For cross-country it all comes down to District

After a regular season of meets stretching from Seaside to Drake Park, the Outlaws cross-country team faces the state qualifying Sky-Em District meet set for Wednesday, October 21, at Lane Community College.

Unlike other team sports that compete in a league schedule that determines state playoffs, cross-country teams' futures come down to one race to determine who goes on to compete for state-level glory among the six teams in the league.

As defending Sky-Em District Champions the past four seasons for both boys and girls, many of the Sisters runners have been in this position before. The girls are overwhelming favorites to repeat as champions while the boys face an experienced Elmira team that matches up very closely with the Outlaws.

Junior Sophie Borders, who placed fourth at last year's district meet, has held the top position all season for the Outlaws, who have been ranked among the top four teams in the state for the past six weeks, and is the pre-race individual favorite. Teammate Anna Bartlett has the third-fastest time in the league and continues to look stronger and stronger as the season progresses, according to Coach Josh Nordell.

A tight contingent of other Outlaws is what gives Sisters a strong upper hand; the team holds six of the fastest 10 times in the entire league. Those runners include senior Megan Calaraco, senior Macadia Calavan, sophomore Serena Salisbury and senior Mary Stewart. Three other runners, Amy Hills, Engracia Diez, and Shayla Curtis rank in the top 20 runners among Sky-Em women.

Junction City is expected to be the runner-up. The top two teams at the District Meet qualify for State, which is scheduled for all classifications on Saturday, October 31, also at Lane Community College.

For the boys, senior T.J. Hooks, the runner-up at last year's District Meet and 11th at State, has established himself as the favorite among individual runners, but expects a pair of Falcons to be riding his tail. Hooks established a personal best at the George Fox Classic on October 10 with a time of 16:22. Elmira's top two runners have both dipped up 17 minutes, but have never really threatened Hooks in head-to-head competition.

Jordan Pollard, a sophomore, has steadily remained as the team's number-two runner and looks to help bust up the Falcon's quest. He ran 17:15 at George Fox and looks stronger than ever, according to Nordell.

The real focal point for Sisters will be the next three scorers. Izaak Kanzig has begun to return to form after his two-year absence in South Korea. Kanzig ran 17:14 as a freshman and appears ready to break into the 17s again before the season ends. Sophomore Cole Pade continues to run within about 20 seconds of Kanzig each race as both have dropped their times along the way. Senior Patrick Krevi will be a key as well and also looks ready after setting a personal record at George Fox with a time of 18:57.

It's Elmira's depth - and likely their hunger to unseat the Outlaws - that will be the challenge for Sisters. In addition, a much-improved Junction City team could make things very interesting depending on how its top runners finish. The Tigers' top four runners may mix right in with the core scorers for Elmira and Sisters, which could result in a tighter three-way race than earlier season predictions.

A wild-card for Sisters is senior Dyut Fetrow, who placed third at last year's district meet, but has been beset by injuries all season and has only recently been running steadily.

"On paper, Elmira looks like the favorite to win, but there is much more to the dynamic of championship races than meets the eye," Nordell said. "This is why we run the meets."

Action gets underway at Lane Community College at 2 p.m. with the varsity girls race. The varsity boys will run at 2:30 p.m. followed by the combined junior varsity race at 3 p.m. There is no admission fee for spectators.