Fresh off Oregon West Conference team titles, which included first-place individual finishes, the Philomath High boys and girls cross-country teams will next tackle the familiar course at Lane Community College.
Why familiar? Because it’s pretty much an annual meet for the Warriors to compete on the Eugene campus. This past weekend, the boys qualified for state for the 41st time in the past 42 years and the girls advanced for the 43rd time in the past 45 years.
“It was expected for our girls but our boys knew that they were in a tight battle with Stayton and Newport,” PHS coach Joe Fulton said about last weekend’s meet. “Nevertheless, they executed the course perfectly, saving their best running for the second half to roar past Stayton and Newport for the team title.”
Senior Leo Pausch and sophomore Cassidy Smart were individual champions — both unchallenged on their way to the finish line. Senior Lukas Hernandez, sophomore Reagan Nuño and freshman Sienna Bushnell made all-conference first team. Junior Galen Murch, sophomore Libby Kramer and junior Cam Herbert made the second team.
In Eugene, the 4A varsity boys is scheduled for an 11:45 a.m. start. The 4A girls will follow at 12:20 p.m. If those times look familiar, it’s because Fulton set up the conference meet with start times that are the same as those at state — a move intended to make sure runners are ready to go at that time of the day.
Molalla, La Grande, Philomath and Klamath Union appear to be the top four teams heading into the 4A boys’ finale. You never know what runners will compete (Philomath’s top five has changed since the beginning of the season, for example) and results can be unpredictable to a certain extent on the state stage. The Dalles and Cottage Grove might have a chance to challenge for a high finish.
Individually, Pausch will be in a battle with Marshfield senior Jaxson Stovall, Marist junior Corbin Sage and Newport junior Avery Chandler for top individual honors.
As for the girls, the Warriors will have a difficult time winning a third straight state title with a very strong Klamath Union contingent on the course. In addition to the Pelicans, schools that look like favorites to finish among the top four include La Grande, Philomath and Scappoose. Cottage Grove or Molalla could also slip into the trophy conversation.
Smart could be a top contender in the individual battle. In addition to Smart, Klamath Union junior Hallie Pyfer, La Grande senior Brooke Petty, Seaside senior Maddie Menke, La Grande sophomore Lindsey Brown and Molalla senior Annalynse Jenson all have season-best times within 19 seconds of one another — those times coming on a variety of courses with different levels of difficulty.
So, it should be a fun one. For those planning to go, tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students. They can be purchased in advance through the OSAA website. For all types of information on the cross-country championships, visit this webpage.
PHS-Cascade volleyball rematch
Philomath High’s volleyball team will also be fighting for top honors in the state this weekend with a trip down to Coos Bay for the Class 4A tournament. The Warriors will face a familiar foe in the quarterfinals with a matchup against conference rival Cascade.
The match is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Friday. If the Warriors win, they’ll advance to the semifinals, which take place the same day at 6 p.m. (and the likely opponent would be No. 1 Marist Catholic). If the Warriors lose, they’ll drop into a consolation match at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Philomath and Cascade are evenly matched and so this season’s third chapter in the series promises to be a good one. The No. 4 Cougars (16-5) beat Philomath on Sept. 30 in four sets, 14-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-17. The No. 5 Warriors (16-6) returned the favor on Oct. 16 with a four-set victory, 28-26, 20-25, 25-22, 25-16.
If you add all of those points up, Philomath had the advantage, 188 to 180.
Cascade ended up with the Oregon West Conference title with Philomath stumbling in an Oct. 14 loss to Stayton.
Players to watch in this one for Philomath include outside hitters Nora Stanley and Shaylee May, setter Avery Smith, middle blocker Taylor Hudson and libero Isabelle Muir. A couple of other starters that could impact the outcome include Megan Ward, who had a big match in the first-round win over Madras, and Alyssa Stanley, who has a knack for stuff blocks.
Cascade’s top presence at the net includes outside hitter Emma Kirschenmann, middle blocker Hailey Abundiz and setter Irene Rocha-Ibarra.
For information about the tournament, including links to tickets, head to this webpage.
Up to Scappoose for girls soccer
The sixth-seeded Philomath High’s girls soccer team will hit the road Saturday for a 6 p.m. quarterfinals match against third-seeded Scappoose.
The two schools have an interesting history against one another with their last matchup back in 2017. The circumstances were nearly identical. They met in the quarterfinals in a game that was played at St. Helens High School.
The Warriors won the game, 1-0, on a goal by Carrie Lillis off a feed from Halle Hewitt and an exceptional performance in the net by goalkeeper Kena Bacho. Mat Phelps was in his second year as head coach. Philomath, seeded 11th, advanced to the semifinals — the last time the Warriors have gone that far in the playoffs — and lost to eventual state champion Valley Catholic, 4-0.
In this year’s matchup, both teams come in with 14-1-1 records. Philomath beat Molalla in the first round, 4-1, and Scappoose advanced with a 4-0 victory over Mazama. They had three opponents in common this season — Seaside, Gladstone and Stayton.
Against Seaside, Philomath won a thriller, 2-1, in a season-opening tournament. Scappoose and Seaside play in the same district and the Indians had a 1-0-1 advantage during the regular season — 3-0 and 1-1.
In matches against Gladstone, both teams posted 3-0 wins. And against Stayton, Scappoose was a 5-0 winner and Philomath downed the Eagles twice in conference games, 4-0 and 3-1.
Comparing scores in common opponents can be dangerous — you never know how things like injuries and weather affected outcomes. But it should provide a good idea of how close these teams appear to be in ability. It should be a good game.
For information about the tournament, including tickets, check out this webpage.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).