BOYS

The numbers 1,3,4,6,8,9 and 10-ranked boys teams in the region all competed at the Nike/Jim Danner Invitational on Saturday 10/7. NW#1 Ferris WA confirmed their ranking with a dominant win over six other regionally ranked teams. NW#6 Central Valley WA did the most to help themselves, finishing second over NW#3 Borah ID and NW#4 Central Catholic OR.

Due to scoring discrepancies revealed well after the meet concluded, Borah and Central Catholic each found themselves clinging to somewhat of a Pyrrhic victory—Borah placed third in official scoring that will not be overturned (according to meet director Tim Tank, the sole evidence lies in video recorded for media purposes—not meet verification purposes—which is not permitted for use in official scoring adjustment), while Central Catholic was acknowledged to have earned third (by a point) when their #1 is properly placed in the scoring, but not officially awarded the trophy. For those who say, “That’s why you run the race,” here’s a case where even the race wasn’t entirely successful in separating these two closely-matched teams.

The rest of the finishes went remarkably close to form, with NW#8 Jesuit OR, NW#9 Seattle Prep WA, and NW#10 Kodiak AK holding down the 5-6-7 slots, in that order, with none of the talented unranked squads (Lincoln, Crater, Kentwood, et al.) managing to insert themselves between the ranked teams.

Full results and meet coverage is here: http://www.dyestat.com/3us/6xc/JimDanner/index.htm
Individual team notes (and results for the other ranked teams) are below.

1. Ferris, WA -
Coming off the high of the Stanford win, the Saxons hung a meet-record 58 points on some of the most talented squads in the region. All five scorers were in the top-25, separated by a mere 41 seconds in a large and talented field.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Ferris Top 7

4 Hickerson, David Ferris, Joel 15:19.41 3
7 Olsen, Steve Ferris, Joel 15:35.44 5
13 Quackenbush, Cameron Ferris, Joel 15:43.53 11
22 LaPlante, Nick Ferris, Joel 15:59.87 19
23 Maloney, Pat Ferris, Joel 16:00.13 20
63 Devlin, Jeff Ferris, Joel 16:37.50 57
65 Hawkins, Paul Ferris, Joel 16:39.42 59

Up next: Two Wednesday GSL meets 10/11 and 10/18, followed by Regionals 10/28

2. Mead, WA –
He’s back. After waiting several weeks for last year’s Foot Locker finalist Taylor Nepon to return, the Panthers finally put a full roster on the line at the Richland Invitational. Mead was still led by impressive senior Dylan Hatcher (3rd 15:09)—and may be the rest of the season—but Nepon made his presence felt right away, finishing as the #4 man in a squad that went 3-5-7-10-12 for the win. Mead averaged an impressive 15:32 on what looks to be a quick course (based on Lake Stevens’ Joey Bywater’s 14:59 win), and split 56 seconds 1-5. Certain to race his way into shape over the next few weeks, Nepon’s return makes a tight GSL even more intriguing.

Richland Invitational, Richland WA – 10/7/06
Full results available at http://www.jcrawford.net/06richlandboys.html

Boys Varsity Top-5 Teams

PLACE TEAM POINTS PLACES OF FINISHERS AVG. TIME SPREAD

1 Mead 37 3 5 7 10 12 21 33 15:32 56
2 Lake Stevens 90 1 8 11 31 39 42 48 16:03 1:52
3 Richland 160 4 13 23 57 63 95 104 16:29 2:07
4 Woodinville 162 6 27 35 36 58 99 16:33 1:58
5 Wilson 199 16 28 29 55 71 79 92 16:50 1:20

Boys Varsity Individual Top 10

1 1 Joey Bywater-11 14:59 Lake Stevens
2 2 Abdi Hassan-12 15:06 Nathan Hale
3 3 Dylan Hatcher-12 15:09 Mead
4 4 Tyler Noland-12 15:14 Richland
5 5 Kelvin Daratha-12 15:16 Mead
6 6 Doug Holt-12 15:17 Woodinville
7 7 Kelly Lynch-11 15:29 Mead
8 8 Kyle Van Santen-11 15:37 Lake Stevens
9 9 Graham Vaux-12 15:39 Davis
10 10 Taylor Nepon-12 15:41 Mead

Mead Top-7
3 Dylan Hatcher-12 15:09 Mead
5 Kelvin Daratha-12 15:16 Mead
7 Kelly Lynch-11 15:29 Mead
10 Taylor Nepon-12 15:41 Mead
12 Ryan Bishop-12 16:05 Mead
22 Steven Kutsch-10 16:26 Mead
34 Jordan Curnutt-10 16:43 Mead

Up Next: GSL Meet 10/11 versus Central Valley

3. Borah, ID –
The boys from Borah ran a tough race at Danner, rallying around their #3, Jared Nielsen, who gutted his way to 44th place despite injuring his back in an accident Thursday night. Consistent #1 Sawyer Bosch mixed it up from the front early, and #2 Sean Huey followed his typical M.O. and moved up well throughout. Borah was announced the official third place team with 148 points (see above), but loses by a single point (148-149) if Central Catholic’s Taylor Morgan is inserted at 13th, the slot in which he finished. Regardless, Borah clearly belongs in the top echelon of NW teams.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Borah Top 7

11 Bosch, Sawyer Borah 15:39.01 9
17 Huey, Sean Borah 15:53.00 14
44 Nielsen, Jared Borah 16:20.29 39
46 Robinson, Matt Borah 16:24.01 41
50 Nordberg, J.J. Borah 16:26.80 45
117 Dooley, Christian Borah 17:43.44 110
129 Faulkner, Graeme Borah 18:15.27 121

Up Next: Boise City Meet – 10/12

4. Central Catholic, OR –
The Rams had been keying on the Danner meet for several weeks, knowing it was their best shot to climb back into the 3rd spot in the NW and a possible NTN bid. They knew the path led through Borah, who’d beaten them at Firman, and possibly Central Valley, who opened eyes at Sunfair. Second place to Ferris would be necessary, with all the players save Mead present. A returning Luke Wiltshire, a breakthrough run from soph Samot Turina (20th 15:57), and a pushed-to-the-brink effort by #1 Taylor Morgan wasn’t quite enough. The acknowledgment of a 3rd place finish (with Morgan scored correctly) was fair, but it didn’t get them to second. Now its time to regroup for the Adidas meet and a run at the state meet against a Jesuit squad that’s not going anywhere.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Central Catholic Top 7

19 Morgan, Taylor Central Catholic 15:54.52 16
20 Turina, Samot Central Catholic 15:57.92 17
41 Wilshire, Luke Central Catholic 16:19.30 36
42 O'Malley, Kevin Central Catholic 16:19.70 37
53 Marx, Zach Central Catholic 16:29.28 47
66 Wotipka, Sam Central Catholic 16:41.16 60
93 Turkheimer, Joel Central Catholic 17:06.36 87

Up Next: MHC/PIL Meet 10/11 and then the Adidas XC Classic – 10/14

5. Bozeman, MT –
The Bozeman boys stayed in-state this week, competing in the Helena 7 on 7 Meet. After beating formerly-ranked Flathead head-to-head earlier this season, they put an exclamation point on their Montana strength by dispatching Flathead over the 7-runner flighted format as well. Quite simply, Bozeman dominated the meet, taking 1st in 5 of the 7 individual flights and 2nd in the other two. They scored a paltry 9 points over the mostly Montana field. Flathead’s #1 and 2 runners, Seth Grossman (15:38) and Carl Nystuen (15:50) took the flights for the number 1 and 2 runners over Bozeman’s Daniel Jackson (15:47) and Alex Brekke (16:05), but 3-7 was all Bozeman.

Helena 7 on 7 Meet, Helena MT – 10/5/06
Full Results available at www.montanacrosscountry.com

Boys Varsity Team – Top 10

Team Results
1, Bozeman, 9; 2, Flathead-Kalispell 17; 3, Helena Capital 33; 4, Browning, 33; 5, Helena 39; 6, Billings West, 40; 7, Missoula Hellgate, 66; 8, Missoula Sentinel 68; 9, Missoula Big Sky, 77; 10, Hardin 87

Individuals
No. 1 runners
1, Seth Grossman, Flat, 15:38; 2, Daniel Jackson, Boz, 15:47
No. 2 runners
1, Carl Nystuen, Flat, 15:50; 2, Alex Brekke, Bozeman, 16:05
No. 3 runners
1, Andy Burns, Boz, 16:08
No. 4 runners
1, Matthew Francis, Boz, 16:30
No. 5 runners
1, Dylan Davis, Boz, 16:26
No. 6 runners
1, Jordan Schlender, Boz, 16:29.
No. 7 runners
1, Peter Caracciolo, Boz, 16:45

Up Next: Bozeman Invite, Bozeman MT – 10/12

6. Central Valley, WA –
Central Valley has been gaining confidence and momentum all season, capped by their 2nd place performance at Jim Danner. Coach James Berry said he thought they had a shot at Borah and Central Catholic, and they certainly did. They put two (Sean Coyle 6th in 15:32 and Tylor Thatcher 8th in 15:36) in the top ten, the only team besides Ferris to accomplish that. But it was a nail-biting wait back to their #3, 40 seconds later in 39th. Borah and Central Catholic both had their five across before CV did, but neither could overcome the 1-2 punch up front. CV’s normal #3 didn’t have his best day, but the others clearly stepped up. They’ll look to tighten up the 1:04 spread heading into the championship season.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Central Valley Top 7

6 Coyle, Sean Central Vall 15:32.36 4
8 Thatcher, Tylor Central Vall 15:36.51 6
39 Aguilar, Bryce Central Vall 16:16.84 34
43 Stoker, Jason Central Vall 16:20.03 38
60 Cesal, Andrew Central Vall 16:36.12 54
61 Damiano, Nathan Central Vall 16:36.51 55
67 Taylor, Jayson Central Vall 16:42.64 61

Up Next: GSL Meet 10/11 versus Mead

7. Gig Harbor, WA –
No major meet results reported

Up next: Narrows League Preview 10/10, followed by the Narrows League Champs 10/18

8. Jesuit, OR –
The Crusaders put together a strong performance at Jim Danner, beating the expected teams and putting pressure on Borah and fellow Portlanders Central Catholic up front. Brian Manning’s sub-16 effort led the charge, followed by a close 2-3-4 of Larson, Kessler, and Maag. If the gap back to 5 tightens up some, they could be a legitimate challenge to Central Catholic at 6A State.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Jesuit Top 7

18 Manning, Brian Jesuit 15:53.79 15
29 Larson, Sam Jesuit 16:05.68 26
36 Kessler, Tim Jesuit 16:13.59 31
38 Maag, Peter Jesuit 16:14.63 33
70 Gardner, Jake Jesuit 16:48.73 64
84 Carley, John Jesuit 16:59.12 78
89 Rothenberger, Lucas Jesuit 17:02.02 83

Up Next: Dual meet vs Westview 10/11, and the Adidas XC Classic- 10/14

9. Seattle Prep, WA –
Fronted by a sterling win from senior stud Max O’Donoghue-McDonald (15:08), Seattle Prep backed up their #9 ranking with a 6th place finish at Danner in a loaded field. Their #2, Ryan Styrk, ran solidly to finish 27th with a 16:04 and then it was back to a 48-49 pairing for their 3rd and 4th runners. Compression comparisons are difficult with a frontrunner of O’Donoghue-McDonald’s capability, but Seattle Prep had a 1:36 from 1-5; better was the 40 second 2-5 spread.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Seattle Prep Top 7

1 O'Donoghue-McDonald, Max Seattle Prep 15:08.15 1
27 Styrk, Ryan Seattle Prep 16:04.48 24
48 McDonald, Charlie Seattle Prep 16:26.22 43
49 Berg, Erik Seattle Prep 16:26.53 44
69 Bannick, Nate Seattle Prep 16:44.99 63
83 Davis, Nick Seattle Prep 16:58.77 77
88 Bannick, Dave Seattle Prep 17:01.64 82

Up Next: 6-team Seattle meet on 10/12, then the Metro Champs 10/19

10. Kodiak, AK –
Newly crowned Alaska individual state champion Trevor Dunbar had his hands full with some of the Northwest’s best harriers on Saturday. He competed well, mixing it up near the front and eventually landing just outside the top-15. The team’s 1-6 spread of 1:09 was not unlike what they’ve shown this season in Alaska, but made things tough in such a stacked field. The Bears remain in Oregon this week to prepare for the Adidas XC Classic next Saturday, and another chance to show what they’ve got.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Kodiak Top 8

16 Dunbar, Trevor Kodiak 15:50.97 13
24 Pena, Cory Kodiak 16:02.50 21
47 Fried, Lucas Kodiak 16:25.15 42
64 Salus, Sam Kodiak 16:37.92 58
81 Herichs, Caleb Kodiak 16:58.23 75
85 Garcia, Benny Kodiak 16:59.60 79
107 Dunbar, Miles Kodiak 17:24.96 101
120 Cubbedge, Colton Kodiak 17:54.32

Up Next: Adidas XC Classic – 10/14

GIRLS

The number 1,2,5,6,9 and 10-ranked girls teams in the region all competed at the Nike/Jim Danner Invitational on Saturday 10/7. The #1 vs. #2 showdown was muted a bit by the presence of two strong California teams—CA#3 Saugus and underrated (and formerly ranked) Carondolet. Saugus and West Valley AK waged a captivating battle up front, going 1-2 in a narrowly decided 81-87 contest. Carondolet slipped in for third (122), 30 points clear of Jesuit, relegated to 4th (151). NW#6 Boise ID (5th 179) and NW#10 Thomas Jefferson WA (6th 221) both helped themselves, beating higher-ranked opponents while upending the formcharts. Jefferson, in particular, dropped the race many had been anticipating for some time. Snohomish, NW#5 coming in, ended up 7th in the meet and NW#9 Squalicum finished outside the top ten, in 11th.

Full results and meet coverage is here: http://www.dyestat.com/3us/6xc/JimDanner/index.htm
Individual team notes (and results for the other ranked teams) are below.

1. West Valley, AK -
The Wolfpack came south after their convincing Alaska state meet win and proved their ranking is well-deserved. Running without former #1 Crystal Pitney (5th at States ‘06, State champ ‘05), they still averaged 18:49 and received a great race from freshman Marisa Rorabaugh, asked to step up and be the 5th runner. Their feared 22 second spread ballooned to 1:03 without Pitney, but the 1-4 was a neat 23 seconds. While most other teams in the NW Championship race were holding or fading, West Valley was attacking. The Wolfpack is for real.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
West Valley Top 6

9 Davis, Samantha WV Alaska 18:28.89 8
11 Callahan, Maggie WV Alaska 18:31.64 10
15 Teslow, Kayla WV Alaska 18:43.11 13
24 Rorabaugh, Becca WV Alaska 18:51.42 21
39 Rorabaugh, Marisa WV Alaska 19:31.87 35
104 Bowers, Aurora WV Alaska 20:40.16 100

Up Next: Winter...and a long wait to find out if they’ll get an NTN bid.

2. Jesuit, OR –
The Jesuit girls competed well at Danner, they simply ran into three very good teams. Carondolet may have been a slight surprise, but Saugus and WV certainly were not. The Crusaders top three of Adrienne McGuirk (12th 18:37), Katie Sullivan (14th 18:41) and Noelle VanRysselberghe (22nd 18:49) all ran well, scoring in the top 20 and climbing under 19. The one-minute gap from 3 to 4 (52nd) hurt Jesuit, however, as the three teams in front were packing scorers into the 20s and 30s. Fifth-place Boise had their 5 in before Jesuit, but the Crusaders secured the 4th spot on the strength of their front trio.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Jesuit Top 7

12 McGuirk, Adrienne Jesuit 18:37.54 11
14 Sullivan, Katie Jesuit 18:41.99 12
22 VanRysselberghe, Noelle Jesuit 18:49.75 19
52 Hagler, Claire Jesuit 19:46.19 48
65 Murphy, Elizabeth Jesuit 19:55.61 61
77 Tehan, Lauren Jesuit 20:10.67 73
84 Makowski, Teresa Jesuit 20:17.92 80

Up Next: Dual meet vs Westview 10/11, and the Adidas XC Classic- 10/14

3. Gig Harbor, WA –
No major meet results reported

Up next: Narrows League Preview 10/10, followed by the Narrows League Champs 10/18

4. Billings Senior, MT –
Like the Bozeman boys, the Billings Senior girls thoroughly dominated the Helena 7 on 7 Meet against mostly Montana schools. They took 6 of the 7 flighted races, and second in the 7th, for a stunning score of 8. #1 Bridgette Hoenke was edged by Montana CMR ace Keely West in the battle of #1s, but her Broncs teammates nailed down every other flight.

Helena 7 on 7 Meet, Helena MT – 10/5/06
Full Results available at www.montanacrosscountry.com

Girls Varsity Team Results – Top 10
1, Billings Senior High School, 8; 2, Billings West, 23; 3, Butte High School, 31; 4, Bozeman High School, 32; 5, Flathead High School-Kalispell 44; 6, Helena Capital High School 57; 7, CM Russell High School 80; 8, Billings Skyview 84; 9 Great Falls High, 84; 10, Cut Bank, 85
I
ndividual results
No. 1 runners
1, Keely West, CMR, 18:07; 2, Bridgette Hoenke, Senior, 18:13
No. 2 runners
1, Auriele Fain, Senior, 18:31
No. 3 runners
1, Cara Lehman, Senior, 19:06
No. 4 runners
1 Alexa Aragon, Senior, 19:09
No. 5 runners
1, Auralea Fain, Senior, 19:46
No. 6 runners
1, Libby Tollefson, Senior, 19:28
No. 7 runners
1 Phoebe Tollefson, Senior, 20:20

Up Next: Billings City Meet, MT – 10/11

5. Snohomish, WA –
Snohomish, ranked 5th on the strength of their flight-race performance at Sunfair, ran well at Danner to place 7th, losing to a pair of higher ranked squads (WV and Jesuit), a Boise team expected to bounce back from their Firman performance and a Jefferson line-up suspected of being good, but largely unknown. The head-to-head racing clarified things somewhat. Snohomish, like several others, was led by a sub-19 tandem—Ellie Bonner (20th 18:49) and Kara Sporrong (26th 18:57)—but had a gap back to their 3-4-5 that kept them from making the leap into the top 5. Impressively, they got their 7 in before Jefferson’s 5th crossed, but couldn’t overcome the single digit laid down by Jefferson’s #1.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Snohomish Top 7

20 Bonner, Ellie Snohomish 18:49.06 18
26 Sporrong, Kara Snohomish 18:57.84 23
58 Ujifusa, Maria Snohomish 19:52.21 54
67 Fairbanks, Kristi Snohomish 19:58.44 63
69 Bala, Sahar Snohomish 20:01.16 65
75 Sheppley, Madison Snohomish 20:08.93 71
94 Bastian, Michelle Snohomish 20:28.98 90

Up Next: North County Invite, Marysville WA – 10/12

6. Boise, ID –
Last year, Boise stormed the Danner meet and took down NW#1 Jesuit in the process. That was not to be the case this year, but the Braves certainly accounted themselves well with their 5th place showing in a stacked field. In fact, Boise had 5 in ahead of Jesuit’s 5, but succumbed to Jesuit’s tough lead trio. Sarah Olsen had a stellar race to lead the way up front, coming in 6th in 18:18. From there it was back to 36th, and the middle three in quick succession. Katie Lovelace closed the door on the Boise scoring with her 64th placing.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Boise Top 7

6 Olson, Sarah Boise 18:18.18 6
36 McGourty, Rebekah Boise 19:26.27 32
38 Lovelace, Anne Boise 19:30.22 34
51 Sahlberg, Jacque Boise 19:45.97 47
64 Lovelace, Katie Boise 19:55.12 60
114 Wilhelm, Fiona Boise 21:01.10 110
141 Mering, Ellen Boise 22:07.68 136

Up Next: Boise City Invitational – 10/12

7. West Anchorage, AK –
Season concluded last week with the Alaska State Meet

8. Juneau-Douglas, AK –
Season concluded last week with the Alaska State Meet

9. Squalicum, WA –
The Storm, hoping to back up their top-10 ranking after a third place last week without their #2 runner, found themselves 11th at Danner. Their #1 runner, Bronwyn Crossman, was spectacular, trailing two Californians to the line for third place in 18:06. Their #2, Emily Schick, back in the lineup after missing last week, was not as close to Crossman as usual, coming in 33rd over a minute behind (19:17). With two and a half minutes between their 1 and their 5, unranked teams Sunset, Mt. Spokane and Crater all slipped by.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Squalicum Top 6

3 Crossman, Bronwyn Squalicum 18:06.28 3
33 Schick, Emily Squalicum 19:17.79 29
60 Curl, Sophie Squalicum 19:53.02 56
99 Crossman, Gylany Squalicum 20:35.23 95
102 Herdman, Tia Squalicum 20:37.93 98
124 Belaya, Svetlana Squalicum 21:14.83 119

Up Next: Borderline Invitational – 10/12

10. Thomas Jefferson, WA –
Led by the top-5 finish of #1 runner Kerra Patrick (5th 18:10), the Raiders showed they clearly belong in the NW rankings with a solid 6th place showing at Danner. Patrick’s run gave Jefferson some breathing room, and they needed it, as the gap from 1-5 was 2:23 and over 90 places. The 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th, and 15th place teams all had five in ahead of Jefferson, something the Raiders will no doubt be focused on as they enter the championship season.

Nike/Jim Danner Invitational, Blue Lake Park, OR – 10/7/06
Thomas Jefferson Top 6

5 Patrick, Kenna Thomas Jeffe 18:10.39 5
23 Bennum, Vanessa Thomas Jeffe 18:50.57 20
44 Patrick, Camryn Thomas Jeffe 19:37.09 40
68 Robey, Cassidy Thomas Jeffe 19:59.38 64
96 Angeles, Rosemary Thomas Jeffe 20:33.35 92
100 Clarke, Alicia Thomas Jeffe 20:35.59 96
101 Baughman, Jody Thomas Jeffe 20:36.90 97

Up Next: League tri-meet 10/11

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