Wednesday, October 25, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
11
Outlaws run toward district meet
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
A zany relay meet in Bend
served as a final tune-up for
the Sisters Outlaws cross-
country team Wednesday,
October 18, as the squad
faces the Sky-Em District
meet this week. That meet is
the qualifier for the OSAA
State Championships.
The Central Oregon
Relays, hosted by Mountain
View High School —which
attracted all of the Central
Oregon schools — gave
teams the chance to have a
little fun before the biggest
meets of the season.
Relay teams comprised of
four runners who run three
legs each over the 1.1-kilo-
meter course (8.4 miles in
total). The relay racing for-
mat, along with the encour-
agement to dress up in wacky
costumes, produced smiles
all around as princesses, lava
bears, fairies, ninjas, cheer-
leaders, Star Wars characters
and others raced around the
circuit.
The event is timed and
places awarded, but that was
not the point for the Sisters
team.
“It’s a challenging work-
out, but the fun factor is high
and I think the relay for-
mat brings the team closer
together by being in random
small groups,” said Josh
Nordell, head coach of the
Outlaws.
The focus sharpens
this week as Sisters trav-
els to Eugene on Thursday,
October 26 for the Sky-Em
Meet at Lane Community
College.
The girls team will be
defending its league title
from last year, and Anna
Bartlett will attempt to win
her second consecutive
crown. As a team the Outlaws
look like clear favorites, but
two runners have emerged
that should test Bartlett.
Elmira’s Kaitlin Cook, who
placed fifth in last year’s dis-
trict meet, has improved her
5,000-meter time by nearly
two minutes and holds a best
of 19:41. Freshman Anika
Thompson of Elmira cracked
the 20-minute barrier as well
with a time of 19:56, while
Bartlett’s best this season
is 19:57. However, the girls
have not raced head to head
this season, which should
make for an exciting race.
Overall, the seven varsity
runners for Sisters all rank
in the top 14 among Sky-Em
girls.
“But, we still have to
show up ready to compete,”
warned Nordell. The team
includes Ella Cole, Engracia
Diez, Amy Hills, Tate Ricker,
Brooke Robillard, and Iris
Diez.
Sisters has won six con-
secutive district cross-coun-
try titles dating back to 2011.
The boys team is a stark
contrast to last year’s group
that placed a distant fifth at
last year’s District meet, its
worst finish since joining
the Sky-Em League. The
Outlaws are in the thick of
challenging for the district
title with a crew lead by
senior Jordan Pollard and
backed up by a five outstand-
ing underclassmen.
Pollard has been ranked
among the top three 4A run-
ners in Oregon all season,
but he faces a real challenge
from Sweet Home’s Tanner
Sayers, who has run 16:19
this season. Pollard’s best is
16:10; he has shown great
competitiveness in all of
his races this season against
some very high-level run-
ners, according to Nordell.
“Jordan is definitely in the
driver’s seat,” said Nordell.
Freshman Ethan Hosang
ranks third in the league, just
ahead of Konrad Raum of
Cottage Grove. The Lions
and the Outlaws appear to
be the top two teams in the
league, which, if holds true,
would mean a return to the
state meet for the Outlaws
after being shut out last year.
The Outlaws’ strength
lies in a tight-knit pack for
runners three through seven
including freshmen John
Peckham and Will Thorsett,
sophomore Josh Liddell,
PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG
Amy Hills leads Chewbacca and Pajama Man at the costume-themed
Central Oregon Relays last Wednesday at the Pine Nursery.
freshman Vicente Rebolledo,
and junior Jack Berg. Senior
Cole Pade, who has battled
injury all season, is also part
of the varsity mix.
Cross-country is scored
based on the place values of
the top five runners added
together, meaning the lowest
score wins the meet. Runners
six and seven can count as
spacers, so if a team’s sixth
and seventh finishers can
beat other teams’ scorers, it
is a big plus and is the advan-
tage Sisters has over Cottage
Grove going into the meet.
The sixth runner also serves
as the tie-breaker if teams
score the exact same number
of points with the top five.
The Sky-Em District
Championships commence
at noon on Thursday with the
varsity girls race, followed
by the varsity boys race at
12:30 p.m. and a combined
junior varsity race at 1 p.m.
The top five individuals and
top two teams qualify for
the OSAA Championships
scheduled for Saturday,
November 4, also at Lane
Community College.
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