Philomath High’s fall sports programs are gearing up for the coming season and the cross-country teams expect to be in the trophy hunt again. The girls are coming off another state championship while the boys are primed to move up from last year’s sixth-place finish.
Coach Joe Fulton said that the girls in many ways are starting over again.
“We graduated six varsity runners who had never placed lower than second at state and won the last two state team titles,” Fulton wrote in an Aug. 3 email to runners. “But we have been in this situation before and have always risen to the occasion. Let’s stay positive about our chances. Every girl should fight to make the varsity team and maybe we will once again surprise those who think this will finally be an off year for the PHS girls.”
The girls do have quite the reputation with 10 state titles and four runner-up finishes in cross-country.
Meanwhile, the boys return their top three runners from last season, including two all-state seniors.
“But it takes a minimum of five to win state and we are counting on our young runners to step up and help us get back on the podium,” Fulton said.
The boys in their history have four state team titles and 10 runner-up finishes.
Official practices begin Aug. 18 and the season-opening meet follows on Aug. 29 at The Opener at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. The Paul Mariman Invitational falls on Oct. 11 this season.
In an email to runners sent out last month, Fulton provided some advice for summer workouts and added, “Before you know it, we will all be together again and ready to show the rest of the state why Philomath remains one of the great cross-country programs in Oregon.”
Gerding earns academic honor
This past spring, Philomath High graduate Carson Gerding was among a group of 67 Eastern Oregon University student athletes that earned U.S. Bank Academic All-Cascade Collegiate Conference honors for his performance in the classroom.
A starter this past season with the Mountaineers, Gerding’s junior campaign included a .281 batting average with four doubles, one triple, four home runs and 24 RBIs in 41 games. The team’s regular starter in center field, he finished the season with 99 putouts.
Gerding, a standout athlete with the Warriors, graduated with the PHS Class of 2022. At Eastern Oregon, he is majoring in business administration.
Babcock attracting attention
Philomath High rising senior and baseball all-star Caleb Babcock has been attracting some attention on the diamond with his skills in center field, on the mound and at the plate. Babcock, who played for the Corvallis American Legion ballcub this summer, was the subject of a scouting report put together by Dylan Grenz, an associate scout with Prep Baseball Oregon.
In a write-up that appeared on the scouting website this summer, Grenz included Babcock in a series on uncommitted players after his appearance at the Corvallis Preseason ID, a prep baseball event hosted by Prep Baseball Oregon this past February at Oregon State University.
Babcock, who stands 5-foot-11, weighs 190 pounds and is a lefty, had a 60-yard time of 6.98 seconds and showed power with a 94 max exit velocity.
Check out the scouting report on Babcock and take a look at the video.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
