Following the disappointing cancellation of a long awaited meet in the Wallowas, The Dalles High School Cross Country pulled together to set twenty-five personal bests at the Oregon City Invitational.

Riverhawk Run on Saturday at Discovery Center provided a chance for students and the community to run together in what is a preview of times to come as cross-country track gets started this fall.

It started to drizzle as the varsity girls were at the starting line of the Valiant Invitational. Striding out, jogging back: palms upheld to test their suspicion. “Rain makes you faster,” I told them as they peeled off sweats and checked the knots on their shoelaces.

As random as a field near Heppner may seem, and despite the crunchy stubble underfoot, the course is remarkably flat and forgiving; the home team, coached by Russ Nichols, is consistently strong and competitive: both good reasons why over a dozen teams, including the Riverhawks, TDMS Wildcats, and St. Mary’s- came to run the Mustang Invitational last Thursday.