The Dalles boys cross country team went from the pursuer to the pursed all in less than a 10-minute span of the 2023 OSAA Class 4A state cross country race. The end result had the Riverhawks securing the third-place trophy on a rainy, muddy day at Lane Community College in Eugene.
The Dalles girls also won a trophy at state, finishing fourth (see related story this issue). It was the first time both teams had won OSAA, state meet hardware the same season since 1997 — that year, The Dalles’ boys were first and the girls fourth.
The Dalles, the 2022 4A boys state champions, entered the meet as a favorite to win one of four state-meet trophies — along with Tri-Valley Conference foes Crook County and Molalla. There was an outside chance that pre-race favorite Newport High would slip up (it didn’t), otherwise the three TVC schools were essentially battling Philomath, Marist, Phoenix and Cottage Grove for second place.
The Riverhawks, seeded third based on results this season, gave Crook County a run for its money early in the 5,000-meter race. After the first mile, the Riverhawks were slightly ahead of the team that had beaten it for the 2023 TVC boys championship. But Crook County’s five scoring runners either each improved or held their positions for the rest of the race and the Cowboys finished second. On the flip side, Molalla was in 10th place after the first mile, but the Indians were able to make a steady push over the next two thirds of the race.
The Riverhawk boys, coached by Jill Bell, were making their fifth straight state meet appearance. Tyson Long, who won the TVC individual title two weeks ago, led The Dalles at state with his tenth-place finish in 17 minutes, 8 seconds for 5,000 meters. Times in the race were understandably slow over the rain-soaked layout circling the athletic fields at Lane. Fellow sophomore Aiden Erickson was 22nd in 17:46, and junior Caleb Caldwell was 28th in 17:56. All three runners either improved or maintained their positions over the last two thirds of the race, as the Riverhawks held on for third, 136-146, over Molalla.
Molalla didn’t earn an automatic berth to the state meet, but rather was a wild card entrant (similar to The Dalles girls a season ago). “I think that Molalla showed everybody that they deserved it,” Bell said.
So did the Riverhawks. “I know the boys had their sights set as high as possible after being district and state champs last year,” Bell said. “But like, you know, all things considered, with still such a young team, they did good.”
Junior Egan Ziegenhagen and senior Gabriel Castillo Quintara were 43rd and 52nd to complete the scoring for The Dalles. The Riverhawks also had junior Josef Lutz (55th) and sophomore Noah Preston (69th) compete at state.
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