Outlaws cross-country teams look to defend titles

With a pack of relatively young, but enthusiastic, runners, the Sisters High School girls and boys cross-country teams look to not only defend their Sky-Em titles from 2011, but to move up in the final standings at the state meet.

For the girls' team that is a tall order, considering the team placed third last year in the closest top-three team finish in 4A history in which only six points separated the top three teams. Like Sisters, Scappoose and Klamath Union, who finished first and second at state, return the majority of their runners, so the Outlaws have their work cut out for them.

"It's hard to predict how teams will come back from one year to the next," said Coach Charlie Kanzig, who is in his 18th year at the helm.

"We hope that new runners will fill in for our graduates and carry on our strong tradition."

Leading the way for the girls' team will be junior Zoe Falk, who placed ninth at last year's state meet and set school records in both the 800- and 1,500-meters during the 2012 track season. A pair of sophomores, Maddi Boettner and Aria Blumm, who placed eleventh and thirteenth respectively at state, are also back, along with another 10th grader, Emily Ford, who ran on the varsity team last year. In addition, senior Katie Stewart, the team's eighth runner last year, and Sierra Slaughter, a varsity runner all season until a leg injury sidelined her for the district and state meets, return.

"We have an enviable core of runners back along with a slew of new girls who will help our team before long," said Kanzig. "My job is to be patient and let the team gel together so that when the important races come in October we are fully prepared."

The boys' team, which placed sixth last season, returns team leader Brandon Pollard, a junior, along with classmate Ian Baldessari, who has shown steady improvement since last season. Sophomore Shea Krevi had a fine year of running as a freshman, placing in both the 1,500 and 3,000 at varsity district track meet, and will contribute to the varsity squad, along with junior Devon Calvin, who returns to the sport after a stellar middle-school career.

"These guys have put in some summer work, including going to the Steens Mountain running camp, so right now those four are the nucleus, said Kanzig. "But we have some returning runners hungry to move up and some new team members, including a couple of freshmen, who are showing tremendous potential," said Kanzig.

Kanzig says that his goal as a coach is to provide every single runner - and he expects 50 or more to be on the team - to have a high-quality experience and to begin to learn what their bodies can do. He and assistant Rima Givot have a lot to be enthused about following the team's rafting and running camp in mid-August and through the first two weeks of practice.

"I am always pleasantly surprised by kids who have the proper mindset and do the work to become really fine runners," he said. "Everyone can run and everyone can improve, so kids can find satisfaction in that."

Part of the team is scheduled to run at the Breese Ranch Invitational near Prineville on Saturday, September 8, but the entire squad will not race until Saturday, September 15 at Molalla.

"We break into competition somewhat conservatively, saving our real racing for the second half of the season," he said.