SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
S ENIOR
TRIO TAKES LAST RUN AT
B Y S TAN P USIESKI
Special to Siuslaw News
Sierra Potter, Mikaela Siegel
and Tyler Williams have much
in common, as bright 17-year-
old seniors at Siuslaw High
School with the goal of one day
entering a medical field.
Saturday, they will share one
last run in the annual Lake
Woahink
Cross
Country
Invitational at Honeyman State
Park.
“There’s nothing better than
running with a bunch of people
cheering for you,” Vikings
coach Chris Johnson said.
“We’ve normally had some
good performances every year.
The kids get excited about run-
ning in front of their home
folks.”
It will be the third Woahink
for Potter, fifth for Williams
and sixth for Siegel, who have
each run it at least once at the
3,000-meter
middle-school
level and the 5,000-meter high-
school standard.
“It’s fun to run in front of
everyone, and it’s a nice
course,” Siegel said. “I’ve run
Woahink a million times. You
know the course, and it’s really
familiar to your body.”
Johnson, meet director as
ATHLETE
OF THE
WEEK
Preston Mitchell
well as coach, believes the
course is among the finest in
the state.
“From a cross-country run-
ner’s perspective, it has some
open field, it has some single-
track trail, even a bale of hay or
two,” he said. “It’s the variety.
The lakes. The peninsulas. It’s
beautiful.”
Williams loves the course,
too, but doesn’t seem to share
his coach’s enthusiasm for the
trail and the hay.
“Some parts it’s super nar-
row,” he said. “It’s kind of
annoying when you try to pass
someone. And there are the five
or six hay bales you have to
jump.”
And then there are the fierce
competitors.
“I remember running down
the hill and this girl like push-
ing me off the course,” Potter
said. “But it’s fun. Woahink is a
really good course, and they
put a lot into it.”
Forecast for Saturday is
sunny weather, temperatures in
the upper 60s and a big crowd.
“Normally the weather is
really good the weekend of the
Woahink,” Johnson said. “It
brings a lot of people. The park
is packed. It’s pretty awesome.”
Schools entered include
Siuslaw’s Far West League
rivals North Bend and
Brookings-Harbor.
Other schools: Bandon,
Churchill, Coquille, Elmira,
Mohawk, Monroe, Newport,
Oakland, Pacific, Philomath,
Reedsport, Roseburg, South
Eugene, Sutherlin, Toledo,
West Linn, Willamette and
Yoncalla.
Girls defending champion
Sailor Hutton is expected to
resume her rivalry with good
friend Celie Mans, a junior at
Siuslaw. Hutton won last year
as a freshman at Bandon in 19
minutes, 49.04 seconds, while
Mans was second in 20:19.53.
Hutton and Mans met earlier
this season at the North Bend
W OAHINK S ATURDAY
STAN PUSIESKI/FOR SIUSLAW NEWS
Siuslaw senior cross country runners Sierra Potter, Mikaela Siegel and Tyler Williams will compete in their final Woahink
Invitational this Saturday at the East Woahink Day Use Area.
Tugman Invitational, again fin-
ishing 1-2.
Other
Siuslaw
entries
include Morgan Bingham,
Lainey Goss, Kaeli Ramos,
Trinity Ramos and Destinie
Tatum.
The top three boys finishers
last year were seniors, includ-
ing champion Seth Campbell of
Siuslaw.
Siuslaw’s varsity entries
include Murray Bingham, Sean
Burns, Isaac Griffes, Kyle
King, Jack Pickell and
Williams. Pickell is running his
first race of the season after
recovering from an injury.
Senior moments
at Woahink:
• Threat of high winds forced
officials to cancel the 2013
Woahink race, which would
have been the sophomore sea-
son for Potter, Siegel and
Williams.
Sierra Potter:
Ran Woahink in Grades 6
and 11. Finished 20th in
22:29.69 in 2014.
“I’m in good shape but I
could always be better. I’m just
going to run. I’m looking more
toward the end of the season.”
On coach Johnson: “He
inspires me to work as hard as I
can every day at practice.”
Johnson on Potter: “Sierra’s
a super-talented distance run-
ner. She has just fought
whether or not she wants to run.
She’s been the kind of kid that,
at the end of the season and in
the biggest races, she comes
through for us.”
Mikaela Siegel:
Ran Woahink in Grades 6, 7,
8, 9, 11. Finished 47th in
25:01.77 in 2014.
“My strategy is to run fast. I
Siuslaw
H.S.
just give my best in all the
races.”
On coach Johnson: “He’s
been (coaching) awhile. He’s a
smart guy, and he’s got it fig-
ured out.”
Johnson
on
Siegel:
“Mikaela's a hurdler and a
jumper and a (future) heptath-
lete maybe in track and field.
She can do it all. She’s just the
consummate
hard-working
team kind of kid.”
Tyler Williams:
Ran Woahink in Grades 7, 8,
9, 11. Finished 20th in 21:10.55
in 2014 in junior varsity race.
“There’s something about
Woahink that’s really neat. It’s
kind of special. My strategy is
to not start off too fast. I’ve
been trying to stay with Isaac
Griffes and Kyle King, because
they’re some of our faster run-
ners.”
Viks
from 1B
Football
The senior quarterback
ran the ball 14 times for
111 yards and two
touchdowns in last
week’s 35-13 non-
league victory over
Hidden Valley. Mitchell
also snared two inter-
ceptions.
Kid’s Leagues Forming Now!
It’s Not too Late to Sign Up and Join the Fun
High School Bowling Team
Signup at Holiday Bowl or at SHS
Honorable Mention
Junior League
Reese Siegel
Honorable mention is
given to senior tight end
Reese
Siegel
who
caught one pass in the
same game for a
61-yard touchdown.
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Mustangs’ touchdown pass
with seven seconds to go
before the half.
It was the closest Hidden
Valley would get to the
Vikings’ end zone until the
final seconds of the game.
In the meantime, Siuslaw
continued to build its lead with
a strong defense that made the
most of its opportunities.
Early in the third quarter,
what had been a scoreless
drive for the Viks led to a punt
that began with a bad snap
over
Thrall’s
head.
Scrambling, Thrall was able to
get it off, with the ball deflect-
ed off of the Mustangs’ receiv-
er once again.
Mitchell later scored on a
25-yard run that put Siuslaw
ahead 21-7 after Thrall’s third
PAT of the night.
Six minutes later, the
Vikings completed an 11-play,
92-yard drive that sent junior
Cade Clawson across the goal
line for a three-touchdown
lead — and the Viks’ 28th
unanswered point.
On coach Johnson: “Johnson
is crazy about running. He
wants us to do well. He’s really
motivational.”
Johnson on Williams:
“Tyler had some success on
the track last spring, and he's
been able to take some of that
momentum into cross country.
He’s started to look better in
workouts, and starting to get
some confidence. He’s fighting
for a varsity spot, one of the top
seven. That’s his challenge, and
I’m looking forward to seeing
him grow.”
Retired sportswriter Stan
Pusieski writes exclusively for
the Siuslaw News and his web-
site, ExplodingWhaleSports.
com. Follow him on Twitter
@SportsWhale. Email him at
explodingwhalesports@gmail.
com.
For it’s final touchdown of the
game, Siuslaw returned to the
air, capping a five-play, 72-yard
series with a 61-yard TD recep-
tion by junior Reese Siegel.
With 16 seconds remaining in
the game, the Mustangs ended
the Viks’ 35-point rout on a 15-
yard touchdown for the final
score, 35-13, after Hidden
Valley’s extra point attempt
failed.
Mitchell led rushing with 14
carries for 123 yards, including
two touchdowns. Thrall had 86
yards on 12 carries, including a
30-yard touchdown. Clawson
had 44 yards on 13 carries, with
a 1-yard touchdown run and a
first down.
Gordon had 33 yards on two
catches, Siegel had a 61-yard
reception for a touchdown, and
Evan Teter had a 13-yard recep-
tion for the Viks.
Thrall was 5-for-5 in PATs.
The win bumped Siuslaw,
now 3-0 in preseason play, up
from 20th to 10th in the OSAA’s
4A rankings — two spots above
the previously No. 4-ranked
Mustangs.
Friday, Siuslaw will open the
league season at home, hosting
South Umpqua.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at
Hans Petersen Memorial Field.
It’s not like him.
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