The Dalles cross country team hustles in the new year with Hood River Valley, Pendleton, Crook County, Redmond and Ridgeview representing the new challengers in the Intermountain Conference. So that means returning state qualifiers Emma Mullins, Hanna Ziegenhagen, Samuel Alvarez, Rey Aviluz, Zack Ziegenhagen and the rest of the Riverhawks will need to be at the top of their game.
The Dalles cross country coach Bob Thouvenel offered praise and well-wishes to his athletes, his assistant coaches and community members at the team’s year-end banquet Thursday night at the Riverenza Café in The Dalles. Cross country runners received team honors, such as Most Inspirational, Most Improved and Most Outstanding.
While The Dalles cross country roster has some turnover from last season with 15 graduated seniors no longer on the team, there is plenty of firepower ready to unleash on the 5A classification this fall. Just two days from their season-opening race in Tualatin on Saturday, head coach Bob Thouvenel has seen the program bolster its numbers to 55, 12 of them seniors and 32 underclassmen.
Robotics team Sa-BOT-age won state as rookies in 2016 and is striving to go even further this year. “We are on track for a very successful season,” said Spencer Honald, a junior, gaining agreement from classmate Bill Burns.
