.

Many of the sixth-grade boys were eager to prove themselves at the meet, with Zach Reid placing eighth out of nearly 100 runners. Other notable achievers at the race were Izaak Kanzig, who finished the race at a time of 13:26, and Cole Graham, with a time of 13:28. Over all, the sixth-grade boys achieved third place among other teams.

Allie Spear led the pack in the sixth-grade girls race, placing 11th with a time of 14:09. Less than 10 seconds behind her, Macadia Calavan placed 12th. Mary Stewart also placed in the top 20, at 16th place, reaching the finish line in

14:30.

Though none of the seventh-grade boys finished in the top 10, runners such as Ty Sahlberg (14th, 12:19) placed very well. Gus Gyorgyfalvy and Zach Lusby (who made times of 13:45 and 13:57) were the next Sisters runners to place, finishing at 36th and 38th. Chris Burdick came in behind them, finishing in 41st place.

Many of the seventh-grade girls ran a good race as well, especially Elizabeth Stewart, who placed 3rd and made a time of 11:57. She finished best out of all the girls on the entire team. Emily Ford finished a little over a minute later, at 15th place. Cassandra Arruda made a time of 14:08 and Madison Slicker at 15:53.

The two girls' eighth-grade runners finished their race well, with Zoe Falk finishing third with a time of 12:44, and Brenna Clark finishing in 17th place at 14:26. 

The runners may have finished well athletically, according to rival school coach, Jill Fincham, but the team made it where it really counts:

"Congratulations on their accomplishments," she wrote in a letter to SMS coach David Glick, "It was just a joy to see great athletes and gentlemen representing your school."