Philomath High cross-country senior Adele Beckstead completed a perfect run through the CG Bramble Scramble Saturday afternoon by winning the meet for the fourth straight year.
Beckstead’s finish helped the Warriors claim the meet’s team title with 33 points to easily outdistance runner-up Bend with 64. Philomath had three runners place in the top 10 with Beckstead winning in 20:17.4, freshman Cassidy Smart placing third in 20:51.7 and senior Melea Lattin finishing 10th in 21:55.2.
Freshman Reagan Nuno and senior Kateri Pindell had top 20 performances in the race. Nuno was 16th in 22:36.0 and Pindell finished 20th in 23:25.4. The McDaniel twins were 28th and 45th, respectively, with Hanna (24:20.0) and Brooke (25:42.2).
Varsity runners Hallie Morrison and Lucy King did not compete in the meet.
Beckstead won during her freshman season in 21:08.0 by 44 seconds over teammate Ingrid Hellesto. As a sophomore, she conquered the course in 20:37.7 by 21 seconds over a Phoenix runner. And last year as a junior, Beckstead was the winner in 20:23.9 by just under 20 seconds faster than teammate Ana Candanoza.
This year’s race turned out to be the closest of her four years at the meet with Sweet Home freshman Emma Whitton challenging. Beckstead won by less than 1 second.
Incidentally, Philomath High’s girls won the team title at the meet all four of those years.
For the boys, coach Joe Fulton did not enter a boys team in the varsity race. Cottage Grove senior Carter Bengtson took first on his home course in 16:06.0. The Lions competed in last week’s Paul Mariman Invite in Philomath but Bengtson didn’t compete because of illness.
In the junior varsity competition, Philomath junior Mason Stevens placed third in 19:54.4. Philomath did not enter a JV girls team.
The Warriors will next compete in a midweek meet in Corvallis. Called the Happy Hustle, the event at Crystal Lake Sports Park begins at 4 p.m. with JV races to be followed at 5:10 p.m. by the varsity races.
The teams will then take a 10-day break from competition to gear up for the Oregon West Conference Championships, which will be staged Nov. 2 at Philomath.
