Philomath senior Leo Pausch and sophomore Cassidy Smart dominated their races Saturday at the Oregon West Conference Championships, leading both Philomath cross-country teams to conference titles and berths in next weekend’s state meet.
Pausch won the boys race in 16:06.41 while Smart claimed the girls title in 18:14.16 on the Paul Mariman Memorial Cross-Country Course.
Gallery: PHS cross-country at OWC Championships (Nov. 1, 2025)
A collection of boys and girls cross-country photos from the Oregon Conference Championships on Saturday.
The Philomath boys won their first conference championship since 2022 while the girls captured their 13th consecutive conference crown. Both teams will compete at the OSAA 4A State Championships on Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene with the boys race scheduled for 11:45 a.m. and the girls at 12:20 p.m.
The Warriors held off a strong challenge from Newport and Stayton to win the boys team title with 45 points. Newport finished second with 54 points and Stayton third with 56. All three teams qualified for state, with the Warriors and Cubs earning automatic berths and the Eagles advancing as a wildcard.
“Before the race, I told them that the team title was going to be decided in the second loop, not the first loop, so get into a groove and then go after people in the second loop,” Philomath coach Joe Fulton.
Fulton’s strategy proved prescient. After the first loop, Stayton held a commanding lead, but the Warriors rallied on the second circuit while the Eagles faded.
“I was thinking we’ve got a lot of making up to do because Stayton was clobbering everybody,” Fulton said. “But our kids moved up, Stayton moved back and Newport stayed in there. It turned out to be very close.”
Pausch seized control early and never looked back. He nearly achieved his goal of breaking 16 minutes but said he’s satisfied with the victory.
“I was hoping to be sub-16 today but I was also expecting it to be more contested,” Pausch said. “To be honest, I thought it was going to be me and (Newport junior Avery) Chandler up in the front battling it out but I just took the lead 200 meters into the race and decided to try to go for the win from there.”
The senior navigated some tricky turns on the rain-soaked course, nearly wiping out a couple times, but his early lead gave him room to be cautious.
“That was another reason why I was thankful to be so far out ahead because I could be a little more careful around the turns and not worry too much about losing position,” he said.
PHS senior Lukas Hernandez finished fourth in 16:47.81, junior Galen Murch placed eighth in 17:15.25, junior Cam Herbert took 13th in 18:04.89, and freshman Braeden Colvin rounded out the scoring with a 19th-place finish in 18:18.47.
The boys qualified for state for the 41st time in the past 42 years.
Smart leads girls to another title
Smart continued her stellar sophomore campaign, though her streak of setting personal records in every race came to an end. Her time of 18:14.16 was less than 2 seconds off her PR.
“When I was on the track, I did not feel like I could go any faster,” Smart said of the final stretch on Clemens Field. “But it was fine.”
The significant cushion she had over second-place Mckenzie Miller of Sweet Home helped ease any concerns. Smart crossed the finish line well ahead of the pack.
Like Pausch, Smart had to navigate a slippery section of the course.
“There was one spot when you’re going into the trees and everyone was slipping,” Smart said. “I just had to slow down at that part.”
Sophomore Reagan Nuño finished fifth in 20:06.59, freshman Sienna Bushnell took sixth in 20:10.61, sophomore Libby Kramer placed eighth in 20:42.32 and junior Pyper Rutland completed the scoring with a 15th-place finish in 21:56.40.
The Warriors totaled 33 points to easily outdistance Stayton (49) and Sweet Home (66). The girls qualified for state for the 43rd time in the past 45 years.
Fulton praised his team’s depth, noting that only two runners returned from last year’s squad that lost six seniors, four of whom were all-state.
“They’re basically a brand new team,” he said. “We lost six seniors — four of them were all-state — and then the two girls that didn’t come out that were all-state as well. So we only had two returning runners from last year and for them to win again and actually have a chance to get a trophy at state says a lot about them.”
The team did receive some concerning news when No. 5 runner Lucy Thomas was forced to drop out for the second consecutive week due to hyperventilating. If Thomas cannot compete at state, senior Syd Cothern, who placed fourth in the junior varsity race in 25:09.34, will step in.
Looking ahead to state meet
Both Pausch and Smart enter the state meet with high hopes for a strong finish to the season.
Pausch has the fastest time in 4A at 15:10.5, ahead of Marshfield senior Jaxson Stovall (15:17.7) and Marist Catholic junior Corbin Sage (15:24.6). However, both Sage and Stovall have beaten Pausch this season at the Country Fair Classic, and Sage also finished ahead of him at the Rose City Championship Invite.
“I’ve never beaten Corbin Sage but Saturday’s got to be the day to do it,” Pausch said.
Smart leads the girls’ field with her time of 18:12.5, with five other runners clustered between 18:25.3 and 18:31.7. She’s targeting a top-three finish.
“I think we had a lot better chance of going to state than maybe people gave us credit for,” Pausch said of the boys team. “I think we’re one of the top teams in the state and have a chance to get a trophy.”
Fulton echoed that confidence for both squads.
“Leo and Cassidy both went into the race intending to completely dominate and they did,” he said. “Now they’ll go to state next week as one of the favorites in their races. They may not be No. 1 but they’re going to be fighting for No. 1. I’d say Leo’s among the top three and Cassidy’s probably top two in the state.”
The Warriors earned multiple all-conference honors Saturday. For the boys, Pausch and Hernandez made the first team while Murch and Herbert earned second-team recognition. On the girls side, Smart, Nuño and Bushnell made the first team with Kramer on the second team.
“It’s another incentive for the kids when you tell them that if you finish in the top 14, you’re going to make all-league — we had two runners that just missed first team,” Fulton said, referring to eight-place finishers Kramer and Murch.
As the teams prepare for Eugene, Fulton plans to keep his lineups intact while fine-tuning their approach.
“We’ll mostly rest and fine tune a few things, especially our finishing kick, and then we’ll talk about strategy,” he said.
Oregon West Conference Championships
Saturday, Nov. 1 at Philomath HS
BOYS
Team scoring: 1, Philomath 45; 2, Newport 54; 3, Stayton 56; 4, Sweet Home 69; 5, Cascade 139.
PHS varsity results: 1, Leo Pausch, 16:06.41; 4, Lukas Hernandez, 16:47.81; 8, Galen Murch, 17:15.25; 13, Cam Herbert, 18:04.89; 19, Braeden Colvin, 18:18.47; 21, Oakley Pausch, 18:39.53; 26, Sammy Hernandez, 18:50.84.
JV results: 1, 5, Cameron Barlow, 19:23.24; 7, Milo Morrison, 19:37.81; 9, Everett Ferguson, 20:12.02; 10, Caelan Kreps, 20:13.12; 15, Mika Laukkanen Raskauskas, 20:42.17; 23, Rex Sederlin, 21:38.39; 27, Abisani Navarette, 21:54.13; 30, Nico Mayo, 23:05.92; 32, Wyatt Coen, 24:08.16.
GIRLS
Team scoring: 1, Philomath 33; 2, Stayton 49; 3, Sweet Home 66; 4, Newport 83.
PHS varsity results: 1, Cassidy Smart, 18:14.16; 5, Reagan Nuño, 20:06.59; 6, Sienna Bushnell, 20:10.61; 8, Libby Kramer, 20:42.32; 15, Pyper Rutland, 21:56.40; 20, Ava Panico, 23:16.79.
JV results: 4, Syd Cothern, 25:09.34; 5, Addie Kowalewski, 25:19.11.
For complete meet results, click here