Philomath High’s Leo Pausch outdueled a Washington runner to the finish line in Nike Portland’s Division 2 varsity boys race Saturday in Fairview and in the process shattered his personal-best time in a 5K.
Pausch, a junior, came into the race after running a PR the previous week at the Northwest Classic in Eugene — that time coming in at 16:18.7. But on a fast course at Blue Lake Regional Park, Pausch was able to break 16 minutes for the first time at 15:58.6. Runner-up Malek Keller out of Hanford High in Richland, Washington,
Philomath junior Lukas Hernandez was right there among the leaders as well and placed third in 16:14.7. Hernandez, who bettered his PR by 26.8 seconds, finished a second ahead of a Ridgeview runner to secure his medal. The race had 140 entries.
The two high finishes helped the Warriors place fifth in the division’s team standings. Arbor View, a team from Las Vegas, Nevada, won the team title with Hanford (Washington) in second, O’Dea (Washington) in third and Steilacoom (Washington) in fourth. That left Philomath as the top Oregon team in the division, finishing three points ahead of Caldera, a 5A school out of Bend.
The rest of the varsity lineup for the Warriors included sophomore Galen Murch (29th, 17:13.9), sophomore Jacob Hernandez (64th, 17:44.9), senior JJ Lewis (103rd, 18:31.7) and freshman Sammy Hernandez (125th, 19:08.0). Murch and both Hernandez boys had PR times.
In the Division 2 varsity girls race, Philomath finished third in the team standings behind Las Vegas Arbor View (Nevada) and Shorewood (Washington). The Warrior girls were running again this weekend at less than full varsity strength. PHS had three runners in the top 50 with senior Melea Lattin leading the way in 25th with a 20:24.5. Junior Lucy King was 33rd in 20:38.1 and freshman Reagan Nuno was 43rd with a PR time of 20:51.9.
The rest of the lineup included senior Hanna McDaniel (65th, 21:27.5), senior Brooke McDaniel (82nd, 21:46.4) and senior Kateri Pindell (93rd, 22:00.5). There were 167 entries in the race.
PHS senior Adele Beckstead competed individually in the prestigious Danner Championship race and finished 28th with a personal-best time of 18:42.4. Caldera sophomore Maddie Carney won the race in 17:17.1. Eight runners had times under 18 minutes.
Philomath will next compete Oct. 5 at the Woahink Lake Cross-country Invitational at Honeyman State Park near Florence. Racing begins at 11:45 a.m.
