“Whoa,” remarked Mike Lord, the athletic director from Molalla, pulling his sunglasses down as he looked up at a freshly snowcapped Mt. Hood beyond the golden orchards. “I’ve never been anywhere beyond the baseball fields here. This is incredible.”

On the back of the pullovers were quotes from the season, from the silly “are we running today?”, to the oft-repeated “chin down, eyes up!”, and encapsulated with one of the seniors’ reasons for improving: “I decided to be fast.” Last Wednesday, Oct. 26, the entire team followed that advice at the Tri-Valley District meet, racing their best season times, and earning multiple spots to the State meet.