Amity, Y-C, Mac battle in cross country meet
Picturesque as it was to run through the spectacular scenery, the course tested the mettle of all runners with its up-and-down nature. A signature of the course is the rising section toward the end, leaving virtually all runners gassed racing to the finish line.
Yamhill-Carlton:
The boys’ team finished great at the Amity event as Dylan Schmidt and Dylan Duckwork went head-to-head for first and second in the varsity event. Andrew Doran, third, meant the Tigers sweep. Ian Diaz finished eighth for the Tigers and Brett Fox rounded out the scoring with a 21st place.
Schmidt finished with a 18:30.42 time on the demanding course, while Duckworth and Doran battled for the second place spot, finishing a third of a second apart. Duckwork’s time was 19:23.68 and Doran had 19:23.96.
The girls’ team displayed even stronger performances. They didn’t record a team score due to the absence of one member due to illness. Nevertheless, Kate Gomes set a personal record while winning the varsity event in 24:01.43.
The Tigers occupied fourth, fifth and sixth places as well. Grace Armstrong was fourth, with a personal best, Marlee Roberts fifth, and Morgan DeHaven, also with a personal best, was sixth.
Coach Shiloh Ficek described how pleased he was with the performance. “Both the boys and girls have been working hard and have been super competitive at all our meets this year. Right now we have our eye on Oregon Western Conference Cross Country Championship on October 29, 2016 which will be held at Yamhill Carlton.
“We hope to run well enough to qualify for the state meet. Running the district meet on our home track will certainly be a bonus for the team. We have been running on many difficult courses at the beginning of the season. We hope in ending our season on faster courses that we will see some personal bests and earn that berth in the state tournament,” he said.
Amity:
Amity, too, had a strong performance at its home meet. The Warriors saw a strong finish from the boys’ team, while the girls ran without a full contingent.
The boys scored a fifth, sixth and seventh place finish for its lead runners. Daniel Mather led the boys with a 20:05.69 performance. He was followed by Edmund Williams, .22 seconds behind at the tape. Aaron Runion was seventh.
Jacob Walker finished 14th and Drew McMullen, Rene Zschoche, and Garrett Johnson were 16-18 in the race.
Karina Meza and Eleonor Alba placed second and third in the girls’ race.
Amity Coach Randy Hayes said, “This is a good race for our team to get a little experience on a hilly course and build some endurance. I think this will pay dividends to us as we prepare for the district (and hopefully) the state meet.”
McMinnville:
McMinnville used the Amity event to give members practice as it was SAT weekend with many unable to race.
McMinnville’s varsity boys’ team consisted of five seniors and two sophomores. Though it finished third behind Y-C and Amity, they ran rough on the tough course.
Said Vic Downs, “I was pleased that our kids ran this meet. It was really tough and they will never forget it. We also had some laughs after the race as we reflected on the craziness of that hill combination.”
The girls’ team included those brought from the jayvees level for experience with advanced competition. Freshman Emma Jager ran in her first event and finished eighth overall and was the lead runner for McMinnville.
Also finishing for McMinnville were Hope Smothers, Destiny Kramer, Meta Erdmann, Lilia Hinds, Chloe Baughman and Alisa Howell. Although they lacked a great deal of experience, all finished, and Downs said, “The hills really burned but our girls handled it very well and I am very proud of their tenacity in finishing a difficult course.”
Saturday the Grizzlies raced at the Harrier Classic at Bryant Park in Albany. Downs termed it a quick course.McMinnville’s boys finished third, led by Zane Fodge who earned a first overall in an unchallenged contest. Michael Abeyta finished 38th of 249 runners. Cody Brown was 58th and Miles Skene ran a personal best with a 60th overall finish.
David Chupp was 67th, while another personal best was turned in by Arel Espinoza at 72th.
Mac’s girls’ team also had a positive meet, finishing fifth, but according to Downs racing in a tougher field than the boys. McMinnville missed a trophRunning on exhausted legs, Ally Legard finished fifth, the Grizzlies top score, with a personal best. Also turning in personal bests were Parker Rollins, and Emily Cinnamon.
Maddie Rollins finished in 29th and Downs noted, “ We can always count on her to run solid, on tired or fresh legs...it doesn’t matter.” Other finishers included Alyssa Moreland, Grace Bliven and Parker Rollins,
Freshman Kaylani Kam ran varsity for McMinnville, once again finishing 99.
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