Philomath High senior Adele Beckstead and junior Leo Pausch had top-five performances Wednesday afternoon in a rare midweek meet.
Competing in the County Fair Classic near Veneta, Beckstead covered the 5-kilometer course in 19:03.7 for third place. Also finishing in the top 10 were freshman Cassidy Smart in eighth with a time of 19:57.2 and senior Hallie Morrison in 10th with a 20:04.1.
Hosted by Elmira High School, the course features “countless unique handmade whimsical structures built into the forest trails” as described by organizers. A local designs the course each year with the intent of giving runners new experiences each time.
Rounding out the PHS girls team score were performances by freshman Reagan Nuno (17th, 21:12.7) and junior Lucy King (18th, 21:24.9). The McDaniel twins also ran on varsity with Hanna in 22nd (22:02.9) and Brooke in 30th (22:29.4).
The Warriors settled for runner-up in the team standings behind Class 5A Crescent Valley. The Raiders tallied 37 points to Philomath’s 54. Nine full squads and various individuals competed. Crescent Valley had a 1-2 finish with senior Emily Wisniewski winning in 18:36.4 and junior Lillian Weiss taking second in 18:58.3.
For the boys, only three boys ran varsity with Pausch placing fourth in 16:41.8. Sophomore Galen Murch finished 28th in 18:15.6 and senior JJ Lewis came in 30th with an 18:15.7. The Warriors did not qualify for the team standings.
In the junior varsity races, sophomore Ava Panico finished second overall in 23:53.7 for the girls. Baylee Stewart (ninth, 25:30.7) and junior Syd Cothern (10th, 25:32.5) also had top-10 times. Senior Seth Wood was the top JV boy with 36th in 21:54.2.
Philomath will compete again Saturday at the Stayton Invitational. The competition is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with middle school races and continue with JV races at 10 a.m. and varsity races at 11 a.m. (girls) and 11:45 a.m. (boys). The meet takes place at the nature trails near Stayton Middle School.
