Outlaws place well at Country Fair race

The Outlaws cross-country team more than held their own at the Country Fair Classic held at the Oregon Country Fair grounds near Veneta on Thursday, September 14. The girls placed third and the boys sixth among 16 teams from all divisions.

The girls' team placed behind Philomath, the top 4A team in Oregon, and Crescent Valley, a perennially tough team ranked third in the 5A preseason coaches' poll.

Ella Bartlett led the charge again for the Outlaws on the flat course that wended through the thick woods and past the funky statues and structures for which the Fair is known. She finished seventh in a season best of 20:14.

Brooke Duey and Josie Ryan battled it out, finishing in a virtual tie (21:38) for 15th and 16th place in the field of 73. Kolby McMahon came through next in 24th place (22:43), and Mae Roth completed the scoring, finishing 54th in 25:58.

Kiara Martin and Analycia Erdekian rounded out the varsity team.

Philomath easily won the team title with 37 points, followed by Crescent Valley (67), Sisters (94), Junction City (96), and Siuslaw (99).

For the boys, success came through bunching the scorers together. The Outlaws' top four runners finished within 24 seconds of one another, led by Spencer Tisdel who placed 24th in 18:28. Frosh Thomas Hamerly was next (18:48) just ahead of John Berg (18:49) and Will McDonnell (18:52). Tyson Kemp, in just his second race, came through as the final scorer for Sisters, in 56th place (19:35) among 111 finishers.

Broderick Womack, another freshman, struggled in his first varsity race (21:04) while George Roberts completed the course in 22:14.

"These boys will all continue to get better thanks to their work ethic and desire to do well," said Assistant Coach Dennis Dempsey. "These early races are really all hard training days."

Newport, the top 4A boys team, won the team title with 63 points. Sisters finished as the top 3A team with 155 points in sixth place among 15 complete teams.

Race organizers also recognized the top overall co-ed team with combined scores and Sisters placed second to Crescent Valley in that category.

The Outlaws will race Friday, September 22, at the Champs Invite at Cheadle Park in Lebanon, which includes over 30 1A/2A/3A teams from around the state.

"Other than the Eastern Oregon teams which are not attending, this meet is a bit of a preview of teams that will likely be at the state meet," said Head Coach Charlie Kanzig. "East Linn Christian does a great job in putting on a high-quality meet."