The Dalles High senior Alaina Casady led the Riverhawk girls cross country team to a fifth-place finish Sept. 7 at the annual Ultimook Race at Hydrangea Ranch near Tillamook.
Casady was the 12th overall finisher among 107 in the Class 5A-6A race for the 4A Riverhawks. Coach Jill Bell likes to challenge her runners whenever possible by having them race up a classification or two as often as possible during the fall season. The Dalles finished behind 5A Cresent Valley (31 points), 3A Oregon Episcopal (91), WIAA 4A Camas (91) and 5A Corvallis (96) with 157 points. There were 12 complete 5A-6A teams and more than 1,900 runners competing in the 16 races.
Casady ran the 5,000-meter course — which runners have to negotiate a mud pit and two shallow stream crossings — in 20 minutes, 52 seconds. The Dalles also had team, point-scoring (top five) efforts from sophomore Kestley Hodges, who was 27th in 22:40; junior Abigail Pope (35th, 23:13); Laura Black (41st, 23:27); and sophomore Marley Perry (66th, 24:56). Gabrielle Kahler was 67th for The Dalles in 24:58.
Riverhawk boys place eighth
The Dalles High boys cross country team finished eighth Sept. 8 in its division of the annual Ultimook Race, a cross country extravaganza of almost 2,000 runners of various ages, held near the Oregon coast.
The Class 4A Riverhawks competed in the Class 5A-6A race, which was among 16 categories of racing. The meet is a favorite for most runners, who usually don’t get to fjord a stream twice nor trudge through a 20-meter long, more-than-knee deep pit of muddy water.
Senior Caleb Caldwell traversed the laborious Hydrangea Ranch layout near Tillamook in 17 minutes, 47 seconds to lead The Dalles’ runners. Teammate Tyson Long was second for the Riverhawks in 18:10. The Dalles scored 192 team points; 5A Corvallis won the boys varsity race with 91 to the 98 of runner-up Cleveland High of Portland.
Also making up the varsity score (top five) for The Dalles were junior Noah Preston (39th, 18:50); senior Trey Hodges (50th, 19:05); and Zeb Stelzer (69th, 19:44). In total, 156 runners finished the 5A-6A boys race.
There was no official count on the number of shoes lost in the mud pit.
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