Middle school cross-country team wraps up banner season

The Sisters Middle School cross-country teams wrapped up a successful and fun season with the championship meet held in Bend on Tuesday, October 20, according to Coach Tiffany Tisdel.

The 32-member team made its mark with some top finishes among individuals and teams.

The eighth-grade team placed second overall in the championships, led by Josh Liddell, who won the individual title over the 2,800-meter course in 9:53. His teammates Sam Thorsett (sixth) and Aspen Geisen (16th) secured the strong team finish. Unlike high school cross-country which scores the top five runners per team, the top three runners are scorers in the Central Oregon middle-school league.

The seventh graders were paced by Ethan Hosang, who took third place overall (9:47). Will Thorsett placed eighth and John Peckham followed closely in 10th to complete the scoring for the young Outlaws.

Among sixth-grade boys, Ryun Ford led the way for the team with a 16-place finish.

For the girls team, which displayed boundless enthusiasm and team spirit all season, it was Skylar Wilson who came through as the top runner. She placed 17th among seventh-grade girls, just ahead of Olivia King, Shelby Larson and Paige Wentzel. Caitlin Schwab placed 29th among eighth-graders as the lone runner for Sisters at the meet, and Madison Pollard, despite illness, ran her best time of the season as the only sixth-grade girl competing for Sisters at the meet.

Tisdel said that the middle school philosophy is to focus on keeping running fun while also learning about and being ready for competition, and she believes that the team embraced that approach.

"This group of XC runners was fun to watch, each meet they improved their race strategies and times," said Tisdel.

Suzy Hayes and Jeff Larson also assisted in coaching the team this season.