The Dalles girls cross country wins Bridgette Nelson invite

THE DALLES – The Dalles High School’s girls cross country team placed five runners among the top 14 finishers to win its own Bridgette Nelson Invitational on Sept. 26 at Sorosis Park.

The Riverhawks scored 44 points, to best runner-up Madras (76) and six other scoring teams. The Dalles was led by sophomore Flamingo Duyck, who was fourth in the 5,000-meter race in 22 minutes, 2 seconds. Also figuring in the team score for The Dalles were Abigail Pope (eighth, 23:05); Alessandra Meza (11^th, 23:12); Kestley Hodges (12^th, 23:24); and Laura Black (14^th, 23:29).

Molalla’s Annalyse Jenson won the girls race in 20:01; Trout Lake junior Melody Stock was third in 20:37.

The Dalles boys were second behind Tri-Valley Conference foe, Molalla, which is the top-ranked Class 4A boys team based on results so far this season. The Riverhawks scored 41 points to the 25 by Molalla. Both teams had great bunching in the race. Molalla was 1-3-4-8-9, led by winner Nick Wood in 17:03. The Dalles countered with the 5-6-7-11-12 placers.

The Riverhawks showed some pack running and had a 39-second gap between their No. 1 runner, Tyson Long (fifth, 18:04) and their No. 5 runner, Lazarus Taylor (12^th, 18:43). Aiden Erickson (sixth, 18:18), Zeb Stelzer (seventh, 18:22), and Noah Preston (11^th, 18:41) completed the Riverhawks’ five scoring runners.