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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2019)
A8 THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, SEpTEmbER 24, 2019 CONTACT US FOLLOW US Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports GIRLS SOCCER Astoria defeats Cottage Grove The Astorian With their top two goalkeep- ers out of action, the Astoria girls soccer team was down to its No. 3 goalie Saturday afternoon in a nonleague game with Cottage Grove at CMH Field. Making her first start in goal for the Lady Fishermen, Taile- igh Cole got the win, as Astoria topped Cottage Grove, 2-1. The Fishermen worked hard through the heat, and took advan- tage of the good weather and home field familiarity to post the win. In the first half, Cottage Grove managed to sneak a goal past the defense, but the Lady Fish man- aged to hold the Lions off until halftime. Astoria came back strong to start the second half, as Meghan O’Meara sent a corner kick across the center of the field to Elle Espelien in the box, and Espelien scored to tie the game. The goal boosted Astoria spir- its all around the field, and moti- vated the team. From there, the Lady Fish battled back-and-forth with the Lions in the center of the field to gain territory into each oth- er’s halves for the winning goal. Cottage Grove sent a few balls over the Fishermen defensive line, but Cole stopped their advances. After making many runs up and down the field, Astoria for- ward Hayley Kelley scored the eventual game-winning goal for the Fish, off an assist from defender Lily Randall. Asto- ria continued to hold off Cottage Grove until the very end, finishing with a win to even their record at 2-2-2. Astoria hosts Seaside for the Clatsop Clash at 7:15 p.m. Thurs- day at CMH Field. SCOREBOARD PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE TUESDAY Volleyball — Seaside at Astoria, 6:30 p.m.; War- renton at Clatskanie, 6 p.m.; Knappa at Faith Bible, 6:30 p.m.; Crosshill Christian at Jew- ell, 6 p.m. Boys Soccer — Scappoose at Astoria, 7:15 p.m.; Catlin Gabel at Seaside, 5:30 p.m. FOOTBALL Estacada 40, Astoria 13 Astoria 0 0 6 7—13 Estacada 12 22 0 6—40 First Quarter EST: Isaiah Schaffer 14 run (run failed) 6:18 EST: Schaffer 34 run (run failed) 2:47 Second Quarter EST: Jake Behrman 1 run (kick failed) 11:05 EST: Safety, Bo Williams tackled in end zone (10:13) EST: Schaffer 23 run (Cody Hovda kick) 6:40 EST: Behrman 50 run (Hovda kick) 4:37 Third Quarter AST: Dylan Junes 28 pass from Williams (kick failed) 6:53 Fourth Quarter EST: Behrman 10 run (kick failed) 11:04 AST: Ryan Stenblom 5 run (Tristan Boyle kick) 4:19 Taft 24, Knappa 6 Knappa 0 6 0 0—6 Taft 8 6 0 10—24 First Quarter TAFT: J.J. French 17 run (Trenton Hall from Fco Ramos) Second Quarter TAFT: Jordan Hall from Antonio Saurez (pass failed) KNA: Mason Westerholm 13 pass from Devin Hoover (conversion failed) Fourth Quarter TAFT: French 7 run (T.Hall run) TAFT: Knappa recovered fumble in own end zone Photos by Gary Henley/The Astorian As the trail narrows and the fans close in on the runners, Knappa’s Robert Piña-Morton takes an early lead during his race Saturday. He finished fifth out of 319 runners. ATHLETES COMPETE IN 30TH ANNUAL 3-COURSE CHALLENGE Ninety-three schools and clubs compete By GARY HENLEY The Astorian ARRENTON — A total of 2,247 runners from 93 different schools and running clubs, all celebrat- ing the sport of cross-country. That’s how it was Saturday at Camp Rilea for the annual 3-Course Challenge. And it was a special one this year. For one, it was the 30th edition of the big meet, hosted every year by Sea- side High School, which lends hundreds of volunteer hours for a weekend of fun, games and camaraderie between mid- dle school and high school cross-country runners. They all gather on a Saturday in late September at Camp Rilea, where they line up (as closely as possible) and run one of 11 races — two middle school races, eight high school races and one open race. It takes the better part of Saturday and most of the available parking spots. This year, 1,993 runners finished their respec- tive races, and the thousands of spectators went home happy, wherever that home happened to be — Oregon, Washington state, California, Canada … They came up from up and down the West Coast to take part in what is likely the biggest cross-country meet in this part of the country. Seaside’s Neil Branson is no longer the track or cross-country coach at Sea- side High School, but he’s seen as the man in charge, and has been a part of the 3-Course Challenge since its beginning. But Branson and the meet was miss- W A runner from Clackamas High School made the most of what little mud there was in the mud pit. ing a special partner this year. It’s the first 3-Course Challenge since the passing of Gene Gilbertson, a former coach who was one of the founders of the big meet. For years, Gilbertson was the one who blew the horn to start each race. He passed away June 12, and his absence was cer- tainly felt. But his presence was there. “For me it is,” Branson said. “He and I started this thing 30 years ago. He was our starter, although he hadn’t started it for the last four or five years. But I would ask him to come out, and he would make his presence felt. So personally, I miss him greatly. He was a wonderful mentor and friend.” One obvious presence was the num- ber of schools, which is usually up around 100 (Branson always aims for 101, for U.S. Highway 101). “There are 93 programs — that’s high schools, middle schools and some clubs,” he said. “And the last count was 2,247 entrants. We won’t get that many finish- ers. I’m guessing 2,087.” He was close. The unofficial number of finishers was 1,993. And the unofficial award winner for farthest distance traveled, Branson said, was Cerritos High School from Southern California. “We have Cerritos, and we have Whit- ney High School, which is in the Cerri- tos area,” he said. “Then we have Sacred Heart Cathedral, out of San Francisco. And I think we have four British Colum- bia schools from Canada.” The “bummer for the kids,” he added, “is that there’s no water in the mud pit this year. There’s mud, but without the water, that will make it worse, because the mud will cake onto their shoes. But it’s good for ‘em. It builds character.” Another special part of the day came by way of several big performances from local runners. On the boys’ hard course, Ilwaco soph- omore Daniel Quintana was second out of 301 runners, running the 5,000 meters in 19 minutes, 1 seconds to finish in between athletes from Sandy and Sisters, both big Oregon schools. In the race on the boys’ moderate course, Knappa senior Robert Piña-Mor- ton took fifth out of 319 runners, finishing the 5,000-meter course in 18:35. Knappa was fourth out of 27 scoring teams, behind Eastlake (of Seattle), Bend and Sacred Heart Cathedral. And on the girls’ moderate course (198 runners), Astoria junior Sophie Long placed sixth in 22:55. In the boys’ middle school race, Asto- ria’s Andy Wintersteen finished fourth out of 190 runners, covering the 3,000 meters in 10:45. Astoria Middle School was third out 13 scoring teams, behind Bowerman Track and Whisper Running clubs. CROSS-COUNTRY 3-Course Challenge, at Camp Rilea Girls Middle School (3,000m) 1, Elle Thomas, Whisper Running, 11 01 2, Josie Fale, Bowerman Track, 11:11 3, Emma Bennett, Bowerman Track, 11:12 28, Layla Varozza, Broadway, 12:29 Boys Middle School (3,000m) 1, Sam Soto, Whisper Running, 10:25 2, Nathan Peters, Bowerman Track, 10:38 3, Leo Cook, Bowerman Track, 10:44 4, Andy Wintersteen, Astoria, 10:45 Girls 3,000-meter HS Challenge 1, Josie Cleveland, 13:52 2, Halle Kerr, Yamhill-Carlton, 14:23 3, Sidney Wright, Meadowdale, 14:52 Boys 3,000-meter HS Challenge 1, Travis Jansen, Abbotsford Christian, 11:56 2, Ayden Bonham, Yamhill-Carlton, 12:29 3, Cameron Peters, Abbotsford Christian, 12:40 Girls Easy Course (4,500m) 1, Olive Nye, Bend, 17:11 2, Emily Van Valkenburg, Eastlake, 17:22 3, Ava Hagwell, Eastlake, 17:49 47, Emily Larson, Knappa, 22:16 Boys Easy Course (4,500m) 1, Bennet Jackson, Bend, 14:39 2, Kale Cassidy, Baker, 14:40 3, Toby Ruston, Dallas, 14:51 17, Nikolai Boisvert, Astoria, 16:16 Girls Moderate Course (5,000m) 1, Ava Betts, Corvallis, 21:28 2, Ella Thorsett, Sisters, 21:32 3, Juane Klaus, Abbotsford Christian, 21:46 6, Sophie Long, Astoria, 22:55 Boys Moderate Course (5,000m) 1, Will Thorsett, Sisters, 18:03 2, Gavin Grass, Dallas, 18:03 3, Jakob Knox, Bend, 18:26 5, Robert Piña-Morton, Knappa, 18:35 Girls Hard Course (5,000m) 1, Madeline Nason, Corvallis, 22:12 2, Allyson Peterson, Hockinson, 22:33 3, Jordan White, Neah-Kah-Nie, 23:43 29, Ella Zilli, Astoria, 25:41 Boys Hard Course (5,000m) 1, Jeret Gillingham, Sandy, 18:44 2, Daniel Quintana, Ilwaco, 19:01 3, John Peckham, Sisters, 19:02 The field of 316 runners takes off for the start of the boys’ easy course. PREP FOOTBALL ROUNDUP Gladstone blanks Seaside, 34-0 Gladstone rolled up 387 yards in total offense, and held Seaside to just 76, as the Gladiators scored a 34-0 win over the Gulls in a non- league football game Friday night. Gladstone also had 17 first downs, to just four for the visiting Gulls, who were 0-for-7 on third downs. The Gladiators picked up most of their yards on the ground, rush- ing for 344 on 42 carries. Seaside opens Cowapa League play on Friday vs. Astoria at CMH Field. Warrenton crushes Royals, 63-13 Portland Christian was no match for the No. 6-ranked War- renton Warriors in a Northwest League football opener Friday night, as the visiting Warriors racked up a 63-13 win over the Royals. Through three games, War- renton is now the highest scor- ing team in 2A football, with 144 points. Warrenton quarterback Jake Morrow threw the ball just eight times, but completed five with three touchdowns. Austin Little had three catches for 115 yards and two scores, and Hordie Bodden Bodden had six carries for 154 yards (25.6 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. He also had one punt return for a touchdown, and scored four touch- downs total. Devin Jackson added 125 yards rushing on 15 attempts, and War- renton kicker Kenzie Ramsey converted all nine of her point-af- ter attempts, a school record to eclipse the seven by Wes Balen- sifer (vs. Portland Christian) in 1998. Ethan Caldwell and Morrow had seven tackles apiece for War- renton, which hosts Knappa this week in the league opener for the Loggers. Taft tops Knappa, 24-6 Taft built a 14-0 lead late in the first half, then held on for a 24-6 win over Knappa in a nonleague football game Friday night in Lin- coln City. Taft junior J.J. French rushed for over 100 yards and two touch- downs, and senior receiver Jor- dan Hall added a third TD for the Tigers, ranked No. 14 at the 3A level with a 2-1 record. French scored the first touch- down on a 17-yard run with 3:23 left in the first quarter. Fco Ramos threw to Trenton Hall for the two- point conversion and an 8-0 lead. After the teams traded turn- overs, Taft quarterback Antonio Saurez connected with Jordan Hall for a 14-0 advantage. With 1:54 left in the first half, Knappa’s Devin Hoover tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Mason Westerholm. But that’s where the scoring ended for Knappa. A 50-yard run by French in the fourth quarter set up a 7-yard TD run by French. The two-point con- version made it 22-6 with 7:46 remaining. The Tigers added a late safety for their final two points. The Loggers remain on the road for their Northwest League opener on Friday at Warrenton. — The Astorian