High school cross-country: Wallowa Valley runners post strong showing at district

Published 8:05 am Tuesday, November 1, 2022

PENDLETON — Following a race earlier this season, Wallowa Valley cross-country coach Dan Moody commented on the group-running of the Union/Cove girls team, which saw its top five finish within about 35 seconds of each other.

Friday, Oct. 28, his team showed it could run in a tight spread, too.

The Outlaws’ top five crossed the finish line within 32.3 seconds of each other as Wallowa Valley won the 3A/2A/2A Special District 3 championship in Pendleton.

“They know they’re a team. It’s not just the five or the seven, it’s everybody. These girls are gaining more confidence,” Moody said. “Every meet they are gaining more confidence. ‘I can break 21,’ ‘I can break 20.’ When they know some(one) needs to step up, they do it.”

The freshmen, who have been making waves for the Outlaws this fall, did so again, as the top six finishers for Wallowa Valley were freshmen, led by Mary Hellinger’s sixth-place finish in 20:04.5 — a race in which she set a new personal best by more than a minute. Owyhee Harguess, who is dealing with a hip pointer, and Abigail Hurley were ninth and 10th, finishing two seconds apart in 20:07.6 and 20:09.6. “They don’t run like freshmen,” Moody said.

Fourth across the line in 13th place was Piper Harvey in 20:23.9, and rounding out the top five was Opal McDonald, who placed 16th and set a personal best by nearly 90 seconds with a time of 20:36.8. Moody said he approached McDonald and Freyja Hostetter, the sixth finisher, about needing to pick up an ailing Maddie Nordtvedt, who had been dealing with an illness going into the race. Hostetter finished 20th overall in 21:12.8, a PR by more than a minute, and Nordtvedt, despite the setback, finished 21st in 21:18.3, a personal best by more than 30 seconds.

“I just think they are gaining. I went to Freyja and to Opal, I went to them and said, ‘You gotta pick Maddie up. You have to get in there,’ ” Moody said. “This team, boys and girls, this team responds.”

Wallowa Valley finished as a team with 54 points to best Union/Cove (77), Burns (81) and Sisters (106).

The boys team challenged Sisters for the 3A District 3 title before settling for second, scoring 50 points to Sisters’ 40 points. Burns was a close third with 66 points.

Moody was more than pleased with the boys after graduating several runners from the state championship squad.

“We totally had to rebuild this year. We lost the seniors, five of our top seven runners,” he said. “When you lose that, basically 1-2-3-4-5, and for what the boys did this year was exceptional. We were right behind (Sisters), and Weston’s still not where he should be.”

Jonah Lyman, as he has much of the year, led the way in a 6-7-8 finish for Wallowa Valley. The freshman posted a time of 17:11.7, just ahead of Jett Leavitt (17:23.1) and Andrew Hurley (17:30.8). Weston Wolfe and Xander Perry took 14th and 15th in 17:52.2 and 18:20.9, to round out the Outlaws’ top five. Another pair, Lucas Goodrich and Colton Keffer, placed 18th and 19th in 18:50.0 and 18:52.6.

Moody noted Hurley and Perry as two individuals who excelled Oct. 28.

“Those two, for never having the big-time race experience, they really stepped up,” he said.

And, like the girls team, the boys are performing at a high level with a limited amount of experience.

“Andrew is a junior, Weston is a senior, and that’s it,” Moody said. “The rest are freshmen and sophomores.”

Up next for both teams is the state championship meet Saturday, Nov. 5, at Lane Community College in Eugene.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do at state. Hopefully we can keep it low key … and they’ll run their hearts out again, which I know they will,” Moody said.

The girls, who have steadily improved all season, will be in the mix for a trophy, and initially are, on paper, the favorites. Union/Cove, Siuslaw and Oregon Episcopal are among the top contenders with the Outlaws.

“Hypothetically, we’re in first. It’s a really tight race. There are about five teams vying for four spots. It’s going to be a tight race,” he said.

On the boys side, Wallowa Valley is currently slated to finish just outside of trophy range on paper, though Moody believes they could be in the mix for third or fourth. Siuslaw is the hypothetical favorite.