Runners speeding toward District

For the fourth Saturday in a row, the Sisters Outlaws cross-country team hit the road to take on teams from throughout the state. This week's meet took place at Elijah Bristow State Park near Springfield, and featured a total of 16 teams from all classifications, providing the runners from Sisters excellent competition.

The Outlaw girls team flexed its muscle against a number of ranked 5A teams, including Crescent Valley, Marshfield, and Mountain View, finishing second in the team competition to Mountain View.

Zoe Falk bided her time on the narrow path of the wooded course, moving up throughout the 5,000-meter journey, eventually all the way up to second place (20:13), behind Shaylen Crook of Marshfield, who won the race in 20:04.

"If we'd had a little more distance, I could have caught her," said Falk after the race.

Once again, Frances Payne added a solid second-runner finish to the Outlaws' team, finishing eighth in 20:58.

"The course was a bit slow overall," said Coach Charlie Kanzig, but the girls ran tremendously as a group."

Freshmen speedsters Maddi Boettner and Aria Blumm cruised through the course nearly side by side, finishing 13th (21:15) and 14th (21:17) respectively.

Emily Ford, another frosh, scored for the Outlaws for the second week in a row, finishing 33rd in 22:49, a personal record.

"These ninth-graders run like veteran athletes," said Kanzig. "If they keep working together they will really help us in the upcoming weeks."

Jordyn Clymens helped the team with one of her best performances, finishing sixth for the team (23:05), well ahead of many other teams' scorers in 38th place.

"Jordyn is running with more confidence every week," said Kanzig. "It's great to have a senior leader like her who sets such a good example with her work ethic."

The boys team had another respectable outing as it prepares for an assault on qualifying for state in two weeks, finishing sixth among the 14 teams.

Sophomore Brandon Pollard led the boys team for the second week in a row, finishing 14th (17:39), just ahead of a charging Mason Calmettes, who finished 18th in 17:49.

Jared Schneider maintained his spot as the number-three varsity runner with a 31st-place finish in 18:25, while Easton Curtis showed his toughness as the fourth scorer, placing 37th in 18:43. The final scorer for Sisters, Trevor Barry (19:10), outkicked teammate Ian Baldessari (19:11), as the two placed 52nd and 53rd respectively.

"The boys look forward now to a faster course where they can lower their times as a pack," said Kanzig. "The race Wednesday at Elmira ought to provide that for them."

The Elmira race, held at the County Fair site in Veneta, is the final regular-season meet for the Outlaws before the District meet, scheduled for Thursday, October 27 at Lane Community College in Eugene.