EUGENE — Philomath junior Leo Pausch had high expectations heading into the Class 4A State Championships in Eugene.
Through his first two seasons as a varsity cross-country runner, Pausch came close but had never been able to crack the top 15 in the season’s grand finale. With a strict training program during the offseason and a productive mindset while out on the course, he developed the types of skills needed for success at a high level.
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On the 5-kilometer course Saturday at Lane Community College, Pausch placed fifth individually and helped the Warriors to sixth in the team standings.
“Leo said before the race that he’s going to finish in the top five,” PHS coach Joe Fulton said. “He was third when he hit the track but Leo’s more of a marathon-type runner, he’s not a sprinter, so a couple of guys caught him before the finish. But I expected Leo to finish high like that.”
Pausch said his plan was to stick close to the lead pack and stay with them until just the right time to make a move. He ran third most of the race and had strong splits over the first two kilometers.
“Right about the soccer bowl, I passed Corbin (Sage of Marist Catholic) and just tried to hold on for as long as I could,” Pausch said. “Unfortunately, I think I pushed a little too hard in the middle section of the race and wasn’t able to finish with as strong of a kick as I would’ve liked, which cost me like two places at the end.”
Sage, a sophomore, finished third 2.8 seconds ahead of Pausch. Newport’s Connor Brown edged Pausch at the finish line by a tenth of a second for fourth.
Beyond Fulton’s reference to the top five, Pausch believed he could have finished among the top three.
“I was really hoping for at least third and possibly second,” Pausch said. “But going from 19th last year to fifth is good for me and next year, I’ll try to go for it all.”
Cottage Grove’s Carter Bengtson easily won the race in 15:41.2. Marist’s Conor Thompson, who was a strong second, and Newport’s Brown are also seniors. That leaves Sage and Pausch as the top two underclassmen returning next season.
Newport won its second straight state title by eight points over The Dalles. Crook County was third with Cottage Grove fourth, Molalla fifth and the Warriors sixth.
“I penciled them in for sixth — I knew we were a long shot for fourth,” Fulton said. “So they pretty much ran as expected.”
PHS junior Lukas Hernandez came out fast and was running in seventh place through the first kilometer. The second kilometer was tougher on him and he slipped down to ninth and eventually ended up 13th in 16:52.0.
“The first K was like 3 flat so it was blazing fast,” Hernandez said. “But yeah, I was just going.”
Hernandez has also competed at state all three of his seasons and this year’s finish represented his best placing and best finish. Still, he spoke afterward with a hint of disappointment.
“I don’t think it went the way I wanted to go but I still fought hard and left it all out on the course,” he said. “This season definitely wasn’t my best season. I think a little more training this summer would’ve definitely helped.”
Hernandez has qualified all three years with 32nd in 2022, 14th in 2023 and now 13th.
“I thought Lukas might finish a little higher,” Fulton said. “But I never really see those soccer boys, you know, they don’t put in the distance runs with our other guys.”
With another year of cross-country remaining, Hernandez hopes to put together a strong season as a senior.
“I think next summer, I’m going to be training more with running, getting in longer runs to work on my endurance,” he said.
Elsewhere for PHS, sophomore Galen Murch was running 30th through the first kilometer and ended up 40th overall in 17:51.8.
“Galen tried really hard early on and I think it caught up to him toward the end,” Fulton said.
Senior JJ Lewis competed for the final time and finished 60th in 18:24.6. Sophomore Jacob Hernandez rounded out the team’s scoring runners with 81st overall in 19:16.3.
Junior Mason Stevens had been entered as one of the team’s varsity runners but he was unable to compete. That moved alternate Dreyton Nuno, a freshman, into the field and along with freshman Sammy Hernandez, occupied the sixth and seventh positions.
