Outlaws are picking up the pace on the trail

Two consecutive weeks of running large invitationals has allowed the Sisters cross-country teams the opportunity to face off against some of the fastest runners in the northwest, which has resulted in a load of personal-best times.

The improvement of the Outlaw girls' team has launched them into the limelight among 4A teams, pushing them up into the top three-ranked teams according to the weekly coaches' poll. The boys have gained some momentum toward the hope of repeating as Sky-Em District champions.

At the Oxford Classic at Drake Park in Bend on October 2, the Outlaws found themselves surrounded by powerhouse teams from throughout Oregon and Idaho, but were not intimidated, according to coach Josh Nordell.

"I liked how the kids ran for their team and pushed through a fast early pace that is common in big meets like this one," he said.

Because of an inexplicable problem with the company timing the race, results were not posted until three days after the meet ended.

The Outlaw girls placed 10th among the 20 teams In their division and were the top 4A team in the field. The boys were 17th among 24 teams and third among 4A squads.

At the George Fox Classic, held on Saturday, October 10, at Willamette Mission State Park north of Salem, the Outlaws faced an even larger and faster field of runners from all Oregon divisions along with the first rain, mud, and wind of the season.

T.J. Hooks made the most of the situation in the boys' Silver Division race by going out with the lead pack and making his way into second place in the final mile. With less the 400 meters to go, Hooks could see the leader falter and swept by in the home stretch to claim the victory in a personal best of 16:22.

Jordan Pollard was next (17:15), followed by Izaak Kanzig (18:20), Cole Pade (18:43), and Patrick Krevi (18:57), as the Outlaws placed ninth among 36 teams in the Silver Division with 339 points.

Hooks, sporting a bloody scrape on his shoulder from an encounter with a tree branch during the race, felt ecstatic after the come-from-behind win.

"I just felt really good," he said. "That was a lot of fun."

The girls had a bigger challenge in the Gold Division race that featured ranked teams from 6A, 5A and 4A classifications, along with Camas, a perennial power from southwest Washington. On the positive side, the high level of competition, along with the fast course, carried nearly the entire team to personal bests. The tough part was finishing twelfth among fourteen teams.

Camas easily captured the team title with just 46 points, while Summit, the top-ranked 5A girls team placed second, and 6A Sheldon finished third. Siuslaw, the only other 4A team in the race placed fifth with 185 points while Sisters scored 286 points.

Sophie Borders came through first for the Outlaws in 37th place in a time of 20:10 and Anna Bartlett crossed the line next in 20:37, both personal bests. Serena Salisbury also posted a personal best of 21:10, just ahead of Macadia Calavan who ran a season best of 21:25. Mary Stewart closed out the scoring for Sisters with a time of 22:35.

Sisters ran without number-three runner Megan Calarco and number-seven runner Amy Hills, which hurt the Outlaws' cause against the Vikings.

"Our girls are quite solid 1-7," said Nordell, "and we know we can run much, much closer to Siuslaw the next time we get the chance."

That next time will likely be the state meet, set for Saturday, October 31. First, however, the Outlaws will compete in the Central Oregon Relays on October 14, in Bend, before facing off against the rest of the Sky-Em District on Wednesday October 21. The top two teams at District move on to the OSAA State Championships. Both Outlaw teams are the defending Sky-Em champions.