Philomath High’s girls cross-country team placed five competitors in the top 18 in a field of 149 runners Wednesday at Crystal Lake Sports Park to win The Happy Hustle.
The Warriors scored 54 points, well ahead of runner-up Crescent Valley (90) and third-place Dallas (104) in the 21-team girls field. The Philomath boys placed sixth of 22 teams with 164 points, one spot behind conference rival Stayton.
“I was really proud of the girls today,” Philomath coach Joe Fulton said. “They raced like a team.”
The girls have been without junior Cassidy Smart, Class 4A’s returning state champion. Smart has been sidelined by an injury since she won the Paul Mariman Invitational on Oct. 10 with a personal-best 17:45.5. The Happy Hustle was the third straight meet she has missed.
“It’s kind of nice that our girls have won three consecutive meets without her,” Fulton said. “It shows our depth.”
Freshman Olivia Hernandez led Philomath with second place overall in 18:03.8. The only runner ahead of her was Crescent Valley sophomore Alexa Montgomery, who won in 17:46.6.
“She’s running very consistent, right around 18 minutes every time now,” Fulton said.
Junior Reagan Nuño marked her 17th birthday with a breakthrough race. She finished ninth in a personal-best 19:39.0, improving on the 19:53.5 she ran in 2025.
Sophomores Piper Pedder (13th, 19:59.0) and Sienna Bushnell (16th, 20:03.3) kept up their steady seasons.
“Piper and Sienna Bushnell were very consistent, still right at 20 minutes, like they’ve been in all the big meets this year,” Fulton said.
Junior Libby Kramer completed the scoring five, placing 18th with a personal-best 20:12.3. Freshman Sienna Smith had played in a soccer game the day before but still finished 27th in 20:58.0.
Fulton described the course as relatively fast — flat, with hay bales to jump, and lined with spectators.
“It was a really nice, supportive crowd, so they’re just running down through these arms of people cheering them on,” he said.
He added that apart from the personal records by Nuño and Kramer, the times reflected what the girls have been running all season.
“They’ve just been very consistent,” Fulton said.
The program has had five girls break 20 minutes this season, a mark Fulton said carries weight at the state meet.
“If you run 20 minutes at state, you’re going to be in the top 20,” he said. “Banks and La Grande are just as deep as we are, so it’s going to be a real battle between three teams.”
On the boys side, senior Galen Murch led Philomath with seventh in 16:14.8 in a 180-runner field. Santiam Christian sophomore Tytus Janssen won the race in 15:44.2, and Hood River Valley took the team title with 42 points.
Three of Philomath’s top five boys were freshmen. Riggins Bushnell placed 18th in 16:50.3. Freshman Warren Smart finished 28th in 17:17.8.
“Warren ran a brilliant race,” Fulton said. “His second half was really strong, and he moved up.”
Freshman Braven Beard broke 18 minutes and finished 46th in 17:43.1. Senior Oakley Pausch ran a personal record of 18:15.3 to place 68th, which Fulton called “a strong fifth man for us.”
“The boys are finally putting it together and looking like a team,” Fulton said.
Under this year’s postseason format, only the district champion advances automatically, and six wild cards are then added.
“We’re starting to look like we could maybe challenge for the district title, but certainly we should have serious consideration for a wild card if we take second at the district meet,” Fulton said.
The young roster has Fulton looking further ahead as well.
“We’re expecting to get a couple more good freshmen next year,” he said. “A couple years down the line, our boys might be back up on top where they belong.”
With the district meet not happening until Oct. 31 at Stayton, Philomath will shift into a taper.
“We’re going to start tapering, working on sharpening things up, our kicks and our strategies,” Fulton said. “We really can’t get in any better shape now for state. So it’s just a matter of protecting ourselves, making sure we don’t get anybody hurt.”
He added, “The girls, especially, we’re hoping to have Cassidy back at state.”
The Happy Hustle
Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Crystal Lake Sports Park, Corvallis
BOYS
TEAM SCORING—1, Hood River Valley 42; 2, Corvallis 87; 3, Crescent Valley 100; 4, Sheldon 112; 5, Stayton 137; 6, Philomath 164; 7, South Albany 178; 8, Sweet Home 219; 9, Silverton 311; 10, Centennial 318; 11, Cascade 368; 12, West Albany 372; 13, Santiam Christian 391; 14, Dallas 399; 15, Sisters 401; 16, Newport 433; 17, Harrisburg 466; 18, Vernonia 471; 19, Scio 508; 20, Lebanon 528; 21, Gladstone 545; 22, Chemawa 683.
PHS Results
VARSITY—7, Galen Murch, 16:14.8; 18, Riggins Bushnell, 16:50.3; 28, Warren Smart, 17:17.8; 46, Braven Beard, 17:43.1; 68, Oakley Pausch, 18:15.3.
JUNIOR VARSITY—28, Milo Morrison, 19:59.8; 81, Mika Laukkanen Raskauskas, 21:35.2; 196, Rex Sederlin, 32:18.3.
GIRLS
TEAM SCORING—1, Philomath 54; 2, Crescent Valley 90; 3, Dallas 104; 4, Corvallis 135; 5, Stayton 152; 6, Sweet Home 231; 7, West Albany 236; 8, Cascade 240; 9, Santiam Christian 257; 10, Harrisburg 283; 11, Silverton 293; 12, Sheldon 312; 13, Hood River Valley 321; 14, Sisters 331; 15, Lebanon 370; 16, East Linn Christian 406; 17, Vernonia 443; 18, Delphian 447; 19, Scio 450; 20, Centennial 467; 21, Gladstone 483.
PHS Results
VARSITY—2, Olivia Hernandez, 18:03.8; 9, Reagan Nuño, 19:39.0; 13, Piper Pedder, 19:59.0; 16, Sienna Bushnell, 20:03.3; 18, Libby Kramer, 20:12.3; 27, Sienna Smith, 20:58.0.
JUNIOR VARSITY—4, Pyper Rutland, 23:09.4; 9, Ava Panico, 23:57.1; 21, Cassidy Grubbs, 24:57.7; 22, Addie Kowalewski, 24:59.6; 25, Denae Imlach, 25:15.7; 32, Scarlet Panico, 25:51.4; 47, Wren Pope, 27:04.1.