The Season blog On Saturday, 9.29.07 the Lakers participated in their biggest competition of the season so far at the Nike Pre-Nationals meet at Portland Meadows race track in north Portland. The varsity teams competed in Division 1 while those not among the varsity (top seven) ran against their scholastic class peers (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior races).
Footlocker Western Regionals
LO's Elijah Greer completed his 2007 xc season by placing 131st with a time of 16:35 for the 5,000 meter course at Mount San Antonio College, near Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, 12.01.07. Due to heavy rains on Friday, race officials opted to use an alternate road course instead of the traditional more hilly route that had become dangerously slippery.
Nike Borderclash
LO's Tate Murray placed 63rd overall at the 9th Borderclash on Sunday, 11.18.07, over the difficult 4.4 kilometer course at the Nike World Campus near Beaverton. Although suffering the effects of a virus, Murray gamely competed against many of the top runners from Oregon and Washington on a very wet and chilly morning. Photos are on the Junior Olympics 07 page on this website.
LO Girls Placed 4th at 6A State Championships
"I've been waiting 20 years for this day," said a beaming Coach Eric Lider as the chartered bus pulled into the LOHS parking lot after a very surprising day at the the 2007 Oregon State High School Cross Country Championships conducted at Lane Community College. What he and coaches Bob Williams and Laura Caldwell were so proud of was the almost unthinkable fourth place finish of the LOXC girls team--which earned the Lakers the first girls state xc trophy in school history.
On one of the best days, weather wise, in recent state meet history, the young women from LO placed three among the top 40 and then relied on the strong finishes of their teammates to score 184 points and nipped Gresham by two points for the final trophy. As expected Jesuit won handily, with St. Mary's the runnerup and South Eugene third. But no one thought LO would place much better than just within the top ten.
Sophomore Tate Murray equaled her best time of the season as she moved up strongly over the final kilometer to place an outstanding 7th overall in 18:53. It capped an excellent first harrier season for the former soccer player as her time is now the fastest in school history at the state meet. Her finish place was the second best (see Girls History at State) and also earned her a place on the Oregon all-star squad that will compete against a Washington team in the upcoming Nike Borderclash on November 18th.
Freshman Latane Cox, who switched from Volleyball to xc in September, also ran a great race to place 22nd with a time of 19:42, which is one of the fastest state times in LOXC state meet history. She was followed by the steady-senior Lauren Ohlson, who placed 39th with a time of 20:03. Although missing their senior teammate Shelley Chestler, recovering from injury, the other girls ran near their bests. Junior transfer Erin Yayali placed 96th (68th in team scoring) with a time of 21:31 and sophomore Kathleen Preston, running on a tender knee, finished strong in 21:40 for 98th. Senior Ali Steinbacher was close behind in 21:45 (104th).
The team's top five had a combined time of 1:41:49 for an average of 20:21.8 and a 1-5 spread of 2:47. It was the second fastest average at state in LOXC history, only behind the 20:08.2 of the 2003 team which placed sixth.
The 6A boys event had only one LO runner as Elijah Greer made his second appearance as an individual qualifer. Running probably his best race of the year, the junior used his track speed to hold off TRL runnerup John Paden over the final 100 meters as both posted times of 16:19. Greer's final effort earned him 15th place overall and the first alternate position for the Nike Borderclash. He also moved up the historical lists for LOXC runners at the state meet.
TRL District Championships
The LOXC harriers made their annual trek to Clackamas Community College on Wednesday, 10.24.07, to compete against their Three Rivers League rivals for the District Championships and advancement to the Oregon State XC Championship meet on November 3, at Lane Community College.
As the cloudy skies began to shower what is known as Oregon sunshine, the Girls Varsity event began. LO freshman Latane Cox led the field through the first kilometer of the 5,000-meter route, closely followed by sophomore Tate Murray, senior Lauren Ohlson, a couple of West Linn and Putnam runners and Milwaukie's Erin McLaughlin. Although the Lakers were ranked 10th among 6A teams, they were without 2006 State qualifer Shelley Chestler, who was nursing a leg injury. West Linn and LO were both pre-race favorites, but with different styles. The Lions rely on running in a pack, while the Lakers have three of the top runners in the league.
Cox continued to lead through the first mile, passed in 6:12 and was right behind Murray at twice that distance, clocking 12:52. Murray then pulled away from her teammate and won her first TRL title, in only her first year of overland running, with a time of 19:12.49. Cox followed in second, with a new personal best of 19:30.09 to give the Lakers the best start you can achieve. Ohlson duplicated her seventh place finish of 2006, improving her time to 19:56.98.
Senior Emily Fuller ran a steady race and finished strong over the initial kilometer to break into the top 20 with a time of 21:17.73 for 18th. Junior Erin Yaylali rounded out the scoring (top 5) in 23rd (21:38.99) while senior Ali Steinbacher was 25th (21:56.35). Sophomore Kathleen Preston, racing for the first time after a knee injury, placed 28th in 22:11.91.
West Linn placed six in the top 17 to tally 50 points and edge the Lakers by a single point as both team qualified for the State meet.
Earlier, the day's competition had started with the Girls JV event. LO freshman Katie Chandler was frist to reach the track and despite getting sick a fews times over the final 100 meters, won in a time of 23:26.7. She was followed by classmates Emily Hoard (23:35.1) in fifth and Rachel Menashe (23:45.4) in sixth. Sophs Sarah Morse (24:07.0) and Jess Strull (24:12.9) also finished in the top ten in 9th and 10th.
The second event was the Varsity II race, in which LO senior Claire Egli finished second in 22:32.3. Junior Molly Ponkevitch (22:52.7) was fifth and senior Kate Mogentale ran a huge personal best for sixth in 23:16.4. Maura Throckmorton and Natalie Lampson clasped hands and attempted to tie, after running together the entire race, but the officals awarded 10th to Throckmorton (23:32.9). Lampson (23:33) was 11th and Kelsey Mead was 12th in 23:45.6.
The Boys' JV race also was exciting as four LO sophomores placed among the first seven. Reed Oliver worked his way past his West Linn rivals to take second in a fine time of 18:15, equaling his personal best. Sam Sanford backed up his pre-race prediction and ran his best race of the season to place 4th with a time of 18:43. Running together the entire race, a familar sight this year, were Sam Conklin (18:58) and Mitchell Menashe (18:59) who placed 6th and 7th. Freshman Matt Othus ran a personal best of 19:22 for 11th.
Senior David Byerly closed out his Laker XC career with a gutsy 4th place in the Boys' Varsity II event after taking the early lead, finishing with a seasonal best time of 18:16. Junior Blair Wax used his patented sprint over the final 100 meters to place 7th in 18:44.7 and also earned a top ten award.
The final event was the boys' varsity race which would end the season-long speculation if West Linn's resurgance led by their talented freshmen was enough to best the veteran Lakeridge and Lake Oswego teams, which both needed strong performances from their 4 & 5 runners to finish second, behind favored Clackamas and qualify for state.
By the time the gun sounded, the wind had picked up and the rain was falling at an angle from the west as water began to accumulate on the course. Oregon City's Jacob Goertz pushed the early pace, fearing Lakeridge's Dave Marks and his famous finishing kick. They were joined in the lead pack by three red-and-black clad runners from Clackamas, Lakeridge's Alex Anderson and LO's Elijah Greer.
The leaders passed the first mile between 5:05 and 5:10 and were followed by another group including LO's Chris Caldwell (5:14), Sean Johnson (5:17) and Alex Martin (5:18) and three West Linn runners in bright yellow and green. Goertz, Marks, Grant Eldridge and Zack Marx were followed by Greer and John Paden as Lakeridge's Anderson dropped off the pace during the third and fourth kilometers. With 500 meters remaining, Marks had moved to the front and seemed in control and on his way to improving his runnerup finish from the previous year. He put a gap between himself and his pursuers to avoid a wild sprint like last year, when he was outleaned at the finish by LO's Riley Werner as both clocked 16:06.
He bested last year's time and won in 16:02.22 and was followed by the surprising finish of Paden, who had trained frequently with the LO team over the summer before deciding not to transfer. Paden, who was in sixth place, 10 meters behind Greer, with 500 remaining finished strong to clock 16:08.06 for second-- ahead of teammate Grant Eldridge (16:13.08) and the OC's Goertz (16:13.51). Greer (16:16.03) sprinted past Marx (16:17.53) in the final 60 meters to place fifth and join Marks and Goertz as individual state qualifers. Anderson was seventh and the final individual qualifer (top 4 individuals not on qualifying teams).
Caldwell managed to best West Linn's usual number one runner, Ben Morrow (11th), as both were never more than 15 meters apart over the 5,000. His 16:47.8 was good for tenth, but was just behind West Linn's Michael Bernert and Taylor West. Next came LO's Johnson, who outsprinted Martin on the finishing track and ran a personal best by 25 seconds to place 12th in 17:04. Martin was 13th in 17:06 as the Lakers had their first four runners across the finish before any of their rivals. The fifth and final LO scorer was Issac Hayden, who ran his best race of the year and outkicked two runners over the final meters to place 21st in 17:30.7. His heroic effort gave LO 61 points, ten behind victorious Clackamas, but equal to West Linn's 61. WL's sixth runner was 23rd and became the tiebreaker sending the Lions to Eugene, along with Clackamas, for the state meet. Paul Hoard ran a personal best of 17:43.27 as LO's sixth finisher in 27th. Junior James Ratliff, coming back from a hip injury was 30th in 17:59.61. The Lakers averaged 16:56.7 for their top five with a combined time of 1:24:43.43. Their spread between 1 & 5 was 1:14.67.
For a comparison of past TRL results please see the Boys/Girls at Districts pages.
On Saturday, 10.13.07, the Laker harriers visited northeast Portland's Fernhill Park for the much-anticipated adidas Cross Country Classic and a final tuneup before the Three River League championships on October 24. LOXC featured runners in six different events: JV girls and JV boys unscored, JV girls and JV boys team scored (7 runners per team), and Elite Varisty Boys and Girls.
The highlight of the day for LOXC was the performance of sophomore Tate Murray in the varsity Elite Girls' Division. Just after the huge field made a 180-degree turn a few hundred meters into the race, Tate was well behind the early leaders, but running well. By the mile maker, which she passed in 5:53, she had moved into the top 15. She reached two miles in 12:10 and was then in the top ten. One mile later (18:22) she had passed all of her competitors, except for the two Jesuit standouts who were well ahead. Murray's final time of 18:53.1 was a personal best and placed her third overall.
Freshman Latane Cox was just off her personal best as she placed 23rd in a fine 19:35.1. Senior Lauren Ohslon ran a strong race, especially after her victory against Lakeridge and Putnam just three days earlier, to place 50th in 20:16.1. Junior Erin Yaylani ran her best of the season to place 101st in 21:30.5, while senior Ali Steinbacher clocked 21:44 (112) to complete the top five team scoring. The Lakers tallied 283 points to place 9th among the 24 Elite teams.
The LO boys did not have one of their best days as Coach Bob Williams pulled two of the runners from the race due to illness and injury. Elijah Greer, suffering from a cold, and James Ratliff (hip not 100%) both had to watch from the sidelines as their teammates continued to race. Senior Chris Caldwell had passed the first mile in 5:14 just ahead of Greer and senior Alex Martin as the LO trio were well back in the tightly packed field. Caldwell passed two miles in 10:40 and gradually moved up to finish 45th with a time of 16:48.5. Martin was next in (79th) in 17:20.3 and was follwed by fellow classmate Sean Johnson (103rd/17:41.7). Juniors Issac Hayden (114th/17:50.7) and Paul Hoard (130th/18:03.5) completed the LO scoring as they placed 20th of 25 Elite teams.
On Wednesday, 10.10.07, LOXC hosted their one and only home meet of the season. Once again the famed LO home course showed its teeth as cross town rival Lakeridge, and Rex Putnam H.S. slopped through the soggy fields next to LOJH, made their way thorugh the trails of Springbrook Park and navigated the slippery hill that connects Uplands Elementary School with LOJH.
After a showery and wet day, the sun broke from behind the clouds as the girls and boys junior varsity races were contested. After many personal bests at last week's meet at Tualatin, the LO course provided only one to an LO runner. Sophomore Jeff Wells ran his best of the season with a 21:22 for 20th in the boys jv event.
The varsity girls race should have been an easy one for LO, but various illnesses and injuries kept seven of the top eleven Lakers from competing. Senior Lauren Ohlson made her last prep race on her home course a memorable one as she led most the race to win in a fine 21:20 on a very difficult course. That performance was the 24th best ever on the all time LO list on this course. Senior Emily Fuller (22:49) sprinted away from teamates, junior Erin Yaylali (22:52) and senior Ali Steinbacher (22:59), as the trio finished 5-6-7 to give LO a shot at beating Lakeridge. Freshman Emily Hoard, in her first varsity competition, completed the Laker scoring with a time of 25:19 in 18th place as LO bested Lakeridge by a single point. The girls finished the TRL dual meet season with a 5-1 record.
By the time the boys varsity teams broke from the starting line, darkness was falling, especially on the trails in Springwood Park. Undaunted by the situation, or maybe wanting to get an early jump on a Halloween prank in the woods, a Putnam runner sprinted into the front and led by 25 meters entering the park trails. As the runners climbed the steps leading out the park, it was six man pack evenly divided with three light and three navy blue runners. TRL district favorite Dave Marks, unbeaten over 5,000 meters this season, ran with teammates Alex Anderson and Rishi Rikhi. Next to them were LO's Elijah Greer, Chris Caldwell and Alex Martin.
Marks and Anderson soon moved to the front as Lakeridge seemed confident on LO's course and the LO trio followed them past the mile mark at 5:23. At two miles, Greer made a move and took the lead, with Marks following as they put a few meters between them and the others. Coming up the final and very slippery hill, Marks and Greer were side-by-side with only 500 meters remaining. Greer then used the speed that earned him the State 1500-meter title last spring, as he sprinted past Marks with 300 meters to go. Although Marks, noted for his closing kick this year, dug deep, he couldn't close the gap as he finished two seconds behind Greer's 17:20.
Caldwell, fourth coming up the the final hill, sprinted past LR's Anderson (17:45) to take third in 17:40 and Martin finished 5th in 17:49 to keep LO in the race. Issac Hayden secured the close win for LO by finishing seventh (18:30), while Paul Hoard closed out the LO scoring in 11th (18:56). LO (1,3,5, 7, 10 =26) bested Lakeridge (2,4,6 8, 9 = 29) and Putnam 16-51 to complete the TRL dual meet season with a 5-1 record.
On Wednesday, 10.3.07, LOXC returned to Three Rivers League action against highly-rated West Linn and TRL member Milwaukie in a 5-way meet at Tualatin. Pacific Conference foes Newberg and Tualatin also ran their league dual meet during the competition. LO junior Elijah Greer won his second meet of the season, both at the Tualatin 5K course, by pushing the pace after the first 200 meters. He pulled away from the lead pack after 400 meters and passed the first mile in 5:06, putting almost 10 seconds on his closest pursuers. After passing two miles in 10:15 he was never challenged and crossed the finish line in 16:18, his second fastest of the year.
Seniors Chris Caldwell and Alex Martin remained in the following pack, passing two miles in 10:35. As they ran up the final of the the course's five hills, Martin edged ahead and remained with West Linn, Newberg Tualatin's top runners. Alex finished strong and held off West Linn's Ben Morrow to place 4th overall and improved his personal best by one second with a time of 16:38. Caldwell finished 8th overall in 16:45 as LO placed three ahead of WL's second finisher.
West Linn then placed 9th, 10th, 13th, and 15th, before LO's James Ratliff placed 17th in a huge personal best of 17:30--knocking 21 seconds off his previous best. Senior Sean Johnson was 20th in 17:37. Junior Paul Hoard also had an outstanding effort and broke 18 minutes with a 17:51 for 23rd. Issac Hayden (17:55) was 24th as LO had seven runners under 18 for the first time this season. LOXC averaged a seasonal best of 16:57.6 with a combined time of 1:24:48 for the top five scorers with a 1-5 spread fo 1:19.
In an extremely close race, LO upset the favored Lions by a score of 27-29 (LO: 1, 2, 4, 9, 11; WL: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, [10]) and take their TRL dual meet record to 3 and 1. In the overall 5-way scoring, Newberg won with 47 points with LO next at 50. WL was a close third with 52.
In the girls varsity race, the expected battle between LO and WL was as close as possible as the two teams both posted scores of 28 points, with WL winning due their 6th runner's better finish. LO sophomore Tate Murray once again led the way and improved her personal best to 19:00 as she was barely edged by Tualatin's Emily Wheeler (19:00). It was another outstanding effort for Tate as was that of freshman Latane Cox, who ran under 20 for the first time with a 19:33 for fourth overall. Senior Lauren Ohlson continued her excellent season with a fine personal best of 19:45 to place sixth. Senior Emily Fuller was the next LO finisher in 17th (21:27) as she outsprinted WL's sixth runner in what proved to be a much needed point. Junior Erin Yaylali ran a seasonal best of 21:39 in 19th and senior Ali Steinbacher ran a personal best of 21:40 in 21st. The girls improved their seasonal best (top 5) average time to 20:16.8 with a combined 1:41:24 and a spread of 2:39, although still not at full strength due to injuries.
On a cloudy, cool and windy day, sophomore Tate Murray ran another personal best (19:14.2) as she placed sixth and earned a trip to the awards ceremony as a top ten medalist. Also running a personal best was frosh Latane Cox (25th/20:10.15) in her third appearance as a Laker. Senior Lauren Ohlson ran well to place 50th in 20:35.5. Junior Erin Yaylali ran a seasonal best 22:01.5 for 100th place and senior Emily Fuller (102nd/22:13.8) rounded out the Laker scoring (top 5) with senior Ali Steinbacher (108th/22:27.7) not far behind. The team, still not at full strength due to injuries, placed 12th among the 17 Division 1 teams and had a combined time of 1:44:15 for an average of 20:51 (top 5) and a spread of 2:59 between 1 and 5.
In the boys competition, junior Elijah Greer started conservatively and moved up thoughout the race to medal in 9th place with a time of 16:30.15. Senior Chris Caldwell improved his personal best ever-so slightly with a time of 16:43.6 (previous PB of 16:44) and placed 20th overall. Senior Alex Martin was 42nd in 17:05.9, while senior Sean Johnson (87th) closed strong over the final 800 meters and ran a personal best of 17:29.8. Junior Issac Hayden ran a good race to finish in a seasonal best of 17:39 (98th) and complete the LOXC scoring. Juniors James Ratliff (114th/17:54.4) and Blair Wax (137th/18:31.8) ran close to their seasonal bests. The top five averaged 17:05.7 for a combined time of 1:25:28--both seasonal bests. Their spread of only 1:08 was also the best this year.
On Saturday, 9.22.07, the Lakers traveled down I-5 to the Eugene area for the Northwest Classic at Lane Community College. On an extremely windy, but sunny, day, LOXC had some notable performances.
Sophomore Tate Murray ran another personal best as she placed third in the Invitational High School Girls race with a fine 19:31. Also running a personal best was freshman Latane Cox, whose 20:29 was placed her tenth and in the medals. Senior Lauren Ohlson placed 26th (21:14) with senior Ali Steinbacher (51st/22:38) and junior Erin Yaylali (66th/23:19) rounding out the top five scoring. Senior Claire Egli placed 71st in 23:36. The team placed fourth overall among the 14 teams in the Invitational division. The top five's combined time was 1:47.11 for an average of 21:26.2 and a spread of 3:48 between first and fifth.
The Laker boys, who won last years's Open High School division, successfully moved up to the tougher Invitational race this year with a fine second place finish behind Ashland High School. Junior Elijah Greer once again led the navy and white with a fifth place finish in a time of 16:37. Senior Chris Caldwell placed among the top twenty in 16th place (17:18) and fellow classmate Alex Martin was 22nd (17:37). Junior Issac Hayden (42nd/18:14) and senior Sean Johnson (48th/18:22) completed the top five scorers ahead of juniors James Ratliff (49th/18:25) and Blair Wax (69th/18:57). The team's combined time for top five was 1:28:08 for an average of 17:37.4, with a spread of 1:45 between 1 and 5.
Senior David Byerly used a strong kick over the last 300 meters to place 8th in the JV Boys division with a time of 19:08 and earn a top ten medal.
Following the races, the team made the now-traditional visit to Pre's Rock and heard of why Steve Prefontaine is such an inspiration for distance runners from all over the world. Former Oregon great and current LO coach Bob Williams spoke, in a soft-tone, from first-hand experience, which is something very unique to our team.
On Wednesday, 9.19.07, LOXC traveled out through the wine country to McMinnville for a TRL matchup with rival Clackamas. Pacific Conference schools Tualatin also ran along with host McMinnville on the 5,000-meter course in Joe Dancer Park.
The boys' varsity was led by junior Elijah Greer, who ran a strong race to place second by a mere second to Clackamas' Zach Marx (16:11). Greer's time of 16:12 was a seasonal best. Chris Caldwell followed the early leaders through a sub-5:20 first mile and placed seventh overall with a time of 17:09--only six seconds out of fourth place. Fellow senior Alex Martin ran 17:36 for 10th and was followed by junior Issac Hayden's seasonal best of 17:46 in 11th. Senior Sean Johnson ran a personal best of 17:50 for 14th and was followed by junior James Ratliff in 15th (18:06). The combined time was 1:26:33 for an average of 17:18.6 and a spread of 1:38.
Despite good efforts by the Lakers, they lost their first TRL dual meet since 2005 to Clackamas by a score of 23-32.
In the girls' varsity competition, sophomore Tate Murray won her second consecutive meet as she outsprinted Tualatin's Emily Wheeler to win by 0.2 of a second with a time of 19:54. Senior Lauren Ohlson continued her fine season witha 20:44 clocking for sixth. Freshman Latane Cox, running her first race for the Lakers, placed ninth in 20:58. Seniors Shelley Chestler (21:30) and Emily Fuller (21:52) placed 11th and 12th respectively to round out the scoring for LOXC. The dual meet score was LO 19 and Clackamas 38 as the girls remain undefeated in the Three Rivers League. The top five averaged 20:59.6 for a combined time of 1:44:58 and a spread of 1:58 between 1 and 5.
On Wednesday, 9.12.07, the LOXC harriers traveled out to McIver Park for a seven-team meet on a sunny and warm afternoon. When the last race was completed, hopes for a very successful season were high. Sophomore Tate Murray won for the first time in her brief cross country career with a fine race against a very good Tualatin contingent. After running with teammate Lauren Ohlson and many of the Tualatin team for the first half of the race, Murray pulled away to break 20 minutes and crossed the finish line in 19:42. Ohlson, a senior, also finished strong with a 20:26 for fourth overall. Senior Shelly Chestler showed how she qualified for State last year, by closing well to take fifth in 20:46. Sophomore Kathleen Preston (11th/21:29) and senior Emily Fuller (13th/22:04) finished off the scoring (top 5) as the Lakers tallied 34 points to place second to the Timberwolves (29). Senior Ali Steinbacher (16th/22:13), junior Molly Ponkevitch (17th/22:34), senior Claire Egli (18th/22:49) and junior Maura Throckmorton(19th/22:54) all finished in the top 20. The team scoring: Tualatin 29, LO 34, Lakeridge 89, Oregon City 115, St. Helen's 121, Milwaukie and Woodburn incomplete (didn't have 5 finishers). The five scoring runners had a combined time of 1:44:27 for an average of 20:53.4 and a spread of 2:22.
The boys' race provided an exciting finish to a great afternoon as pre-season Three Rivers League contenders Dave Marks (Lakeridge), Jacob Goertz (the OC) and LO's Elijah Greer all were competing in the their first big matchup of the season. Those three took the lead from the first 400 meters and were closely followed by a small pack including LO seniors Chris Caldwell and Alex Martin.
Goertz opend a 15-meter lead on Marks during the final kilometer, but Marks' sprint over the final 100 meters caught him just before the finish. Marks crossed the line first as both clocked fine 15:58 times. Greer dropped off the pace, but used his track speed over the final stretch to hold off a pack of five with his 16:38 duplicating his winning time of last week. Martin ran a personal best of 16:39 for sixth and Caldwell also had his best with a 16:44 for seventh to give LO three among the top seven. Junior James Ratliff, adding cross country to his hurdling resume, finished his first-ever 5,000 with a great sprint to finish in 17:51 and just nip two Lakeridge runners. That effort was needed as LO bested LR by 5 points, 45-50, to place first in the competition. Issac Hayden (17th/18:01), Sean Johnson (19th/18:02), Blair Wax (22/18:25) and Paul Hoard (23/18:27) also had good races, with the latter three runnng personal bests. Team scoring: LO 45, Lakeridge 50, Tualatin 64, OC 105, St. Helen's 131, Woodburn 145, Milwaukie incomplete. The five-scoring runners had a combined time of 1:25:53, with an average of 17:10.6 and a 1:23 spread between 1 and 5.
The LO cross country teams opened their 2007 campaign on Wednesday, 9.5.07 at the Tualatin Invitational. Junior Elijah Greer, the state 1500-meter champion, ran with the leaders for much of the race before pulling away for a decisive victory in a time of 16:38. Seniors Alex Martin (6th/17:04) and Chris Caldwell (8th/17:16) placed in the top ten and received medals. The LO scoring (top five) was rounded out with juniors Issac Hayden (24th/19:00) and Blair Wax (30th/19:21). The team placed second in the six-team field to a strong Beaverton squad, although placing three before Beaverton's second finisher. LO's top 5 finishers combined time was 1:29:19 for an average of 17:51.8 and a spread of 2:43 between 1 and 5.
Sophomore Tate Murray made her xc debut with an impressive runnerup finish in a time of 20:05, only five seconds behind the winner from South Salem High School. Senior Lauren Ohlson ran a very good seasonal-first-meet time of 20:26 to place 6th. Fellow senior Shelly Chestler also medaled with a time of 21:16 for 9th. The 4th and 5th scorers for LO were senior Emily Fuller (17th/21:46) and soph Kathleen Preston (23rd/22:36). The team placed third behind South Salem and Tualatin. LO's top 5 finishers combined time was 1:46.09 for an average of 21:13.8 and a spread of 2:31 between 1 and 5.
