Tiger CC finish 6th at state
YC boys takes full team to state, first time in two decades
For the first time in 26 years the Yamhill Carlton boys cross country sent a team to state; the Tigers took sixth overall, out-performing their season goal.
“Overall we showed up and performed,” Yamhill Carlton head cross country coach Rylan Larsen said. “Our goal was to finish in the top eight and we demolished that goal finishing in the top six.”
The Tigers finished sixth out of 48 teams at the 3A State Championship race on Nov. 9 at Lane Community College in Eugene.
“I’m really proud how they raced,” he said. “They showed up when it mattered. We were outside of the top 10 teams in coaches polls all season, so to get sixth at state is big.”
Junior Zayden Aspey led the Tigers in the grueling state course, which touts three hills and tests even a veteran runner’s mettle.
Aspey finished in eighth at 16:33.8 only seven seconds off his personal record, which he earned at the Vernonia Invite on Oct. 10.
“(Aspey) was impressive. He beat a lot of guys that had beat him throughout the season,” Larsen said. “It is a difficult course to get a PR considering the three hills runners face. Zayden raced well, starting at the back of the pack and came back to finish at the front.”
All season Larsen preached a team mantra of “start patient and finish strong.” This extends beyond just the pace of a race, but as the season as a whole.
“Starting patient in a race means not running out in front and tiring yourself out, rather being steady and passing people later in the race,” Larsen said. “Finishing strong in the season is staying healthy and improving, which the team did all season.”
Aspey exemplified the team mantra, as he started the season on Sept 7 with a time of 19:31.7 and shook off the summer rust on Sept. 11 at the County Fair Classic running 17:29.2. He ran in the 17-minute range through September and broke the 16-minute mark and earned his season PR on Oct. 10 at the Vernonia Invite with a time of 16:31.4.
Senior Louigi Etta was the second runner for the Tigers, finishing in 16th with a time of 17:02.1. Etta rounded out his high school cross country career with his fourth appearance at state.
“Louie (Etta) ran a gusty race and his goal was to get out with the leaders, but he couldn’t hold on in the end,” Larsen said. “Despite that, I’m proud of the race he ran.”
Etta also earned his season PR at Vernonia with a time of 15:59.7. Throughout the season Etta kept a steady time in the low 16-minute mark.
The next three Tigers finished in a tight grouping, rounding out the team’s scoring five.
Sophomore Chase McMullen finished at 18:37 in 55th, freshman Logan Guinn finished 61st at 18:53.9 and junior Lucas Partin finished at 19:12.5 in 67th.
Larsen said the trio was steady and consistent with their all-season performance.
“They showed up and caught all the runners they needed to and competed like they have all season,” he said.
Just behind Partin was freshmen Torsten Nordstrom in 69th with a time of 19:23.5. The freshman typically finished in the Tigers’ sixth place spot all season.
“Torsten (Nordstrom) had his best race of the season, not in ways of his time, but in his placement,” Larsen said. “I did not expect Torsten (Nordstrom) to finish so close to Lucas (Partin), because at districts there was a large gap between the runners.” However, the Cheadle Lake Park District Course is a flat fast paced run, as the hill portion of the course has been omitted the past two seasons.
“He put his nose down and went for it,” he said.
Sophomore rookie Talen Bryant finished 86th with a time of 21:47.8. His season PR was 20:38.7, which he earned at the third race of the season Ash Creek XC Festival on Sept. 14. Bryant’s times bounced around the 20- and 21-minute marks all season, depending on the course and weather conditions.
Larsen said the team’s focus at state was balancing race adrenalin while staying patient at the first hill.
“People want to bomb hill and end up burning their energy,” he said. “So, we wanted to start with a slow pace for the first hill, as the people around you will come back to you on the next hill.”
The Tigers hit hill training early in the season with an emphasis on longer hills in order to build up strength.
Larsen said at the Northwest Classic on Sept. 21 he could see that the team was not equipped for the hills, and so, he changed workout plans to add more hills and more fast hill strides and length work. This was hard in the beginning, but runners adapted and grew stronger.
Larsen has coached Tiger cross country for three seasons and the direction the program is going of stewarding a love for running excites him. It reminds him of when he fell in love with the sport in high school.
The team has already talked about racking up winter miles, coming out for track and inviting friends to come out for cross country.
“Having Louie (Etta) graduated will be a huge blow to the team, but I’m excited to see what our underclassmen do,” Larsen said.
The Tigers girls did not advance to state, but the team did see an increase of four girls, growing from two to six. This was the largest team in three years. Unfortunately, due to health issues and other school priorities, the team dropped down to four runners in the season, which harmed the teams scoring.
Larsen is hopeful that girls program will grow next season and in the coming years.
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