The Philomath High School boys and girls cross-country squads swept the varsity team trophies Saturday at the Ultimook Race near Tillamook.
The Warrior girls repeated as team champions and the boys pulled off a bit of a surprise to take first place in an event that attracted dozens of high schools from Oregon and Washington competing in various divisions.
Staged at the Hydrangea Ranch, organizers describe the course as a “real cross-country experience” with two stream crossings, a mud pit and a mile of wood-chipped trails. Instead of a traditional trophy, each winning team received a hand-engraved wood slab. Individual award winners received flower bouquets.
The girls had a dominant team performance, including three individuals finishing in the top 10. Senior Adele Beckstead was second overall in 19:55.58, freshman Cassidy Smart placed seventh in 20:25.47 and senior Hallie Morrison was ninth in 20:31.14.
Contributing to the team score were the fourth and fifth runners, senior Melea Lattin with a 21:57.37 for 20th and freshman Reagan Nuno with a 22:01.31 for 21st. Right on their heels was junior Lucy King, finishing 22nd in 22:01.47. Senior Hanna McDaniel was 35th in 22:58.54 in a race that had 156 entries.
The boys, meanwhile, edged cross-country rival Newport in the team race by six points. The Warriors finished at 110 with the Cubs coming in at 116. Cottage Grove, another school that PHS often sees on the course, was third at 132.
Individually, the Warriors had five runners in the top 40. Sophomore Lukas Hernandez was sixth overall in 17:06.48 and junior Leo Pausch ended up 12th in 17:31.60. Senior JJ Lewis finished 30th in 19:02.69, sophomore Galen Murch was 32nd in 19:07.87 and sophomore Jacob Hernandez came in 39th in 19:22.32.
Also running for the Warriors in a race with 227 entrants were junior Mason Stevens (58th, 19:51.41) and freshman Samuel Hernandez (159th, 22:39.63).
In the junior varsity races, senior Brooke McDaniel took first place in 23:20.52, sophomore Ava Panico was fourth in 25:08.83 and junior Syd Cothern finished seventh in 25:45.95. For the boys, the team’s top finisher was freshman Dreyton Nuno in 19th with a time of 20:44.56.
Philomath’s next meet is coming up Wednesday at the Country Fair Classic, which takes place at the Oregon Country Fairgrounds near Veneta. The afternoon event begins at 4 p.m. with JV races. The varsity girls are scheduled to run at 4:45 p.m. with the boys to follow at 5:30 p.m.
Next weekend, the Warriors will head Saturday to the Stayton XC Invitational. Varsity races at that event are scheduled for 11 a.m. (girls) and 11:45 a.m. (boys).
