Freshman Adele Beckstead had a memorable debut to her high school cross-country career and junior Brody Bushnell added another first-place finish to his racing resumé as both the Philomath girls and boys squads won varsity team titles Saturday at The Ultimook Race.
Longtime coach Joe Fulton said he was not surprised that Philomath’s teams dominated the meet.
“It’s a pattern that goes back many years,” he said. “But this particular year appears to be even more special and is off to an excellent start.”
Beckstead had to overcome the loss of a shoe in the Hydrangea Ranch course’s mud pit, making her high finish even more impressive.
“Fortunately, her parents brought an extra pair,” Fulton said. “She lost a lot of ground putting on a new shoe and ran the rest of the race with different shoes. … It was a stunning high school debut for Adele.”
The Hydrangea Ranch course, designed by the farm’s owner, Pat Zweifel, features a mud fit and two river crossings through shallow water with a rocky bed. Runners get muddy and wet while trying to avoid sprained ankles.
Beckstead came in with a time of 21:05.82 for that fifth-place overall finish and second among Oregon runners. Newport’s Aliya Larsen, who placed sixth at last season’s state meet and is the No. 2 returning runner in Class 4A, was fourth in 20:51.66. The top three runners were from Washington schools with Alauna Carstens of Shelton winning in 19:48.01.
Senior Kaeligh Houchin placed 10th individually in 22:10.90 and junior Ingrid Hellesto was right behind in 11th with a 22:19.92. Senior Audrey Gerding finished 15th with a strong 22:52.24 and freshman Hanna McDaniel followed in 16th in 22:55.00. Those top five runners gave the Warriors 45 points to easily outdistance runner-up Washougal (Wash.), which finished with 100.
Philomath’s sixth and seventh runners had top-30 finishes with freshman Brooke McDaniel in 25th (24:06.95) and sophomore Alexa Eckhold in 27th (24:13.69).
Bushnell was in control of the varsity boys race from start to finish but he was pushed by Heppner junior Trevor Nichols and won by just two-tenths of a second in 16:43.26. Nichols, who was third at last season’s 3A state meet, came in at 16:43.46.
Junior Mateo Candanoza placed seventh individually with a time of 17:32.10. Another junior, Jesse Erickson, had a solid start to the season with an 18:33.09 for 17th place. Junior Ben Hernandez ended up 27th in 19:15.65 and senior Mark Grimmer in his cross-country debut was 30th in 19:26.78.
Philomaht’s top five times equated to a team score of 69 points. Shelton (Wash.) was the runner-up with 107 points. Nineteen schools had enough runners for team scoring. The field individually featured 158 finishers.
Freshman Warwick Bushnell was the team’s No. 6 runner and he came in 33rd with a time of 19:39.06.
Philomath also had strong showings in the junior varsity races. The girls had a near-perfect team score of 17 points and freshman Kateri Pindell was the individual winner with a time of 22:51.26.
The JV Warriors took 10 of the top 14 spots in the girls’ race. Joining Pindell among the top 10 were freshman Hallie Morrison (fourth, 23:38.69), sophomore Danielle Harris (fifth, 23:43.96), freshman Janice Hellesto (seventh, 24:28.11), sophomore Phoebe Coen (eighth, 24:54.69) and freshman Kyah Weeber (10th, 25:43.32).
In the JV boys’ race, sophomore Gradin Fairbanks finished second in 20:12.42 and freshman JJ Lewis was fifth in 20:46.94. The team finished third.
Philomath will next compete in the 18-school Stayton Invitational on Saturday morning. The JV races begin at 9 a.m. (girls) and 9:20 a.m. (boys). The varsity competitions follow at 9:40 a.m. for the girls and 10:10 a.m. for the boys.
“All seven teams from the Oregon West Conference will be there, giving us an excellent chance to see where we stand,” Fulton said.
The Ultimook Race
Saturday, Sept. 4 at Hydrangea Ranch, Tillamook
BOYS
Team Scoring 1, Philomath 69; 2, Shelton (Wash.) 107; 3, Astoria 148; 4, Newport 157; 5, Heppner 167; 6, Tillamook 177; 7, Washougal (Wash.) 181; 8, Stayton 209; 9, Knappa 211; 10, Western Christian 218; 11, Peninsula (Wash.) 228; 12, Culver 260; 13, Gladstone 272; 14, Molalla 309; 15, RA Long (Wash.) 375; 16, Quincy (Wash.) 404; 17, Riverdale 430; 18, Santiam Christian 510; 19, Corbett 570. Top 10 Individuals 1. Brody Bushnell, Philomath, 16:43.26 2. Trevor Nichols, Heppner, 16:43.46 3. Isaiah Rodriguez, Knappa, 16:50.72 4. Samuel Grice, Washougal (Wash.), 17:12.94 5. Sam laurel, Newport, 17:26.31 6. James Lackey, Newport, 17:31.60 7. Mateo Candanoza, Philomath, 17:32.10 8. Zander Moha, Warrenton, 18:01.71 9. Carson Bursch, Shelton (Wash.), 18:04.71 10. Johnathan Ginyrich, Tillamook, 18:05.20 PHS Results 1. Brody Bushnell, 16:43.26 7. Mateo Candanoza, 17:32.10 17. Jesse Erickson, 18:33.09 27. Ben Hernandez, 19:15.65 30. Mark Grimmer, 19:26.78 33. Warwick Bushnell, 19:39.06
GIRLS
Team Scoring 1, Philomath 45; 2, Washougal (Wash.) 100; 3, Shelton (Wash.) 114; 4, Stayton 124; 5, Tillamook 127; 6, Newport 146; 7, RA Long (Wash.) 165; 8, Heppner 172; 9, Seaside 197; 10, Blanchet Catholic 219; 11, Culver 248. Top 10 Individuals 1. Alauna Carstens, Shelton (Wash.), 19:48.01 2. Elle Thomas, Washougal (Wash.), 20:22.27 3. Sydnee Boothby, Washougal (Wash.), 20:41.45 4. Aliya Larsen, Newport, 20:51.66 5. Adele Beckstead, Philomath, 21:05.82 6. Athena Lau, Scio, 21:20.25 7. Ali Clifton, Shelton (Wash.), 21:51.54 8. Ella Zilli, Astoria, 21:59.26 9. Mikenzy Rosen, Horizon Christian, 22:06.19 10. Kaeleigh Houchin, Philomath, 22:10.90 PHS Results 5. Adele Beckstead, 21:05.82 10. Kaeleigh Houchin, 22:10.90 11. Ingrid Hellesto, 22:19.92 15. Audrey Gerding, 22:52.24 16. Hanna McDaniel, 22:55.00 25. Brooke McDaniel, 24:06.95 27. Alexa Eckhold, 24:13.69
JUNIOR VARSITY
BOYS
| Team Scoring |
|---|
| 1, Tillamook 46; 2, Yamhill-Carlton 60; 3, Philomath 62; 4, Horizon Christian 94; 5, Sunnyside (Wash.) 112; 6, Seaside 115; 7, Riverdale 164. |
| PHS Results |
|---|
| 2. Gradin Fairbanks 20:12.42 |
| 5. JJ Lewis, 20:46.94 |
| 16. Emmitt Gaskey, 23:06.12 |
| 38. Tyler Moade, 26:49.89 |
| 39. Andrew Leonard, 26:51.02 |
| 51. Maxwell Carter, 29:34.06 |
GIRLS
| Team Scoring |
|---|
| 1, Philomath 17; 2, Washougal (Wash.) 44. |
| PHS Results |
|---|
| 1. Kateri Pindell, 22:51.26 |
| 4. Hallie Morrison, 23:38.69 |
| 5. Danielle Harris, 23:43.96 |
| 7. Janice Hellesto, 24:28.11 |
| 8. Phoebe Coen, 24:54.69 |
| 10. Kyah Weeber, 25:43.32 |
| 11. Arianna Boutilier, 26:28.50 |
| 12. Emery Boutilier, 27:07.41 |
| 13. Petra Hernandez, 27:09.44 |
| 14. Allison Neelands, 27:31.29 |