THE GORGE — Hood River Valley kicked off the 2026 cross country season Aug. 28 at The Good Evening Meet at Grant Park in Portland.
The 22-team meet, which included Class 6A OSAA schools (other than HRV), held four races — by a runner’s year in school.
Freshman Gus VandenHeuval had the fastest time of the day for the Eagle boys, as he placed third in the ninth-grade 3000-meter race in 9 minutes, 34.8 seconds. Josh Carley, a junior, ran 9:49.2 in his race; frosh Sam Schwager was at 9:57.2; and juniors Copeland Louis (10:23.5) and Ethan Clough (10:26.4) completed HRV’s top five list of times.
Of note in the boys competition was the team finish by HRV’s freshmen squad (the Eagles’ lone complete team of five runners in any one grade). Hood River was second overall among 14 (all larger 6A) schools.
Coach Laura Haspela said: “The coaches’ goal for this race was for the athletes to learn as much as they could about themselves and to come away with a starting place. A second-place win for the freshmen boys team was a pretty rad starting place. We are excited for what is to come.”
The Eagle girls were led by junior Freya Nelson, who ran 12:59.0. Teammate Noah Crain was clocked in 13:31.1; fellow senior Isabel Ulland crossed the finish line in 13:33.3; junior Lilli Nydahl in 14:44.4; and frosh Juniper Schmidt in 14:46.0.
The Dalles, Columbia and Trout Lake open their 2026 seasons against prep competition Sept. 3 at the 14-team Clark County Jamboree at Vancouver Lake. Hood River Valley will compete on Sept. 5 at the 96-team Ultimook Race at Hydrangea Ranch near Tillamook.
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