Outlaws meet challenge at Seaside

The Seaside Three Course Challenge provides crosscountry runners with a non-traditional competition that tests the depth and strength of teams and individuals. The Challenge introduces a twist of randomness to determine which athletes run an easy course, a moderate course, or a difficult course.

The meet took place Saturday, September 22 at Camp Rilea, just north of Seaside.

The trip to the coast gave the team a welcome reprieve from the smoky air of Sisters which forced the team to miss two days of practice last week.

As the largest cross-country meet in the state, and possibly the entire Northwest, with nearly 3,000 participants, the Three Course Challenge brings together teams of all sizes from all over Oregon and Washington.

Varsity runners draw poker chips from a tin can the night before the meet: white for easy, blue for moderate, and red for difficult. In Sisters' division, two athletes scored in each of the three races to determine the team scores.

"It's good for kids to have to adjust to the unexpected, so drawing for courses tests their ability to prepare themselves quickly for what is facing them," said Coach Charlie Kanzig, who has been at the meet every year since its inception 23 years ago.

Some non-varsity runners are given the option of drawing for courses, while other, less-experienced runners are placed in the easy course.

Brandon Pollard and Ian Baldessari got things started strongly for the Outlaw boys team, finishing 12th and 55th respectively out of a field of 460 finishers on the 4,500-meter course.

In the moderate race a pair of youngsters scored for the Outlaws, as sophomore Shea Krevi and freshman Izaak Kanzig placed 50th and 70th among a whopping 555 runners.

The difficult course included 515 runners and enough soft sand and steep hills to satisfy even the most masochistic runners, but Devon Calvin (62nd) and Gabe Rice (144th) managed just fine to seal a third-place team finish for the Outlaws. North Valley of Grants Pass and La Center (WA) finished ahead of the Outlaws.

The girls' team used similar balance to finish second in Division Four just 19 points behind winner South Whidbey.

Zoe Falk patiently moved up through the crowd of 395 runners in the easy race to place fifth overall, while freshman teammate Macadia Calavan finished 30th. Mary Stewart, another freshman, though not a scorer, came through shortly after in 61st place.

Natalie Marshall and Katie Stewart teamed up to finish just twelve seconds apart in 50th and 57th places respectively in the moderate race in a field of 389, while Aria Blumm and Bethany Bachmeier stayed close together as well, just nine seconds apart, in 42nd place and 47th places in the difficult course among 297 finishers.

"I thought both teams handled the crowds and the terrain well," said Kanzig. "Considering the long trip and spending the night on a church floor, I felt that all of the team pulled it together to really race well instead of just getting lost in the sea of runners."

The team races again on Thursday at the Harrier's Challenge, near Cottage Grove, and at the Woahink Invitational on Saturday in Florence.