Staff report
Columbia Gorge News
THE GORGE — The Hood River Valley boys were seventh overall and the top Class 5A school out of 43 cross country teams of various enrollment sizes at the Oregon City XC Invitational on Sept. 12.
The Eagles scored 230 points and trailed only larger 6A schools in the meet, held on a fast 5,000-meter course that looped around athletic fields. So fast, that the top three HRV finishers — Gus VandenHeuvel, Josh Carley, and Sam Schwager — are now fourth, fifth and eighth on the school’s all-time list for that distance. VandenHeuvel was 26th at Oregon City in 15 minutes, 54.17 seconds; Carley was 27th in 15:56.28; and Schwager was 29th in 16:02.73.
Also figuring in the HRV team scoring were Copeland Louis (68th, 16:52) and Ethan Clough (84th, 17:10).
The Eagle girls were led by junior Savina Davis, who finished fifth overall and whose time of 18:19.15 is the new No. 4 time all-time in school cross country history (and the leading time for 5A girls thus far). Hood River was 16th out of 23 scoring teams. Also figuring in the team score for HRV were Noah Crain (85th, 21:41); Isabel Ulland (96th, 21:59); Freya Nelson (111th, 22:44); and Vivian Faber (152nd, 27:09).
The Dalles girls were 14th and led by Alessandra Meza who was 61st in 20:41. Josie Brace was 71st in 21:04; Marley Perry was 79th in 21:30; and Rozlyn Elliott and Gabriela Dominguez Bahena were 100th and 101st in 22:10 and 22:14.
The Riverhawk boys were 14th out of 30 scoring teams. The Dalles’ top runners were Lazarus Taylor and Luke Sorenson, who were 50th and 51st — in 16:30 and 16:34. Zeb Stelzer was 62nd (16:47), Anoki Nanie was 151st (18:23), and Steven Chavez 162nd (18:42) to complete the Riverhawks’ team score. All five had personal bests for 5,000 meters.
Trout Lake’s Melody Stock was eighth in the varsity girls race in 18:37.12 and teammate Felicity Peck was 34th in 19:49. Stock’s time is the fastest in school history for the Mustangs. The Mustang boys were 26th as a team and led by Merrek Stock, who was 98th in 17:29.
Hood River had a second meet this past week, when the Eagles and the rest of the Class 5A Northwest Oregon Conference teams competed in a Sept. 9 preview race at Blue Lake Regional Park in Troutdale. The Eagles essentially trained through the mid-week race.
The HRV boys won the team competition with 35 points and were led by Carley’s runner-up finish. The junior ran the 5,000-meter race in 17:52. Other HRV scorers (top five) included Schwager (fourth, 18:11); Louis (fifth, 18:24); Leland Flood (10th, 18:56); and Forrest Diem (14th, 19:18).
Davis won the girls varsity race in the preview meet in 19:27. Crain was 10th in 24:06; Nelson was 11th in 24:12; and Ulland was 15th in 25:45.
Sherman County competed Sept. 12 at the Melon Fest meet in Hermiston. The Huskies were led by T’Sharra Lanthorn, who was 47th in the girls varsity race (25:09), and Rory Dorzab, who was 29th in the boys junior varsity race (20:01).
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