Outlaws meet the challenge at Seaside

The Sisters Outlaws took on the Seaside Three Course Challenge on Saturday, September 19, and produced impressive results. The girls team won the Division Four team title, while the boys team finished fifth.

The Three Course Challenge, in its 26th year, is the largest cross-country gathering in the Northwest with over 100 schools and nearly 2,000 runners involved. Teams are divided into competitive divisions based on population to determine team finishes.

The challenge of the meet comes from more than just the rigorous, hilly, sandy courses, but from the challenge that each varsity runner has to draw from a tin can either a red, blue, or white poker chip to determine whether they will run the difficult, moderate, or easy course. For Division Four, two runners compete in each course and the score is determined by adding finishing places together after all three races are concluded.

The team depth of the Sisters girls team certainly paid off as all six scores placed in the top 10 in their respective races among Division Four athletes.

Macadia Calavan and Anna Bartlett set the tone for the day with outstanding performances in the Easy Course. Calavan finished 15th and Bartlett 19th overall among 373 finishers, which resulted in Calavan being crowned the winner of Division Four.

"That was my goal," she said.

Sophie Borders and Amy Hills kept the Outlaws in command of the team race with strong performances in the moderate race as Borders placed 17th and Hills 28th out of the field of 282 finishers. Borders earned the fourth-place medal in Division Four and Hills was eighth.

In the Difficult Course, which included 244 runners, Megan Calarco breezed to 35th place overall in what she and her coaches agreed may have been the best race of her career. Serena Salisbury came through about a minute behind Calarco to finish in 62nd place. Calarco finished fourth among Division Four runners, while Salisbury finished ninth.

The boys team had a tougher task as a team due to injuries that sidelined varsity runners Izaak Kanzig and Dyut Fetrow, but the squad still managed to finish fifth in Division Four.

Jordan Pollard continued his stellar sophomore season as he placed 13th overall among 405 runners in the easy race. Cody Martin also scored for the Outlaws in 103rd place.

TJ Hooks powered through the Moderate Course on his way to third place overall and first in Division Four athletes among 436 contestants. Cole Pade finished among the top quarter of the pack in 62nd place.

The Outlaws who scored in the Difficult Course both placed in the top half of the field of 432. Will Werts placed 166th, and Patrick Krevi was just nine seconds behind in 178th place.

Coach Rima Givot, who won the Open Race among women, said, "I feel that the kids all attacked the meet with a strong, confident attitude, which showed that their hard work in practice over the past month is really paying off."

She continued, "It would be easy to come to the coast and sort of get lost in the crowd of runners, but all of our kids, from veterans to beginners, showed a lot of pride in the way they competed."

Sisters will host nine other schools at the Outlaw Invitational this Saturday. Races begin at 10 a.m. on the practice fields behind the high school.