Outlaws run to District title

When the starting-gun fired at Lane Community College Thursday morning for the Sky-Em District girls race, Junction City's Shayla Solomon shot to the lead, hoping to thwart any challengers.

Anna Bartlett and Sophie Borders had a different notion: slowly chip away at that lead and make a decisive move in the middle of the race to take the command themselves. Their plan worked to perfection, and the pair finished 1-2 on the way to Sisters' sixth straight District cross-country title. 

Bartlett, a junior, captured the individual title in 20:26, three seconds ahead of last year's champion Borders.

All of the Sisters runners moved up during the race, including sophomore Tate Ricker, who moved all the way to fourth place (21:23). Engracia Diez also cracked the top 10, finishing eighth (22:09).  Amy Hills completed the scoring by finishing 11th in 22:36, just nipping Molly Winter at the line (22:37). Zidane Galant-Laporte finished next in 22:53, giving Sisters a substantial win with just 26 points and a return to the State meet.

"The team effort just keeps improving, which is exactly what we need for the State meet next week," said Coach Josh Nordell. "I felt the girls ran particularly well since we didn't really rest for the meet, aiming instead for peaking at State."

Junction City placed second with 52 points and will join the Outlaws at State along with the 12 other 4A teams who qualified. The Outlaws have been ranked among the top three teams most of the season, so predictions are that Tillamook, Philomath, Sisters, La Grande, North Bend and Klamath Union will battle for the four trophies up for grabs.

On the boys side, junior Jordan Pollard ran away with the individual title in 16:52 after some early challenges from Jessie Ellingworth of Cottage Grove and Carson Bain of Elmira, who finished second and third respectively.

Pollard's efforts were not enough for his team, as the Outlaws finished fifth, missing the State meet for the first time since 2010.

"Jordan has had a fantastic season and is certainly considered among the top 10 4A runners going into the State meet," said Nordell.

Cottage Grove won a tightly packed team race with 57 points to edge Junction City (60), Elmira (63), and Sweet Home (68). Sisters scored 89 to finish fifth, and Sutherlin brought up the rear with 179 points.

Freshman Josh Liddell placed 14th (18:11) as the second-fastest ninth-grader in the race. Cole Pade gritted his teeth through to a 19th-place finish in 18:36. The remaining Outlaws included Peyton Myhre (19:13), Jack Berg (19:23), Will Werts (19:59) and Andrew Stevens (20:16).

Another highlight of the day came in the junior varsity race as juniors Emma Parkes and Marley Parkins took the top two places, both with personal bests.

"What a great way to end the season for those girls," said Nordell.

The OSAA State Championships are set for Saturday, November 5 at Lane Community College. All classifications race on the same day on the same site. The Outlaws girls will run at 11:15 a.m. and Pollard will toe the line at 11:50 a.m.