Outlaws run to personal records

Now that the season has reached October, the Outlaws cross country runners are really into racing mode, which produced personal records for many runners at the Brooks Harrier Classic held at Bryant Park in Albany on Saturday, October 2.

Forty teams from throughout Oregon and southwest Washington created great competition, but the large numbers of runners - 250-300 per race - produced a certain amount of chaos, according to coach Charlie Kanzig.

"I wanted the kids to experience a big, fast race so that they could get accustomed to the challenge of remaining under control even when dozens of runners are surrounding you for most of the first half of the race," he said. "For the most part we were successful, and many of the runners ran faster than ever."

The girls placed 19th as a team, first among 4A schools, and Zoe Falk (21:50) finished as the first 4A runner, with Hayley Palmer (21:58) and Katie Stewart (22:01) right on her heels. Jordan Richerson (22:46), Kirsten Clarke (23:56) and Fabiola Schellworth (24:06) completed the scoring for the Outlaws.

The boys, led by Taylor Steele's ninth-place finish (16:22), placed 23rd as a team. Steele ran a personal best despite further injuring an already sore foot when another racer stepped on it in the final mile of the race.

"Taylor showed a lot of courage to finish the race," said Kanzig. "Fully healthy he would have been right with the leaders."

Thor Dodson of Corvallis, whom Steele beat handily earlier in the season, won the race in 15:54.

Kanzig was pleased with the efforts of the rest of his team as well.

"The boys team was thinned by a conflict with a school trip, but I feel they still performed with a lot of heart," he said.

Seth Flanders (18:05) and Brandon Pollard (18:05.2) each ran personal bests, as did Trevor Barry (19:04), Erik Lund (19:31) and Chad Cummings (20:42).