Wednesday, November 17, 2021
A9
SPORTS
Maria Weer/Contributed Photo
The Wallowa Valley middle school cross-country team recently won the state middle school title on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, in Monmouth.
Wallowa Valley girls team wins all seven races
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
E
NTERPRISE
—
The
next generation of stand-
out cross-country runners
in Wallowa County are
already making a name for
themselves.
The Wallowa Valley girls cross-coun-
try team won the middle school state
championship Sunday, Oct. 31, at West-
ern Oregon University in Monmouth.
The Outlaws edged past Philomath for
the team title, fi nishing with 49 points.
Philomath came in with 67 points, and
third-place Linus Pauling Middle School,
based in Corvallis, had 92 points.
The team peaked at state, with runners
not only beating personal records, but
shattering them.
“All 11 girls that ran at the state meet,
we had an average of 41-second PRs,”
head coach Dan Moody said. “That’s
pretty exceptional. It’s the right timing,
and also down at sea level.”
Wallowa Valley’s top three runners fi n-
ished the 3,000-meter course in less than
12 minutes, and two of them came in in
just over 11 minutes. The team leader was
Abigail Hurley, who placed ninth overall
with a time of 11:15.30, and right on her
heels was Piper Harvey, who took 11th at
11:18.50.
Lilly Weer just missed the top 20,
but placed 21st overall, clocking in at
11:31.50. In 41st was Mary Hellinger in
12:03.10, and Owyhee Harguess was 45th
in 12:11.50 to round out the team’s top
fi ve.
“I had 19 girls, and they were all really
good runners,” head coach Dan Moody
said. “Every one of them pushed each
other. Just an exceptional bunch of young
ladies.”
The victory marked the conclusion of
an undefeated season for Wallowa Valley,
which won all seven races it competed in
Knapp’s season puts him in rare air in the program
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Zac
Knapp is only the third
runner from Enterprise —
and only the fourth in the
boys program — to win
an individual boys state
championship.
And head coach Dan
Moody thinks the season he
just completed — winning
every race on the way to the
3A state title — bests any
put forward in program his-
tory, including by a runner
who now has Olympic trial
experience under his belt.
“I’ve never had an unde-
feated kid — ever,” Moody
said, answering in the affi r-
mative when asked if
Knapp’s season was the best
in the program. “For boys,
he’s only my fourth state
champion.”
Knapp joined Shawn
Johnson in 1998 and David
Ribich in 2013 as the only
runners from Enterprise
to win an individual boys
title when he completed the
course at Lane Community
College in 15:52.3 on Nov.
6. Henry Coughlan, a for-
mer Joseph runner who ran
in the Wallowa Valley co-op
for three years before trans-
ferring to Crescent Valley,
won in 2019.
“I fi nally broke the curse
— the curse was a third-
place fi nish from freshman
See Knapp, Page A10
this fall. The Outlaws opened the season
by placing fi ve runners in the top 15, and
nine in the top 25, to win the seventh and
eighth grade race at the Catherine Creek
Scamper outside of Union on Sept. 10.
A week later, Wallowa Valley edged La
Grande to win the Wallowa County Invite
with half of the top 16 runners in the fi eld.
Wins at Stanfi eld, Baker and Heppner fol-
lowed, with the race in Stanfi eld one that
really showed the team’s depth.
“We had fi ve of our top 10 or 11 girls
(who) were gone at the Stanfi eld meet,
and they still won it,” Moody said. “The
Duncan named
SD2-West defensive
player of the year
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Zac Knapp, of Wallowa Valley, leads the pack at the fi rst mile
mark of the OSAA Class 3A boys cross-country championship
Saturday Nov. 6, 2021, at Lane Community College in Eugene.
Knapp won the event with a time of 15:52.3 on the 5,000-meter
course.
Wallowa County
Holiday
Gift Guide
See State, Page A10
ENTERPRISE — The
Enterprise football team’s
defense improved as the
season went along as the
Outlaws won fi ve games
and returned to the state
playoff s.
Chase Duncan played
an important role in the
process, and recently led
eight Outlaws in being
named not only a fi rst-
team linebacker, but in
being named the 1A Spe-
cial District 2 West defen-
sive player of the year.
“I was defi nitely sur-
prised. Last year I wasn’t
even starting defense,”
Duncan said. “This year,
I just stepped up a bit, I
guess. And we had a bunch
of freshmen come up, and
it made our defense way
better. Having an amazing
defense, it was super easy
for our team to make tack-
les and all that.”
He was one of seven
athletes to earn fi rst-team
all-league honors for
See Duncan, Page A10
Look for your 2021 Holiday Gift Guide
in the November 24th publication
of the Wallowa County Chieftain