The Road Less Traveled TD Cross Country Travels to Heppner for 5K Race; Sets Several PR's
TDHS Senior Caitie Wring pushes hard to come in 3rd place at the Heppner race with a 5K time of 21:03.
by Jill Pearson
“Heppner?” eyebrows shot up when I mentioned the destination of Thursday’s meet. Miles down a winding highway, past acres of farm and ranch land, it’s one of the more remote races in the state- a setting more akin to Field of Dreams than to McMinnville. If you mark a 5 kilometer course, though- they will come: over a dozen teams ran around harvested hay and alfalfa fields on the Thompson Ranch. 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.
And run they did.
Despite an abbreviated warm-up, the middle school races saw impressive improvements for their girls’ and boys’ teams. Ariana Gonzalez (12:36) from St. Mary’s and sixth grader Willow Ziegenhagen (12:48) finished under 13 minutes in the 3k, with their teammates Lilyana Gonzalez and Jacey Calloway less than a minute behind. For the boys, Sawyer Dray (St. Mary’s) finished in 7th in 11:12, with a half minute PR for TDMS runner Noah Preston, at 11:59.
Then, after moving a pickup out of the starting line and recognizing the Heppner senior athletes, it was time for the high school races. The high school girls’ team, led by senior Caitie Wring’s 3rd place finish at 21:03, placed first. Fiona Dunlop again had reason to celebrate at the finish line with a sub-22 time, as did her teammates Gabrielle Kahler and Caitlin Frakes, each with significant all-time PRs. They joked that after their first place team finish, their next goal is to run the slowest possible victory loop around Sorosis; rumor has it that they haven’t finished it yet.
A sidelined teammate meant sophomore Leo Lemann had to pick up the pace for the boys team, which he did with a fifth place finish and an all-time personal record of 16:41. Consistent small improvements for the rest of the varsity squad helped them place 2nd behind Enterprise, with the coveted 6th and 7th places up for grabs with sub-20 times from Alex Nipko, Trey Hodges, and Gabe Castillo. Including an over four minute PR for JV runners Angus Trousdell and Hayden Roberts, the boys’ teams boasted over 11 all-time personal bests.
There’s something about meets like Heppner’s that highlight the beauty and simplicity of the sport: it doesn’t need fancy stadiums or crowds, graded surfaces or special equipment. Sometimes all it takes is 3.1 miles marked out in a dusty field, teeming with a few hundred kids with jerseys, running shoes, an incessant will to improve, and pizza to celebrate at the end. It may have been on the road less traveled, but for The Dalles runners, it made all the difference.
The Riverhawk Team will travel to Pendleton on Thursday the 14th to preview their district course. See the rest of their schedule here: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/School.aspx?SchoolID=160
See the rest of the times from the Mustang Invite here: https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/191460/results
