Sports
B1
Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
KENNEDY SENIOR KAYLIN CANTU
PLACES THIRD IN STATE MEET
BILL POEHLER
SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
EUGENE – A couple runners who had
been the No. 2 on their cross country
teams took themselves, and their teams,
to new heights.
Sprague senior Kaylee Mitchell ran a
brilliant and aggressive race Saturday to
place fourth at the OSAA Class 6A state
cross country meet at Lane Community
College to lead the Olympians to a sev-
enth-place finish in the team standings.
Stayton junior Matthew Frazeur used
a strong final mile to place fourth in the
4A state cross country meet to lead the
Eagles to a second-place team trophy,
the best team finish in the school’s histo-
ry.
“I think overall we all pushed our-
selves the hardest we’ve ever done,” said
Frazeur, who placed 27th at the state
meet last year. “We’ve put in the work. I
think it will pay off.”
Both Mitchell and Frazeur placed in
the top five of the state despite not win-
ning their district meets.
They rose to new levels at the state
meet, and it made huge impacts on their
teams at the state meet.
“It means a lot for me,” said Mitchell,
who placed 12th in the state as a junior. “I
feel like I’ve grown as a person thanks to
my teammates and my coach.
“I have never gone into a race before
with the mentality I did today. I was just
enjoying it. My dad told me to just smile.
Just smile. Soak it up. Enjoy the last little
bit you have. That was what we all want-
ed to do.”
Ever since Mitchell arrived at
Sprague to start her junior season – she
competed in cross country at Astoria in
her sophomore year – she had an imme-
diate impact on the team.
But she had been overshadowed by
teammate Ginger Murnieks, a junior
who won the Greater Valley Conference
district championship the past two
years.
In Saturday afternoon’s 6A state
meet, they ran side-by-side for the first
mile of the race behind packs of runners
from Jesuit and Sunset.
But after the first mile the Jesuit and
Sunset girls took off and Mitchell fol-
lowed them.
“I had to make the decision, are you
going to stay where you are or are you
going to stay with that front pack?” said
Mitchell, who was third in the district
meet the week before. “I was like, it’s you
senior year, you got nothing to lose, stay
with the front pack. I’m not used to stay-
ing with the front pack.”
Mitchell finished strong to finish the
5,000 meter distance in a personal rec-
ord of 18:04, behind Jesuit’s Makenna
Schumacher, Sunset’s Kelly Makin and
Alexis Kebbe.
South Salem junior Anna Chau placed
12th in 18:47.
Sprague placed seventh in the team
standings with 203 points. Murnieks
placed 16th, Elise Abbott was 21st, Reily
White was 78th and Eden McCall was
114th.
In the 4A boys, Frazeur hung out in
the top 10 for much of the race as he tried
to hang with senior teammate Casey
Pugh, who won the district champion-
ship the week before.
But in the final 1,500 meters he passed
runner after runner and emerged in
fourth place in 16:47.
“I saw Casey, got past him and then I
saw Tanner (Sayers) from Sweet Home
and started clicking it off from there,”
said Frazeur, who finished in a time of
16:47, 24 seconds behind winning John
Kavulich of Scapoose.
Pugh was 10th, sophomore Ben Kirby
was 12th, senior Brody Johnson was 44th
and sophomore Isaac Nieto was 52nd to
Kennedy's Kaylin Cantu finishes third in the OSAA class 3A/2A/1A State Championship girls cross country meet at Lane Community College in
Eugene on Saturday, Nov. 4. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL
give Stayton second place with 96 points,
16 points away from state champion
Crook County.
In the 4A girls, Stayton freshman Hai-
ley Notman was a surprise by placing
sixth in 19:35.
In the 5A boys race, Woodburn junior
Geovani Bravo placed a strong sixth in
15:53 after finishing fifth in the Mid-Wil-
lamette district meet.
Kennedy senior Kaylin Cantu equaled
her career best by placing third in the
3A/2A/1A girls meet for the second year
in a row and placed in the top 10 of the
state in all four years of high school.
She was with leaders Maya Rayle of
Catlin Gabel and Sailor Hutton of Ban-
don for most of the race, but Cantu fin-
ished in 19:00.
“It’s been a really good experience,”
Cantu said. “Every year I wanted to im-
prove. This year I got the same place, but
I’m still happy I get to go to (all-star
meet) BorderClash this year for the first
time. That was my goal to place all four
years and get to go to BorderClash, so
that’s cool.”
Kennedy placed fifth in the team
race, one spot out of earning a team tro-
phy. Junior Alejandra Lopez was fifth in
19:26.
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or
Twitter.com/bpoehler
Silverton football advances in playoffs
Silverton fans cheer in the Thurston vs.
Silverton football game in the first round of
the OSAA class 5A playoffs at Silverton High
School on Friday, Nov. 3. Silverton won the
game 31-14. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Silverton's Levi Nielsen (4) looks to pass in the Thurston vs. Silverton football game in the first round of the OSAA class 5A playoffs at Silverton
High School on Friday, Nov. 3. Silverton won the game 31-14. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Silverton's football team beat Thur-
ston 31-14 on Friday in the first round of
the OSAA Class 5A state playoffs.
The Foxes, the eighth seed, next will
face No. 1 Mountain View in the second
round.
Mountain View is 10-0 overall this sea-
son.