Outlaws run away from smoke

The only home meet of the season was among the cancellations due to smoke in Sisters last week, but the Outlaws made arrangements for some of the team to travel to Monmouth for the Ash Creek Invitational on Saturday, getting the competitive season underway.

The last-minute addition to the schedule didn't allow some of the team members to attend the meet, leaving Anna Bartlett as the lone girl to compete. She started strong, but slowed in the second half to finish 81st in 22:47 among 190 finishers.

"It was good for Anna to get a race under her belt," said head coach Josh Nordell. "We are anxious to get the rest of the girls team to the starting line next week."

The boys fielded a full team, and Nordell came away quite pleased with the result as the Outlaws finished 16th among 35 teams.

Jordan Pollard led the way for Sisters, finishing 21st in 16:52, in a solid start to his senior season.

The field of 255 runners went out fast, as Pollard marked the first mile in 4:56 before settling in to a more reasonable pace.

The meet featured most 6A and 5A teams, which gave Pollard, one of the top returning 4A runners this season, a great opportunity to test himself in the early season, according to Nordell.

"This is great experience for Jordan as a senior," said Nordell. "He will gain racing savvy going against other high quality runners like he saw today."

Evan Holland of Ashland, who placed fifth at the 5A State Meet last year as a freshman, won the race in 15:55, one second ahead of Jesuit's Grant Summers.

Freshman Ethan Hosang got a solid start to his high school career, finishing 73rd in 18:08. Other finishers for Sisters included Josh Liddell (18:49), John Peckham (18:51), Will Thorsett (20:11), Vincente Rebolledo (21:27) and Ryan Waddell (23:46).

A total of 255 runners finished the varsity boys race.

Cole Pade (20:54) and Zach Villalovos (27:06) ran in the junior varsity race, while Jack Berg and Jackson Bowe also competed, but did not turn up in the results.

Sisters scored 458 points and finished first among the nine 4A schools competing.

"We have a lot of potential for growth on this boys team," said Nordell. "I am proud of the young guys to step up and want to come to this meet at the last minute. That shows not only dedication to the team, but also the desire to compete."

With the prospect of smoke abating in the Sisters area, the team should be at full strength for the Northwest Classic, set for Saturday, September 16 at Lane Community College. The race gives the Outlaws a bit of a preview of the district and state meet courses amid a large field of 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A teams.

"We haven't been to this meet, but this year's schedule allowed us to pencil it in and we are really looking forward to it," said Nordell.