Staff report
Columbia Gorge News
THE GORGE — Starting in 2010, a team from either Hood River Valley, The Dalles, or Columbia — and often all three — has qualified for the OSAA or WIAA state cross country championships. And, based on returning runners, the odds are favorable that streak will continue this fall.
The streak — minus a COVID-interrupted 2020 season — includes state championships by The Dalles boys in 2022 and Hood River Valley’s girls in 2018. State title talk is a bit premature at this point in the season but expect when temperatures cool down in the coming months that the pace of Gorge runners will pick up — as has been the case for the past 15 years when state meet berths were at stake.
All three schools are coming off state meet performances a season ago — boys and girls programs — and all three figure to contend for league and/or district crowns in late October. What follows are outlooks for the Riverhawks, Eagles and Bruins.
The Dalles
The Riverhawk girls, under first-year head Coach Mandi Williams, return five of their seven varsity runners which won the school’s third successive Tri-Valley Conference title in 2025.
“I really hope that the girls team can repeat as district champions; they won for the third year in a row last year so I’m hoping that we can make it a fourth year in a row,” Williams said. “The boys have a little more work cut out for them with having Molalla in our league. But I would hope that they could make it back to the state meet again. It’s going to take a lot of work, but I think they’re capable.”
The Molalla boys won the Tri-Valley title in 2025, finished second at state and return five of seven runners from that team.
The Dalles girls have qualified for the state meet the past six seasons the meet has been held and return to its varsity lineup: Flamingo Duyck (3rd district); Rozlyn Elliott (5th); Josie Brace (8th); Alessandra Meza (9th); and Kestley Hodges (10th). Dufur junior Ellie Brock, who qualified for the 1A state track meet in four events in May, is out for The Dalles cross country this fall.
The Dalles boys return varsity runners Luke Sorenson (8th district), Lazarus Taylor (9th), and Zeb Stelzer (11th) from their runner-up 2025 squad. Liem Jensen, Steven Chavez and Shane Yeager are the top runners for the Riverhawks from last year’s junior varsity district meet. They will be joined by Mason Cramblett, Anoki Nanie, and Dylan Anthony, who Williams said are three eager freshmen looking to make an impact on the varsity team.
The Dalles opens its 2026 season Aug. 29 at its fundraiser Riverhawk Run in The Dalles, and will compete in the Sept. 3 Clark County Jamboree at Vancouver Lake.
Hood River Valley
There are plenty of unknowns heading into HRV’s 2026 season, as the Eagles are replacing their top runners and will be competing in a revamped Northwest Oregon Conference. The seven-team league also includes returnees Centennial, Milwaukie, Parkrose, and Putnam, and newcomers Sandy (down from Class 6A) and St. Helens (up from 4A).
Coach Laura Haspela’s Eagles were third in the NWOC girls district race a year ago behind Wilsonville (now in the Greater Metro Conference) and Putnam. HRV’s girls team had its state meet qualifying streak broken in 2024 and returned to the state meet last season after earning a wild card berth. The Eagles were led by the district meet 1-2 finish of Syl Perrin and Savina Davis. Perrin is running this fall in college at Tufts University; Davis figures to lead HRV as a junior this season.
Also back for the Eagle girls are Isabel Ulland, Sophia Ransom, Freya Nelson, and Noah Crain.
The Hood River boys also finished third at the district meet, improving their state meet qualifying streak to five seasons. Three of the Eagles’ top seven runners at district were underclassmen: Copeland Louis (8th); Josh Carley (22nd); and Ethan Clough 25th). HRV’s Gus VandenHeuvel was an elite middle school runner and is part of a talented freshman class of runners — statewide.
Hood River Valley opens its 2026 season Aug. 28 at the Good Evening Meet at Grant Park in Portland.
Columbia High School
Coach Jim Anderson’s Columbia High School boys and girls cross country teams each competed at the 2025 WIAA state meet. The Bruin girls finished 11th out of 16 teams in the 1A meet and were led by Lilah Zimmerman, who was 21st overall. She and teammate Kathryn O’Connor, who was 29th at state, are ranked first and fourth on the school’s all-time cross country records list for 5000 meters. Six of Columbia’s seven varsity runners at the WIAA District IV meet in 2025 were underclassmen.
The Bruin girls qualified for state by finishing second at district; Columbia, which competes in the Trico League, was eighth at the 2024 state meet.
The Columbia boys team finished 16th at state after a fourth-place finish at district. The Bruin boys also lost just one runner — Ethan Hayes — to graduation from last year’s district varsity team. Junior Colby Clark finished 14th at district in 2025 — one spot behind Hayes.
Columbia opens its 2026 season Sept. 3 at the Clark County Jamboree at Vancouver Lake.
Trout Lake
Trout Lake senior Melody Stock will be among the top 2A/1A girls runners in Oregon. Stock finished 13th at the 2025 Class 3A/2A/1A state championships — she was the third Class 1A finisher in the combined three enrollment classes at state. The 2A/1A schools will have an OSAA championship separate from 3A this fall.
Trout Lake also opens its 2026 season Sept. 3 at the Clark County Jamboree at Vancouver Lake.
Of note: All four Gorge-area cross country programs are scheduled to compete in the Sept. 12, Oregon City XC Invitational.
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