County runners start season with sweep

Published 10:00 pm Friday, August 25, 2023

PILOT ROCK — The bus trip back to Enterprise was a good one for both the boys’ and girls’ teams of the Outlaws cross-country team as they returned from Hoeft Farm in Pilot Rock.

Kicking off the season with competition from both Pilot Rock and Pendleton, Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa grabbed both team titles on Thursday, Aug. 24 during the running of the John Hascall Memorial.

Sweeping the first seven individual placements in the girls’ race, Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa easily downed second-place Pendleton in the team scoring, 15 to 50.

The Outlaws were led by sophomore Owyhee Harguess, winning the race in a time of 22 minutes, 28.35 seconds. The group behind Harguess was all teammates including, in order, Abigail Hurley, Amy Hellinger, Camydn Weer, Zion Boyd, Opal McDonald and Ione McDonald.

The team scoring for the boys’ competition was somewhat closer, with Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa winning over Pendleton, 20-41.

Outlaw junior Jett Leavitt was first across the finish line, just missing the under 18-minute mark with a time of 18:00.30 in his first race of the season. Leavitt was followed by sophomore Jonah Lyman, finishing in 18:33.27.

Fellow Outlaw junior Xander Perry managed a top-five finish in fourth and fellow junior Lucas Goodrich was just outside the top five placements in sixth.

Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa will next make a trip to Pendleton on Thursday, Aug. 31 to meet up with six opposing teams in the Community Park Shake Out at Pendleton Community Park. The girls leave the start line at 4 p.m. with the boys expected to race starting at 4:45 p.m.