WILSONVILLE XC SUMMIT

WILSONVILLE XC SUMMIT
31 AUGUST, 2007
WILSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

In our first ever meet prior to the official commencement of the school year, the 2007 Ram harriers got off to a flying start at the inaugural Wilsonville XC Summit. The Summit, the brainchild of Wilsonville coach David Barkley, involved running related seminars during the day (training, nutrition, college plans, etc…) and rock and roll blasting through the course as the athletes competed under the lights on the Wilsonville campus. The final races of the evening would be the 5000m varsity events while others were to run in class level races at 3000m. Fifteen schools were entered with traditional power Hermiston posing the greatest threat to the Rams’ victory. All tolled, it was a pretty fun deal.


Despite an early departure the Labor Day Weekend traffic spelled all kinds of trouble for the small group in the team van, causing a significantly later-than-hoped-for arrival on site. Although the frosh and soph athletes had ample time to walk the course and warm up, your intrepid author was a bit rushed in preparation for the open race. Regardless, the Rams got off well with the coach’s third place effort of 9:43 over 3km.


Next up was the frosh race with three very inexperienced Central Catholic runners: JASON WHISLER, LUKE MILLER, and GREG CRUZ. At the gun, Jason and Luke followed the conservative plan prepared by the coaching staff and put themselves in position to pass runners during the latter half. Both did just that – and clearly have the potential to improve greatly over the course of the season. Meanwhile, Greg, too, appeared relaxed but found himself early on in the top 10. While his summer training had not necessarily indicated this ability, his relaxed demeanor indicated that he certainly was not over his head. Just before the mile mark he moved into fifth, well within striking distance of the lead and continued to move up. With 600m left he moved into 2nd with the leader firmly in his sights. By the time they reached the track with just 500m to go, the two were running in unison. With 250m to go Greg made a fantastic effort and took the lead – only to be passed down the final straightaway. Regardless, he had run an intelligent and gutsy race in finishing 2nd in his cross country debut, with a fine time of 10:45. He did make one serious mistake: he ran so well that his coaches have considerably higher expectations for him now!


The soph level race also featured a group of neophyte runners: NOLAN JONES, WARREN DEGENHARDT, and NATHAN COLLINS joined “veteran” BOB KNODELL in the field of 32, and all performed admirably. Nolan, coming off a difficult week of soccer, was 5th with Bob not far behind in 15th. Both Warren and Nathan finished strongly in out-kicking runners over the final 200m.


CONOR CAMPBELL and MATT HOLMES carried the banner for the Ram juniors, and the fine running continued for the group. Conor was 10th with Matt just a couple of ticks behind in 12th. The winner of the race, a Hermiston athlete, appeared to be very strong, completing the course in 9:24. I thought, “If they’ve got seven guys better than this one, we’re in for a pretty tough evening.” Alas, the boys from Hermiston had elected to run only the class level races – skipping the varsity race – and make an early exit for the long drive back. The junior winner? Jordan Ringe, one of the state’s top runners, who had run a fine 8:51 last spring on the track.


The senior race had AARON PECORA and JIM McCOLLUM along with junior LUCAS WEISENSEE. Lucas had been caught in traffic and missed the junior race but competed very well here in 16th place. Aaron and Jim ran neck and neck the whole way, with Jim edging Aaron down the homestretch as the duo finished 13th and 14th in the field of 41.


As the sun went down the varsity boys began their preparation; they were both focused on the task at hand but also very relaxed. They knew that this was not their most important competition of the season, but also that it was a chance to show off the hard work many of them had invested over the summer months – despite the lack of race-sharpening efforts.


Instructed to stay out of the top 10 for the first mile the group carried out the plan to perfection. Seniors TAYLOR MORGAN, JOEL TURKHEIMER, and AUSTIN JONES were joined by sophomores MUSA AHMED and PETER SLAUSON in the top 15, while junior SAMOT TURINA and soph CURRAN CARLILE followed nearby. After the mile, TURKHEIMER towed MORGAN, AHMED, and SLAUSON to the front of the race joined only by West Linn’s Ben Morrow and Lakeridge’s Dave Marks. With 800m left Slauson and Morrow had been dropped while Marks battled the trio of Stark Street harriers. As they hit the track with 500m left, Ahmed had fallen back with Turkheimer pushing the pace. Most in attendance expected Morgan to unleash his powerful kick to seal the win, but on this night Marks was the big kicker as he moved away for a three second victory in 16:27. Morgan and Turkheimer claimed 2nd & 3rd with Ahmed holding on for 4th in 16:49. Despite losing ground over the final half mile, Musa’s effort confirmed that he will clearly be a big-time performer for the Rams this season.


Two West Linn runners occupied the fifth and sixth positions and were followed across the line by three more Rams – Slauson (16:55), Jones (16:58), and Turina (16:59). Slauson’s effort was a PR by 15 seconds, and Jones’ performance proved that his summer running has been profitable indeed. Turina, while not having his best day, ran an excellent team race – and later took out his frustration by destroying our post-race workout.


Finishing in 16th place in the field of 44 was Carlile with a huge PR of 17:24. Curran had a fine fall a year ago but struggled mightily with injury throughout the winter and spring. He has put in a fantastic summer of work – including countless hours on the bike and in the pool – to reach his current position. His tale of hard work and success are a great story for all of our kids.


The team outcome was never in doubt – with six runners in the top nine – as the Rams rolled to a 56 point win over a West Linn squad with state meet aspirations of their own. Although our group was slightly disappointed not to have competed against the Hermiston team, we’ll have our chances later in the season as we expect to see them at both the New Balance Invite on September 15th (Western Oregon Univ) and the Adidas-Concordia Invite on October 13th (Fernhill Park, NE Portland).


Next up for the Rams is today’s MHC Relays at Sandy HS (5:30 Varsity Boys, 6:00 JV Boys). See you soon!


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