MONMOUTH — On a picturesque Ash Creek Preserve cross-country course at Western Oregon University, runners from 26 schools came together Friday evening to warm up for their coming seasons with a 3-kilometer race.
Philomath High School has competed in the meet, hosted by Central High and appropriately named The Opener, for the past two seasons. Fourteen boys and 12 girls participated in the varsity and junior varsity races.
Gallery: PHS cross-country at The Opener (Aug. 30, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s cross-country team at The Opener in Monmouth on Friday.
Among those running for the Warriors — a pair of hard-working PHS juniors in Ana Candanoza and Leo Pausch. Each has experienced a level of success in the sport and, like their teammates, are striving to reach greater heights this fall.
Cross-country obviously comes with physical demands but it can also be a mental exercise. Candanoza and Pausch were asked about that side of the sport.
“When I’m actually running, I think about the people in front of me … and how I want to get up there,” Candanoza said. “And then I think about being done … the faster I run, the faster it’s over because it does suck when you’re actually out there running so hard.”
Candanoza said she also runs with her teammates in mind. Finishing high in the results helps the team’s point total, of course, and Philomath is on a quest this fall to win the school’s 10th state title in girls cross-country.
Pausch took his running seriously over the summer while spending time in Kentucky with relatives. During races, he concentrates on his own performance to try to reach an acceptable time.
“I know if I can keep good form and good pace, I’ll get the right time I need,” Pausch said. “It’s just focusing on getting on the balls of your feet and keeping the cadence up — how many times you step up — and just keeping focus on what you want from the race to give you the results you need.”
Remaining entirely in training mode during a race does come with its challenges. It seems natural that a person’s mind will wander during a run.
“Sometimes it’s hard to separate it and focus on what you need to do but you just have to trust yourself and the inner training that you will and can do what you need to do,” he said.
Pausch said he was running 50 miles a week over the summer to come into this season in the best shape possible.
“It’s almost twice what I was doing last summer,” he said. “I’m really trying to just maximize my running and give myself the best shot at success that I can.”
Many long-distance runners reach what many refer to as a “runner’s high.” Definitions of this physical reaction to the body suggest a brief, intense feeling of euphoria and bliss.
“Scientifically, you run and your body is in pain and your body releases endorphins and ‘painkillers’ but for me, it’s just feeling satisfied that you go out every day and do something successful with your life,” Pausch said when asked if he’s experienced it. “For me, I know I’m doing well in the sport and I’m just happy to be doing it. I love the sport and I want to continue doing it as long as I can.”
Candanoza said she typically doesn’t experience a runner’s high during races “just because it’s just so hard” with her lungs feeling like they may explode.
“Occasionally in races you’ll have moments where it feels good and then you’re like ‘I can do this,’” she said.
Reaching the moment can happen during workouts.
“When you’re training, like on long runs, you’ll reach a certain point where it’s just like, ‘oh, this is nice’ and you just feel better,” Candanoza said.
Beyond that zone, however, runners can also experience a release of whatever stress that might be going on in their lives.
“It’s nice to just get out there and you’re running and it does reduce your stress,” Candanoza said. “You’re out there exercising and you just think and you process stuff.”
Pausch said he can feel stress beginning to build if he goes too many days without running.
“I know when I don’t run for multiple days, like if I take a break at the end of the season, I get frustrated and stressed,” he said. “I’m not necessarily directed toward that but I just feel worse in total. So, yeah, distance running just relieves all sorts of pressures and stress and clears your head.”
The Opener’s 3-kilometer course at Western Oregon and next week’s Ultimook Race on a course with river crossings and a mud pit help cross-country runners ease into the season with a couple of fun events.
“Absolutely, that’s why they have them at the start of the season,” Pausch said. “You have a 3K where you just kind of go balls out and it doesn’t really matter, it’s a 3K, and then next week, it’s running in the mud, in the rivers. So you just kind of warm up to it and you’re not necessarily putting everything you have into it. You’re just kind of warming up to the season.”
Candanoza said the events are fun but she’s also looking to just settle down into a more regular dual-sport routine. In addition to cross-country, she’s been involved in two-a-day soccer practices.
“I’ve had two hard weeks with daily doubles and then the jamboree yesterday (Thursday) and so I’m like super exhausted,” Candanoza said, but added that she feels like the 3K race “went really well even with all of that underlying stuff.”
Philomath’s girls won the meet handily with 39 points. Runner-up Corvallis had 91 points and Banks was third with 100. For the boys, Corvallis took first place with 62 points followed by Sherwood with 71 and Banks with 105. The Warrior boys placed fifth among the 17 schools that had full teams with 156 points.
Individually, Banks junior Sophie Schoolmeester took first place in the girls’ race with a time of 10:32.61. Philomath junior Adele Beckstead stuck with her much of the way but had to settle for second in 10:38.31. Candanoza was fifth with a time of 11:21.00 and freshman Cassidy Smart in her first-ever high school competition was eighth in 11:30.16. Senior Hallie Morrison finished 12th in 11:36.30 and senior Melea Lattin was 15th in 11:40.88.
Junior Lukas Hernandez had the top performance in the boys’ race with a time of 9:11.72 and Pausch was 15th in 9:17.86. The rest of the team included sophomore Jacob Hernandez (46th, 10:08.96), sophomore Galen Murch (51st, 10:15.96), senior JJ Lewis (56th, 10:24.92) and junior Mason Stevens (78th, 10:51.46). There were 132 runners in the varsity boys race. Central junior Ty Cirino was the overall winner with a time of 8:30.49.
In the JV races, Philomath dominated the girls with all seven of its runners finishing in the top 11. Freshman Reagan Nuno pulled away from teammate junior Lucy King in the final stretch to win in 12:12.54. For the JV boys, freshman Samuel Hernandez was Philomath’s top finisher in 21st with a time of 11:34.09.
The Ultimook is scheduled for Sept. 7 at the Hydrangea Ranch near Tillamook. Philomath’s varsity squads will run at 11:30 a.m. (girls) and 12:15 p.m. (boys). The full day of races also includes junior varsity competitions — the 1A-4A athletes will run at 10 a.m. (girls) and 10:45 a.m. (boys).
