Sending Off To Soar: The Dalles Cross Country Start Season
By Jill Bell
The Dalles, Ore. Sept. 11, 2024 — Before every season as a coach, I do a mental inventory of what worked last time and what to keep for the next. Sharpies for labeling hoodies that will otherwise end in a jumble at the end of a race: check. More water than you think you need on hot days: check. Extra rolls of tape. Double-checking bus availability. Olive oil for brownies.
Starting the season with a community run and walk: Double check.
There’s something special about starting the season with the community literally and figuratively behind them. Each week of summer runs brought back returning faces as well as new ones, assembled for the first time together in their yellow jerseys at the front of the pack in the Discovery Center parking lot. Behind them, dozens of parents, siblings, and friends, cheering them on and contending for a strong time of their own.
Although the morning was hot, the Riverhawk runners saw substantial improvements over their times from the same course two years earlier (with much cooler weather). Caleb Caldwell, whose sophomore time was BLANK, won the 5k race in a blistering 17:13 to start his senior year. Fellow senior Alaina Casady, who had planned to run around 22 minutes (with a sophomore win of TIME), glided to first in 20:06. Caldwell and Casady were not alone. Three other boys finished under 18: Noah Preston at 17:42, Tyson Long, and Aiden Erickson at 17:55, with another five under 20 minutes. On the girls’ side, Kestley Hodges and Abigail Pope worked together to finish under 23 (22:49 and 22:57 respectively), with the rest of the varsity team well under 27 minutes.
The run was also a good boost of confidence to new runners, especially Ember Kahler, Josie Brace, Luke Sorenson, and Alessandra Meza. The middle school team also had a strong showing, with 7th grader Lazarus Taylor winning the 3k in 12:41 and newcomer Hea Peters finishing first for girls and second overall in 14:42.
For the community, the 1 mile field was dominated by the younger crowd, with Miles Buckwalter (brother to Adah of TDHS) finishing first in 7:29, and Holly Tonn (sister to Audrey & Caleb of TDMS) finishing first for her bracket in 7:56. On the opposite end, the 10k finishes split the brackets just right so that everyone finished first in their category- a full field of blues: from Juan Meza (53:33), Matt Hodges, Marisol Meza, DeAnn DaPaepe, Suzanne Gillet, to Bryan Mears (1:13:23).
After another week of practice, continuing on to a mud run: Triple check.
The Dalles returned for the fourth consecutive year to the Ultimook Race, a muddy, crowded, hilly course fielded by teams across the Pacific Northwest over 3 miles of hydrangea-studded wildness and grit. “Have fun- it’s the funnest course- but you need to actually try,” junior Noah Preston reminded the team in a pre-meet pep talk. Try they did. The team averaged almost a minute faster than last year, with final varsity runner Luke Sorenson ending at 20:06, before last year’s fourth runner finish. This level-up helped the Riverhawks more than hold their own against the 5 & 6A schools they raced, with the varsity girls team finishing fifth out of twelve, and the boys 8th out of 21.
Tillamook’s is not an easy course to get a personal record (PR) in, but Norah Macnab charged through the mud to improve her time by over two minutes from Riverhawk run (27:09). Joining her were Sofia Rogers (33:03), Marilynn Benjamin (30:08), Gabrielle Kahler (24:58), Laura Black (23:27), Kestley Hodges (22:40), Trey Hodges (19:05), Aaron Shubert (22:29), and Jack Dewey (22:55).
It was also a good early race to assess two things the Riverhawks will draw from throughout the season: strength and listening. Caleb Caldwell, stronger than ever, finished 14th overall and first for smaller schools in a smoking fast 17:47, with teammates Tyson Long (18:10) and Noah Preston (18:50) comfortably in the 18s. Newcomer Josie Brace chased down and caught a dozen runners over her race, while the dynamic duo of Kestley Hodges and Abi Pope kept grinding and moving up through the pack every mile. Among the lead pack for the girls’ race was Alaina Casady, back for her senior year in 12th at 20:52, almost exactly a minute faster than the last Ultimook.
For such a varied race, it’s hard to choose highlights, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the upperclassmen who made sure their teammates warmed up, got to the line, and cooled down: Elliot Winwood, Marilynn Benjamin, Kaedyn Linker, Alaina Casady, and Caleb Caldwell. It didn’t hurt that they each saw some rocking times of their own.
With each race and each practice the checklist gets a little more real- the anticipation building through another rock-solid season for the Riverhawks. Not so much a sprint where you can see the end, though, the cross country season moves more like, well, a cross country course: full of twists and turns, highs and lows, full starts and empty stretches- but always with the community behind them, and sometimes with some mud pits in between.
Save the date: After their away meets at Oregon City (9/14) and Lane Community College (9/21), the Riverhawks race at home at their Bridget Nelson Invitational. The first race begins at 3:30 at Sorosis Park. We’re also hosting the Bob-A-Long, a community run/walk celebrating Bob Thouvenel’s 80th birthday and 57th season of coaching, on October 5th at 10 a.m.. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/TNS6KKqS1VW7Vjs68.
PS Shout out to The Dalles Middle School Girls’ Cross Country team for winning their first meet in Vancouver on Friday!
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