Outlaw cross-country boys making noise

In a busy week of racing, the Outlaws cross-country boys gained some attention among 4A schools with two solid performances within four days, indicating that the young team is more than ready to compete.

On Wednesday, September 20, the team traveled to the Stayton Invitational, a meet scheduled late after the Outlaws were smoked out of two consecutive meets. In early season polls, the Stayton team ranked first among 4A boys, so the meet gave Sisters a chance to get an up-close look at the Eagles on their home turf.

The eight-team meet turned into a two-team battle as the race got underway, with Jordan Pollard dictating the pace with two Eagles in hot pursuit, including Casey Pugh, who finished 10th at last year's state meet, where the Eagles placed fifth as a team.

Through the muddy hills and dales, Pollard stayed in command throughout, winning with a time of 16:54, 11 seconds ahead of Pugh. Freshman Ethan Hosang came through in fourth place (17:51), Josh Liddell placed seventh (18:33), John Peckham 10th (18:37), and Will Thorsett 16th (20:14) to complete the scoring for Sisters. Stayton prevailed in the team score, but just six points ahead of Sisters, 27-33.

"We really matched up quite well with Stayton considering both of us were missing one of our top four runners," said Josh Nordell. "Our guys came ready to race and I am very pleased with their effort," he said after the meet.

Vincente Robolledo (20:29) and Jack Berg (20:42) rounded out the top seven for Sisters.

Another highlight from the meet included Jed Kizziar's victory in the junior varsity race in his first-ever cross-country meet. He finished the 3,000-meter course in 11:26. Nolan Mitchell (12:15) and Sam May (12:26) finished eighth and 10th respectively.

The Outlaws traveled to Seaside for the Three Course Challenge, held Saturday, September 23, at Camp Rilea and once again came away with very positive results, winning the team title among Division 4 teams.

The meet is scored using the place numbers of the top two finishers of each team on the three separate courses, which are designated as easy, moderate, and difficult. The event, in its 26th year, is among the largest meets held in Oregon, attracting well over 2,000 high school runners.

John Peckham led the way for Sisters in the easy course, cruising to 22nd place in the 4,500-meter course in 16:50. Jack Berg also scored for the team, finishing 70th in 18:07, among 356 runners.

In the moderate race two ninth-graders took care of business for the team. Ethan Hosang challenged the leaders of the race throughout, ultimately finishing third in 19:23. Will Thorsett placed 78th among 400 runners in 22:18.

Jordan Pollard not only got his wish to run the difficult course after three previous trips to the meet, he went head-to-head with Nate Pendleton of Eastlake High School (WA) for the individual title. The two were neck and neck until 200 meters to go when Pendleton pulled away for good to win in 19:08. Pollard finished in 19:15.

Sophomore Josh Liddell ran strong as well, finishing 21st in 21:13, among a total of 411 finishers.

"The season is still young," said Nordell, "but I have high hopes for this group."

The Outlaws will travel to Portland this week for Saturday's Nike Portland XC meet at Portland Meadows. The meet includes well over 120 teams from throughout Oregon, California, and Washington of all divisions and classifications.