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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2019)
A8 FRIDAY September 27, 2019 Fall Sports SeasideSignal.com Seaside is host school for largest West Coast meet By GARY HENLEY Seaside Signal W ARRENTON — A total of 2,247 runners from 93 dif- ferent schools and running clubs, all celebrating the sport of cross-country. That’s how it was Sept. 21 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 races. It takes the better part of Saturday and most of the available parking spots. This year, 1,993 runners fi nished their respec- tive race, and the thousands of spectators went home happy, wherever that home happened to be — Oregon, Washington, 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- ing a special partner this year. It’s the fi rst 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 of 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 fi ve 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 number of schools, which is usually up around 100 (Branson always aims for 101, for CLOCKWISE, FROM UPPER LEFT Seaside’s Maksym Matviyenko runs the Easy course at the 3-Course Challenge. Fernando Dzul-Fisher, Seaside cross country runner, nears the fi nish line of the 3-Course Challenge. Emmit Douglas, a blind runner from Timberline High School, runs with his guide, Timberline teacher Jamie Sullivan. Behind the two is Knappa runner Emily Larsen. Two Seaside runners are all decked out in school colors for the 3-Course Challenge. 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 fi nish- ers. I’m guessing 2,087.” He was close. The unoffi cial number of fi nishers was 1,993. And the unoffi cial 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 fi nish 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 fi fth out of 319 runners, fi nishing 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 fi nished 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. Iredale WARRENTON — It took a runner from north of the border to fi nally fi nish ahead of Knappa’s Robert Piña-Morton. Ilwaco sophomore Daniel Quintana was the individual winner of the var- sity boys’ race Tuesday, in the annual “Warrenton Wreck Race,” held on the beach and the trails near the Peter Ire- dale Shipwreck. The event is Oregon high school cross-country’s western-most race, with a good part of the course on the beach. Quintana jumped to an early lead and fi nished well ahead of the Knappa senior, who had won his previous two races. On the plus side for the Loggers — who were running their fourth meet in 10 days — the Knappa boys secured another team championship. Knappa fi nished with 26 team points, in front of Ilwaco (70), Seaside (73), Warrenton (85) and Rainier (95). Logger coach Stan Sporseen did not have the team totals as of Tuesday night, but said, “I only know we were team champs,” he said. “I’m really happy with how our (runners) 3-6 are closing the gap on Isaiah (Rodriguez) and Robert,” who fi nished third and second, respec- tively, behind Quintana. “For a bunch of scrawny freshmen and sophomores, they are competing well,” he said, adding, “Quintana is one fast young man.” Quintana fi nished the 5,000 meters in 17 minutes, 59.7 seconds, with Piña-Morton second in 18:44.6, fol- lowed by Rodriguez (19:08), and a pair of Seaside runners, Luis Moreno and Cole Jervis. After that, three Knappa runners: sophomore Shane McMahan and fresh- men Finn Corcoran and Clay Keyser. Forrest Cooley (10th) was Warren- ton’s top runner. For the Knappa girls, Emily Larsen ran her best race of the year (eighth, 25:23), while senior Gina Limon of Clatskanie was the winner in the girls’ varsity race, a large part of which took place in a downpour. Limon cruised to the victory in 22:56.9, well ahead of Ilwaco’s Estella Sheldon (23:48.8), followed by Chloe Crawford of Rainier and Warrenton senior Kaisa Liljenwall (24:35.8). Ilwaco runners Alex Carper and Taz- lina Thomas were fi fth and sixth, respec- tively, with Seaside sophomore Elise Seppa seventh in 25:16.8. Ilwaco scored the team victory with 31 points, over Rainier (53), Warrenton (61) and Seaside (75). Gary Henley/Seaside Signal The fi eld of 316 runners takes off for the start of the boys’ easy course. SPORTS SHORTS ATHLETES OF THE WEEK CROSS-COUNTRY Seaside boys bounce back against St. Helens The Seaside boys soccer team bounced back from its only loss of the season with a 4-1 victory Thursday night, Sept. 19, at St. Helens. Seaside was coming off a 6-0 loss to Oregon Episcopal, the No. 1-ranked team at the 3A/2A/1A level. Gladstone blanks Seaside, 34-0 Gladstone rolled up 387 yards in total offense, and held Sea- side to just 76, as the Gladiators scored a 34-0 win over the Gulls in a nonleague football game Fri- day night. Gladstone also had 17 fi rst 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 this week, Friday vs. Astoria at CMH Field. SCOREBOARD GIRLS BOYS Layla Varozza, Broadway MS James Roehr, Broadway MS In two cross-country meets last week, the seventh grader at Broadway won the middle school race of the Warrenton “Wreck Race,” near the Peter Iredale shipwreck. She ran the 3,000 meters in 13:24, and fi nished ahead of 60 other runners. In the 3-Course Challenge four days later, Varozza was 28th out of 144 runners in the middle school race, fi nishing in 12:29. An eighth grader, Roehr placed second out of 78 runners in the Warrenton “Wreck Race,” running the 3,000 meters in 12:04. Later in the week, Roehr ran in the 3-Course Challenge middle school race, and fi nished ninth out of 190 runners, covering the course in 10:54. 3-Course Challenge Girls Middle School (3,000m) 1, Elle Thomas, Whisper Run- ning, 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 Easy Course (4,500m) 1, Olive Nye, Bend, 17:11 2, Emily Van Valkenburg, East- lake, 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 34, Josh Brown, Seaside, 17:04 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 Warrenton Wreck Race Girls team: Ilwaco 31, Rainier 53, Warrenton 61, Seaside 75. Top 10 Individual: Gina Limon, Cla, 22:56. 2, Estella Sheldon, Ilw, 23:48. 3, Chloe Crawford, Rai, 23:54. 4, Kaisa Liljenwall, War, 24:35. 5, Alex Carper, Ilw, 24:56. 6, Tazlina Thomas, Ilw, 25:15. 7, Elise Seppa, Sea, 25:16. 8, Emily Larson, Kna, 25:23. 9, Tori Rehnert, War, 25:26. 10, Nisa Mendoza, Ilw, 25:28. Boys team: Knappa 26, Ilwaco 70, Seaside 73, Warrenton 85, Rainier 95. Top 10 Individual: 1, Dan- iel Quintana, Ilw, 17:59. 2, Rob- ert Piña-Morton, Kna, 18:44. 3, Isaiah Rodriguez, Kna, 19:08. 4, Luis Moreno, Sea, 20:49. 5, Cole Jervis, Sea, 21:00. 6, Shane McMahan, Kna, 21:05. 7, Finn Corcoran, Kna, 21:37. 8, Clay Keyser, Kna, 21:40. 9, Everett Rollins, Sea, 21:42. 10, Forrest Cooley, War, 21:44.7. 11, Ethan Smalley, Kna, 21:44.7. Middle School girls: Astoria 21, Scappoose 48, Broadway 66, Rainier 101. 1, Layla Varozza, Broadway, 13:24 2, Keira Long, Astoria, 13:49 3, Soleil Rathmell-Stokes, Asto- ria, 14:07 4, Signe Rickenbach, Astoria, 14:23 5, Kaylee Perdue, Astoria, 14:32 Middle School boys: Astoria 20, Scappoose 62, Broadway 89, Rainier 102, Ilwaco 111, Warren- ton 178, Neah-Kah-Nie 181 1, Andy Wintersteen, Astoria, 11:54 2, James Roehr, Broadway, 12:04 3, Quin Gohr, Astoria, 12:08 4, William Laman, Astoria, 12:27 5, Owen Williams, Astoria, 12:30
