The Philomath High School boys and girls cross-country teams opened their seasons Friday evening with an appearance at The Opener, a 3-kilometer race on the campus of Western Oregon University that eases competitors into the fall campaign.
Senior Leo Pausch and sophomore Cassidy Smart each turned in team-leading performances for the Warriors. Pausch covered the course in 8:58.30 for ninth place in the varsity boys race and Smart was fifth in the varsity girls race with a time of 10:29.70.
Pausch’s time was a personal best for 3,000 meters — 1 second faster than his top time on a track. Also for the boys, senior Lukas Hernandez had a top-25 finish in 9:23.10.
In the team standings, Philomath’s boys were 12th out of 29 schools. The Warrior girls were fourth among the 18 full teams that competed. The Corvallis boys and Banks girls were the team champions.
PHS coach Joe Fulton said the boys were at less-than-full strength for their appearance at the meet with junior Galen Murch unable to participate. He said the girls ran well as a young team that’s showing real potential.
In a preseason interview earlier this week, Fulton was asked to share what he would want people to know about cross-country.
“That it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “You know, people think, ‘oh no, running, it’s so hard’ but you have to run in almost every sport. But we just have great camaraderie.”
That’s not to say cross-country is easy. The top competitors train hard.
“There’s going to be some pain out there but everybody supports one another, there’s no trash talking and at the cross-country meets, it’s interactive because parents can go all over and cheer the kids on,” Fulton said. “I’ve yet to have a kid that hasn’t left the Philomath cross-country program without thinking, ‘that was a good experience — I’m glad I did that.’”
Fulton has been involved with Philomath’s cross-country program since 1981 when he first came on board as a volunteer under Paul Mariman.
“For such a successful program, we’re pretty low-key,” Fulton said about his approach to training. “I’m very flexible and I’m easy on the kids because I’ve been through it myself. You know, I’ve overtrained, so I make sure these kids don’t — it’s fun.”
Philomath’s cross-country fun continues next week on a challenging course at the Ultimook Race near Tillamook.
PHS at The Opener
Friday, Aug. 29, at Western Oregon University, Monmouth
(3-kilometer course)
Boys
Team scoring: 1, Corvallis 122; 2, McMinnville 126; 3, Lakeridge 128; 4, Knappa 140; 5, Banks 235; 6, Cottage Grove 254; 7, North Eugene 257; 8, Central 268; 9, Grants Pass 286; 10, Molalla 298; 11, Stayton 330; 12, Philomath 333; 13, Newberg 352; 14, Reynolds 373; 15, Santiam Christian 393; 16, Roseburg 400; 17, La Salle Prep 432; 18, Canby 439; 19, Springfield 462; 20, Woodburn 548; 21, Mountain View 562; 22, Churchill 580; 23, Monroe 609; 24, Harrisburg 616; 25, Vernonia 625; 26, Estacada 687; 27, Nestucca 701; 28, Crosshill Christian 745; 29, Scio 852.
PHS varsity results: 9, Leo Pausch, 8:58.30; 25, Lukas Hernandez, 9:23.10; 106, Jacob Hernandez, 10:17.10; 107, Samuel Hernandez, 10:18.40; 111, Cam Herbert, 10:19.60.
JV results: 23, Braeden Colvin, 10:49.50; 29, Everett Ferguson, 11:00.70; 59, Caelan Kreps, 11:40.20; 85, Cameron Barlow, 11:59.60; 87, Oakley Pausch, 12:00.30; 100, Milo Morrison, 12:16.70; 117, Mika Laukkanen Raskauskas, 12:42.00; 141. Rex Sederlin, 13:01.20; 143, Rowan Jessen, 13:05.70; 162, Maddox Olsen, 13:41.80; 170, Abisai Navarette, 13:55.40.
Girls
Team scoring: 1, Banks 58; 2, Corvallis 87; 3, Lakeridge 110; 4, Philomath 152; 5, McMinnville 193; 6, Cottage Grove 198; 7, Grants Pass 204; 8, Molalla 214; 9, North Eugene 216; 10, Santiam Christian 238; 11, Canby 247; 12, Stayton 283; 13, Roseburg 292; 14, Newberg 301; 15, Mountain View 376; 16, Scio 411; 17, Churchill 457; 18, Woodburn 500.
PHS varsity results: 5, Cassidy Smart, 10:29.70; 33, Reagan Nuño, 11:51.60; 42, Sienna Bushnell, 12:04.30; 44, Libby Kramer, 12:13.20; 67, Lucy King, 12:45.10.
JV results: 3, Syd Cothern 13:12.30; 8, Ava Panico, 13:38.30; 18, Avery Smith, 14:02.50; 43, Addie Kowalewski, 15:08.70; 74, Pyper Rutland, 16:28.00.
For complete meet results, click here.
