Girls cross-country team gets to racing

After two meets lost to poor air quality, the Outlaw girls cross-country team finally got to toe the line in a pair of meets, helping the team members to take stock of their conditioning.

The Stayton Invitational on Wednesday, October 20, brought the team together for the first time this season, and the squad came out on top of the eight-team field, with 32 points. Stayton finished second with 42 and 3A Central Linn placed third with 52 points.

Rain abated before race time, but mud remained, giving the racers a taste of real cross-country. Hills, single-track trail, and even a creek crossing kept times a bit slow, but the race was a great test for the team, according to Coach Josh Nordell.

"It was a perfect way for us to get a race under our belts since the meet was relatively small, but included a decent field of runners," he said.

Senior Anna Bartlett ran nearly alone in second place most of the race, finishing in 22:02. Jessica Neal of Central Linn ran away with the individual title in 21:38.

Engracia Diez (24:08), Amy Hills (24:13), and Tate Ricker (24:14) navigated the course together, finishing in seventh, eighth, and ninth respectively.

Skylar Wilkins, a freshman, stepped up to help the short-handed varsity team and finished in 27:22, just ahead of fellow frosh Iris Diez who finished in 27:23. Emma Parkes (28:40), Chloe Gold (30:36), Shelby Larson (31:02), and Brooke Robillard (36:01) also ran the varsity race.

Ella Cole elected to run in the junior varsity race and dominated, winning the 3,000-meter race in 13:16. Pearl Gregg took third place in 14:36.

The Seaside Three Course Challenge (ranked easy, moderate, difficult) awaited the team on Saturday, September 23 at Camp Rilea. The Outlaws competed in Division 4, where they placed second in the team

race.

Team leader Anna Bartlett drew the easy course and stormed to sixth place overall in 19:43 for the 4,500-meter course among 236 finishers.

Engracia Diez came through as the second scorer for Sisters in 18th place in 21:08. Other Outlaws in the race included Chloe Gold (23:51), Pearl Gregg (23:54), Emma Parkes (24:08) and Quinlan Crowe (35:45).

In the moderate race, Amy Hills placed 31st with a time of 26:06, while Iris Diez took 106th in 28:59 among 230 total finishers. Skylar Wilkins (29:36) also competed in the race.

Tate Ricker and Ella Cole stayed close to one another in the difficult race, finishing just three places apart. Ricker crossed the line in 38th place (26:56), followed by Cole in 27:04. A total of 238 runners finished the sandy, hilly, muddy course.

"It was a solid effort by the girls, and we look forward to having some of the other members back from illness and injury for next week's meet," said Nordell.

The Outlaws will race next Saturday, September 30, at the Nike Portland XC meet at Portland Meadows.

After two meets lost to poor air quality, the Outlaw girls cross-country team finally got to toe the line in a pair of meets, helping the team members to take stock of their conditioning.

The Stayton Invitational on Wednesday, October 20, brought the team together for the first time this season, and the squad came out on top of the eight-team field, with 32 points. Stayton finished second with 42 and 3A Central Linn placed third with 52 points.

Rain abated before race time, but mud remained, giving the racers a taste of real cross-country. Hills, single-track trail, and even a creek crossing kept times a bit slow, but the race was a great test for the team, according to Coach Josh Nordell.

"It was a perfect way for us to get a race under our belts since the meet was relatively small, but included a decent field of runners," he said.

Senior Anna Bartlett ran nearly alone in second place most of the race, finishing in 22:02. Jessica Neal of Central Linn ran away with the individual title in 21:38.

Engracia Diez (24:08), Amy Hills (24:13), and Tate Ricker (24:14) navigated the course together, finishing in seventh, eighth, and ninth respectively.

Skylar Wilkins, a freshman, stepped up to help the short-handed varsity team and finished in 27:22, just ahead of fellow frosh Iris Diez who finished in 27:23. Emma Parkes (28:40), Chloe Gold (30:36), Shelby Larson (31:02), and Brooke Robillard (36:01) also ran the varsity race.

Ella Cole elected to run in the junior varsity race and dominated, winning the 3,000-meter race in 13:16. Pearl Gregg took third place in 14:36.

The Seaside Three Course Challenge (ranked easy, moderate, difficult) awaited the team on Saturday, September 23 at Camp Rilea. The Outlaws competed in Division 4, where they placed second in the team

race.

Team leader Anna Bartlett drew the easy course and stormed to sixth place overall in 19:43 for the 4,500-meter course among 236 finishers.

Engracia Diez came through as the second scorer for Sisters in 18th place in 21:08. Other Outlaws in the race included Chloe Gold (23:51), Pearl Gregg (23:54), Emma Parkes (24:08) and Quinlan Crowe (35:45).

In the moderate race, Amy Hills placed 31st with a time of 26:06, while Iris Diez took 106th in 28:59 among 230 total finishers. Skylar Wilkins (29:36) also competed in the race.

Tate Ricker and Ella Cole stayed close to one another in the difficult race, finishing just three places apart. Ricker crossed the line in 38th place (26:56), followed by Cole in 27:04. A total of 238 runners finished the sandy, hilly, muddy course.

"It was a solid effort by the girls, and we look forward to having some of the other members back from illness and injury for next week's meet," said Nordell.

The Outlaws will race next Saturday, September 30, at the Nike Portland XC meet at Portland Meadows.