Outlaws run strong in home meet

The Big Meadow golf course at Black Butte Ranch was the scene of the second annual “Clash of the Cascades” cross-country meet Thursday, October 14.

Fourteen teams gathered to compete under partly cloudy skies with a threat of rain, but the weather held off and exciting competition ensued.

The junior varsity races kicked off the meet, giving the Sisters boys a chance to show their depth. The team placed fourth behind 5A Caldera and Mountain View as well as the Culver varsity team. George Roberts led the team with a sixth place finish among 79 racers in a time of 19:29. John Berg (20:02), Erik Ryan (20:03), and Jackson Griffin (20:03) came through next in 12th, 13th, and 14th respectively. Eli Palanuk (21:28) completed the scoring for the team, setting a new personal record in the

process.

Caldera scored 48 points to take the team title. Culver (68), Mountain View (75), and Sisters (79) rounded out the top four among eight complete teams.

Three Outlaw girls ran in the varsity race and produced season-best efforts according to Assistant Coach Sarah Thorsett.

“The course turned out to be a little slower than we thought it would be, but the competitive efforts and places the girls got proved to be their best this season,” she said.

Ella Bartlett placed fourth overall in the race (20:54), and teammates Sasha Stolasz (21:44) and Brooklyn Lidell (21:45) finished 12th and 13th respectively in a field of 62 runners.

The Outlaws lacked the five runners needed to garner a team score. Philomath, led by the individual champion Adele Beckstead (20:11), won the team title with 31 points. Bend placed second (65), Mountain View third (84), and Stayton fourth (110) among eight complete teams.

The Outlaw boys once again packed their top five tightly together on their way to a hotly contested fourth-place finish.

While 6A Mountain View ran away with the team title with just 34 points, the next four teams were separated by just thirteen points. Bend Senior High was the runner-up (92), Cottage Grove placed third (97), Sisters fourth (100), and Philomath fifth (105).

Finn Aspach of Ridgeview won the race in 16:14.

Sisters placed all five scorers in the top 28 among 71 finishers. Hayden Roth (18:02), Kaleb Briggs (18:12), Cole Jervis (18:17), Spencer Tisdel (18:23), and Max Palanuk (18:36) completed their most effective “packing” of the season according to the coaches.

Evan Eby (19:33) and Colton Middlestetter (19:59) also competed in the varsity race.

The Outlaws look forward to a long stretch of training in preparation for the Oregon West District meet scheduled for Thursday, October 28 at Lane Community College. The top two teams and top five individuals at the meet will qualify for the OSAA State Championship on November 6, also at Lane Community College.

While the Philomath girls are the heavy favorites, the rest of the State qualifying will depend on “who shows up ready to race,” said assistant coach Dennis

Dempsey.