XC boys repeat as District champs

The special district may have changed, but the result was the same for the third consecutive year as the Outlaws boys' cross country team won the district title in solid fashion on Wednesday, October 30, at Cheadle Lake Park in Lebanon.

The win in Special District 2 followed two years of winning in Special District 3 at meets held in Pendleton.

"It was a great relief to not have to drive 500 miles round trip just to compete at District," said Coach Charlie Kanzig.

Cool wet conditions did not dampen the fire for the Outlaws on their way to an 11-point win over runner-up Santiam Christian. Using its trademark tight packing the boys placed all five scorers between seventh to sixteenth place to score 58 points.

George Roberts earned first team honors placing seventh in 17:07, while Spencer Tisdel was just one place behind in 17:10. John Berg (18:10), Zack Kemp (18:14), and Ben Hayner (18:22) completed the scoring for the Outlaws.

Photo provided

The Outlaws ran as a pack in a strong District performance.

"When these guys are all bunched within about a minute of each other it's wonderful in the team race," said Coach Kanzig, who was named Coach of the Year by the Special District. "We don't have the front runner that some teams have, but we have guys who can push one another near the front.

Jude Parzybok and Tyson Kemp also competed in the varsity race for the Outlaws finishing 38th and 40th respectively.

The Outlaw girls had to wait patiently after their race before finding out they had secured third place and with it an automatic berth to the state meet. They will join 15 other 3A/2A/1A girls' teams that qualified.

Central Linn won the team title with 60 points, followed by Taft (74), and Sisters (102) among 13 complete teams.

Brooke Duey continued her strong showings, this time with a fourth-place finish in 19:58. Josie Ryan placed 12th (21:12), while Althea Crabtree (22:52) and Mae Roth (22:56) paired up with strong performances to help secure the points needed to qualify. Helena Welty was a bit off her best, finishing in 24:22 to complete the scoring for Sisters. Annalycia Erdekian (24:52) and Kiara Martin (24:56) rounded out the varsity team.

For some of the seniors, the qualification to state makes it four for four, according to Kanzig.

"Roberts and Tisdel qualified as freshmen on a team that placed second at district, but then took second at state and followed that up with three consecutive district titles," he said. "And Mae Roth has enjoyed appearances at state all four years as well."

The teams will race at the OSAA State Championships at Lane Community College on Saturday, November 9.

Kanzig said it's hard to predict how Sisters will do in the team race, but has confidence the runners are ready.

"These kids have been so dedicated and coachable," he said. "They will do their best."

The girls run at 10:35 a.m. and the boys are set to start at 11 a.m. Tickets can be purchased on the OSAA website at https://osaa.org/tickets.