Outlaws off and running

The Outlaws enjoyed perfect conditions in the first meet of the season at the Marist Invitational and performed quite well among a 17-team field.

Taylor Steele ran away from Mark Sheridan of Churchill in the final half-mile on the 5,000-meter course to claim first place in 16:28, a personal best. A number of his teammates also recorded career bests as Sisters placed fourth behind 5A schools Corvallis, Marist, and Marshfield.

Mason Calmettes (18:09), Seth Flanders (18:24), Easton Curtis (18:29) and Jared Schneider (19:17) completed the scoring for Sisters.

"The encouraging thing about Taylor is that he ran totally under control and still knocked time off of his best from last year," said Charlie Kanzig. "He's made an emphatic statement early on for the rest of the 4A boys in the state top to deal with."

Sisters' boys teams have won trophies at the state meet each of the past three years, including two consecutive third-place awards, according to Kanzig. They are ranked fourth in the first coaches' poll of the season.

Erik Lund, Seth Urquhart, and Jacob Snyder also competed in the varsity race for Sisters.

The Sisters girls, ranked sixth in the coaches' poll, got a firsthand look at the top-ranked 4A team, Hidden Valley at Marist.

The Mustangs edged Corvallis for the team title with 43 points as they placed three girls in the top five. Sisters, missing two varsity runners due to injury and illness, still managed a sixth-place team finish among twelve complete squads behind the efforts of freshman Zoey Falk (22:29), Kirsten Clarke (22:36), Hayley Palmer (22:41), Katie Stewart (23:23) and Fabiola Schellworth (23:33).

"The girls have the ability to really group together in a way that will make them tough to beat," said Kanzig. "I look forward to seeing how they continue to develop as a team because they got off to a solid start."

Freshman Brandon Pollard provided some excitement in the junior varsity boys race, taking on a junior from Corvallis, Alex Brown, head to head. Both boys were timed in 18:21 with Brown edging Pollard near the finish.

"Brandon showed a real confidence going up against a much older and bigger runner and not backing down," said Kanzig. "He'll help out our varsity team as we get into the season some more."

The Outlaws travel to Camp Rilea for the Seaside Three Course Challenge this weekend before hosting the annual Cold Springs XC Race and BBQ on September 22.