Girls cross-country finding its stride

The Outlaw girls cross country-team showed continued progress this week as most of the team ran at the Seaside Three Course Challenge, while senior Kate Bowen ran in a prestigious meet in California.

For the Three Course Challenge, two varsity runners are chosen by random drawing to run in each of the three races, Easy, Moderate, and Difficult.

At Seaside, Ella Thorsett led the Outlaws with a gutsy second-place finish in the Moderate Course in a time of 21:32, just four seconds behind Ava Betts of Corvallis. Thorsett, a freshman, shot out with the lead pack right from the start and never faltered.

“Ella is a competitor,” said Head Coach Josh Nordell. “There is no denying that.”

Pearl Gregg, in her first race of the season, finished seventy-sixth as the second scorer for the Outlaws in a time of 27:27. A total of 198 girls completed the Moderate Course.

In the Easy Course, Emma Singleton showed she is getting into racing form with a very strong ninth-place finish with a time of 19:23 for the 4,500-meter course. Fellow sophomore Sadie Sharp stepped confidently into a varsity role, placing thirty-third in 21:19 among 227 finishers.

Scorers for Sisters in the Difficult Course included Iris Diez (32:02) and Skylar Wilkins (32:07).

Madeline Nason of Corvallis High School won the race in an impressive time of 22:02.

Bowen was away from her teammates as part of a college visit and had the opportunity to run at the Woodridge Cross Country Classic at Silverlakes Sports Park in Norco, California, east of Los Angeles.

The Woodbridge meet spans two days and includes nearly 60 separate races and thousands of runners. Bowen raced in the grand finale Sweepstakes race, which included many of the very best runners in California as well as neighboring states, on Saturday evening under the lights.

The three-mile course is extremely fast, resulting in some eye-popping times. Bowen finished in 101st place among 199 finishers with a time of 18:12.

The winner, Corie Smith of Buchanan High School, finished in an unbelievable 16:04.

“We clearly have two front-runners on our team, and the rest of the girls are working hard as well to fill out the rest of our scoring positions, so I am happy with the progress they are making,” said Nordell.

Next up for the Outlaws is the Nike Portland Meet at Blue Lake Park on Saturday, September 28.