Racing for the third time this season on Saturday at the Paul Mariman Invitational, Philomath junior Brody Bushnell and Siuslaw senior Chad Hughes have had some interesting encounters on the cross-country course.
Bushnell finished ahead of Hughes at the Northwest Classic on Sept. 18 while running a season-best 16:23.7. A few weeks later on Oct. 2, Hughes won the Woahink Lake Invite by 18 seconds over Bushnell behind a start-fast strategy. Hughes had a considerable lead by the first mile.
“I thought he was going to do the same thing today and so I was just going to match every move he made at the start,” Bushnell said after Round 3 between the two runners. “So, I did that, but then on the second time through, he just kind of got away from me.”
Hughes won the meet in 16:32.5, Siuslaw teammate Samuel Ulrich was second in 16:36.4 and Bushnell settled for third in 16:44.7.
Warriors junior Mateo Candanoza also had a top-10 showing with sixth in 16:56.7 — a season-best performance. Junior Ben Hernandez finished 18th in 17:51.6, which was just six-tenths of a second off his season-best.
“I was supposed to start out relaxed, but that’s not what happened … I think I came out a little fast, I think we all came out a little fast,” Hernandez said. “That caught up with me towards the end of the race. But I didn’t get passed on the track and that was my goal — to not get passed but pass some other people.”
As anticipated, Siuslaw took the team race with an exceptional score of 35 points. The Warriors were second at 91, finishing 26 points ahead of third-place Cottage Grove. Class 2A power Bandon was fourth at 120. In all, 19 schools had complete teams to be included in the scoring and the race had 140 individuals on the course.
Bushnell said when he’s on the course, he tries to stick to a game plan that includes “what my dad and coaches are telling me during the race and trying to stay focused on staying attached to the other runners and not letting a gap form.”
Hughes was able to create the gap, however, as Bushnell continues to build his stamina back up after an illness that derailed his times over the past few meets. He admitted that he’s not quite 100% just yet, but stressed that he wasn’t making any excuses.
Philomath junior Jesse Erickson finished the 5-kilometer course in 18:06.8 and placed 25th. Senior Mark Grimmer, who joined the sport for the first time this fall, was 39th in 18:35.2, which was a personal record. Senior Bryan Thomas competed on varsity for the first time this season and was 82nd in 20:12.3.
Bushnell said he would like to see more runners in the program.
“Ben, Mateo, Jesse and Mark are all soccer players, so they’re actually never at practice,” Bushnell said. So I have to run by myself, push myself alone. I wish we’d get more guys out on the team. This year, our guys are pretty thin.”
Hernandez has a goal of getting his PR down to the low 17s, high 16s, with what remains of this season. Bushnell would like to get into the top three at state.
“Cross-country isn’t really about time because each course is different but I’d like to get top three individually and then have all of our guys do their best and see what our team can get,” Bushnell said. “I have good memories there (at Lane Community College) from my freshman year at state when we won it.”
Philomath finished second in the JV race and placed two in the top 10 — freshman Warwick Bushnell in second (19:10.4) and freshman JJ Lewis in eighth (19:37.1). In the middle school division, Philomath was third with eighth-grader Leo Pausch finishing as the top local runner in 11:01.7 on a 3K course.
Paul Mariman Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 9, at Philomath HS
Team Scoring 1, Siuslaw (Florence) 35; 2, Philomath 91; 3, Cottage Grove 117; 4, Bandon 120; 5, Sisters 127; 6, Marist Catholic (Eugene) 146; 7, Newport 222; 8, Cascade (Turner) 241; 9, Tillamook 244; 10, Marshfield (Coos Bay) 263; 11, St. Mary’s (Medford) 296; 12, Western Christian (Salem) 314; 13, Culver 323; 14, Molalla 401; 15, Jefferson 407; 16, Glide 408; 17, Taft 420; 18, Junction City 490; 19, Waldport 532. Top 10 Individuals 1. Chad Hughes, Siuslaw, 16:32.5 2. Samuel Ulrich, Siuslaw, 16:36.4 3. Brody Bushnell, Philomath, 16:44.7 4. Johnathan Ginyrich, Tillamook, 16:52.1 5. Jaden Owens, Cottage Grove, 16:55.0 6. Mateo Candanoza, Philomath, 16:56.7 7. Kyle Hughes, Siuslaw, 17:04.2 8. Devon Franske, Tillamook, 17:15.2 9. Carter Bengtson, Cottage Grove, 17:17.9 10. Ethan Petersen, Cottage Grove, 17:20.7 PHS Results 3. Brody Bushnell, 16:44.7 6. Mateo Candanoza, 16:56.7 18. Ben Hernandez, 17:51.6 25. Jesse Erickson, 18:06.8 39. Mark Grimmer, 18:35.2 82. Bryan Thomas, 20:12.3 Note: The varsity boys race featured 140 runners.
JUNIOR VARSITY
| Team Scoring |
|---|
| 1, Cottage Grove 40; 2, Philomath 47; 3, Sisters 60; 4, Marist Catholic (Eugene) 86; 5, Western Christian (Salem) 117. |
| PHS Results |
|---|
| 2. Warwick Bushnell, 19:10.4 |
| 8. JJ Lewis, 19:37.1 |
| 12. Gradin Fairbanks, 20:38.7 |
| 17. Emmitt Gaskey, 21:14.0 |
| 30. Andrew Leonard, 22:52.5 |
| 45. Micah Matthews, 23:39.6 |
| 47. Tyler Moade, 23:55.7 |
| 60. Maxwell Carter, 25:10.0 |
| 72. Seth Wood, 26:22.9 |
| Note: The JV boys race featured 82 runners. |
MIDDLE SCHOOL (3K)
| Team Scoring |
|---|
| 1, Bowerman Track (Beaverton) 26; 2, Linus Pauling (Corvallis) 65; 3, Philomath 105; 4, Santiam Christian (Adair Village) 126; 5, Molalla River 137; 6, Memorial (Albany) 171; 7, North Albany 181; 8, Glide 240; 9, Timber Ridge (Albany) 249; 10, Talmadge (Independence) 271; 11, Calapooia (Albany) 292. |
| PMS Results |
|---|
| 7. Leo Pausch, 11:01.7 |
| 18. Lukas Hernandez, 11:36.1 |
| 29. Jacoby Babcock, 12:05.3 |
| 30. Tiernan Bovbjerg, 12:08.7 |
| 46. Jacob Bowers, 12:51.8 |
| 47. Rustan Woosley, 13:05.6 |
| 67. Ike Avery, 14:13.5 |
| 68. Mika Laukkanen-Raskauskas, 14:15.3 |
| 77. Liam Bennett, 14:39.8 |
| 84. Rowan Jessen, 15:07.8 |
| 106. Cedric Gaskey, 16:29.5 |
| 109. Devano Carreras, 16:32.0 |
| 111. Quinn Wood, 16:33.1 |
| 119. Wyatt Coen, 17:37.7 |
| 128. Caelan Kreps, 18:30.5 |
| 158. Andrew Arguellas, 26:05.4 |
| Timberhill Harriers Results |
|---|
| 60. Lincoln Ziniker, 13:44.0 |
| 62. Lucas Winokur, 13:54.4 |
| 100. Warren Smart, 16:15.1 |
| 129. Nathaniel James, 18:45.8 |
| Note: The middle school boys race featured 165 runners. |
PhilomathNews.com has no paywall and to keep it that way, we rely on voluntary memberships. If you’re already a member, thank you for contributing. To join our community as a member or to make a one-time contribution, please CLICK HERE.