Middle school runners proving tough

Sisters Middle School is tearing it up on cross country courses in Central Oregon.

"We just have a great group of athletes out this year," said Co-Head Coach Dave Glick.

The athletes' dedication came through last Tuesday at La Pine State Park as the seventh and eighth grade boys and girls teams both came away with victories. In the words of Dyut Fetrow, a seventh grader, "It was just awesome, I felt like I was going so fast."

The sixth grade boys and girls combined race started the day. Sensation Nathan Wren began mid-pack, and quickly moved through the runners to finish third, with teammates Tanner Head and Will Werts finishing close behind. The rest of the sixth grade team is made up of Tyler Head and newcomer Garret Lee.

The sixth grade girls competed in the same race with Patience O'Neil blistering the course with a strong sixth-place finish and Ashley Adams and Bree Papworth rounding out the top three for Sisters.

After the sixth graders' outstanding performances, the seventh and eighth grade girls toed the line. Cassandra Arruda, an eighth grader, began the race by giving superstar seventh grader Macadia Calavan words of advice: "If you are catching up to us don't slow down, just go right on by."

However, almost no one was able to catch the eighth grade girls on this day. Elizabeth Stewart, who came in first place in the first two meets of the year, quickly went to the front with Madison Boettner and Cassandra Arruda following close behind. As the race went on, Boettner and Arruda continued to move up, finishing second and third respectively. Madison Slicker and Maya Wieland rounded out the top four Sisters spots.

On the seventh grade girls' side, Macadia Calavan caught everyone but her eighth grade teammates, finishing second and followed close behind by good friend Megan Calarco in fifth place. Laynie Hildebrand, Dallas Knoop, and Carly Gascon rounded out the strong seventh grade squad.

Possibly the most exciting race of the day came last. The seventh and eighth grade boys didn't let off the gas until well after the finish line. Dyut Fetrow raced to first for the Sisters team, winning the seventh grade division. Within seconds of Fetrow crossing the finish, Jadon Bachtold sprinted in for second place. Before excited parents could even take a breath, Izaak Kanzig appeared and finished third. Then, to seal the victory, Colton Mannhalter secured the fourth-place spot for Sisters. Gabe Rice came next, followed quickly by Tanner Nielsen, Daniel Hunt, Blake Bell, Andrew Aljets, Tully Henderson, and Drevsen Shadley.

On the eighth grade side Logan Calmettes led the team to another strong finish, crossing in fifth place, followed close behind by Chris Burdick and Yasha Saldi. Seth Roy had a great performance as well.

The excitement was to continue Wednesday, October 20, as the team travels to Obsidian Middle School in Redmond. In expectation of the meet, a wise sixth grader stated, "I just hope there are no big hills."