Philomath High sophomore runner Cassidy Smart led from the start and not only conquered a challenging course but finished first in a field of 205 runners Saturday at The Ultimook Race. As a team, the Warriors were second among the 25 schools that had full teams in the 1A-4A girls division.
“That’s six straight in the top two at Ultimook,” Warriors coach Joe Fulton said about the team’s runner-up showing. “They won four in a row before today.”
Staged at the Hydrangea Ranch near Tillamook, organizers describe the course as a “real cross-country experience” with two river crossings, a mud pit and a mile of wood-chipped trails.
Smart’s time of 19 minutes, 8.1 seconds was a little more than 8 seconds faster than the runner-up, Enterprise senior Owyhee Harguess. Warriors sophomore Reagan Nuño finished 18th in 21:09.0 and freshman teammate Sienna Bushnell was 20th in 21:24.0. Sophomore Libby Kramer finished 27th in 21:44.4.
Philomath competed without varsity runner Lucy King, who was with the soccer team at a tournament in Bend. Senior Syd Cothern stepped up from the junior varsity and finished with a personal-record time of 23:36.6.
Just two runners for the PHS boys participated in the varsity race but both put in a strong showing. Senior Leo Pausch placed sixth in 16:39.0 and junior Galen Murch was 12th in 16:56.3, which represented the first time he had broken 17 minutes. The varsity boys race had 236 entrants.
In the team standings for the boys, Fountain Valley (California) took first place. The individual champion was Warrenton senior Jayden Warner, who ran the course in 14:59.7.
Philomath will now turn its attention to the Country Fair Classic, which is scheduled for Sept. 10 near Veneta. Fulton anticipates having full rosters for the midweek meet.
PHS at The Ultimook Race
Saturday, Sept. 6, at Hydrangea Ranch, Tillamook
Boys
Team scoring: 1, Fountain Valley (Calif.) 110; 2, Union 122; 3, Washougal (Wash.) 151; 4, Cottage Grove 151; 5, Kennewick (Wash.) 163; 6, Stayton 189; 7, Ridgefield 219; 8, Kingston (Wash.) 241; 9, Sweet Home 249; 10, Sunnyside (Wash.) 273; 11, Madras 281; 12, Phoenix 347; 13, College Place (Wash.) 353; 14, Marshfield 359; 15, Pleasant Hill 408; 16, Toppenish (Wash.) 414; 17, Newport 429; 18, Astoria 476; 19, R.A. Long (Wash.) 485; 20, Gladstone 508; 21, Portland Christian 570; 22, Warrenton 573; 23, Riverdale 623; 24, Stanfield 631; 25, Culver 684; 26, Scio 731; 27, Santiam Christian 775; 28, Monroe 875.
PHS varsity results: 6, Leo Pausch, 16:39.0; 12, Galen Murch, 16:56.3.
JV results: 27, Everett Ferguson, 20:06.8; 34, Caelan Kreps, 20:32.9; 63, Rowan Jessen, 21:41.8; 64, Milo Morrison, 21:43.6; 66, Cameron Barlow, 21:47.1; 69, Oakley Pausch, 21:52.1; 96, Wyatt Coen, 22:30.3; 122, Mika Laukkanen Raskauskas, 23:17.1; 133, Abisai Navarette, 23:51.3; 147, Maddox Olsen, 24:44.0.
Girls
Team scoring: 1, Enterprise 65; 2, Philomath 116; 3, Cottage Grove 135; 4, Oregon Episcopal 140; 5, Fountain Valley (Calif.) 171; 6, Heppner 192; 7, Stayton 229; 8, Union 234; 9, Madras 272; 10, Ridgefield 284; 11, College Place (Wash.) 342; 12, Catlin Gabel 362; 13, Phoenix 367; 14, Sunnyside 376; 15, Toppenish (Wash.) 380; 16, Kingston (Wash.) 401; 17, Newport 415; 18, Pleasant Hill 422; 19, Washougal (Wash.) 426; 20, Marshfield 434; 21, Glide 488; 22, R.A. Long (Wash.) 493; 23, Scio 508; 24, Santiam Christian 692; 25, Portland Christian 701.
PHS varsity results: 1, Cassidy Smart, 19:08.1; 18, Reagan Nuño, 21:09.0; 20, Sienna Bushnell, 21:24.0; 27. Libby Kramer, 21:44.4; 71, Syd Cothern, 23:36.6.
JV results: 6, Ana Panico, 23:46.5; 11, Avery Smith, 24:43.0; 37, Pyper Rutland, 26:32.9; 74, Addie Kowalewski, 29:52.3.