The "Run-Down": Ultimook XC Race

 

It was our 7th year attending the Ultimook Race in Tillamook; and as usual it was muddy fun and eventful with both pluses and minuses. In summary, it was a day of “Search and Rescue” – senior Brett Lawton had to go back and “retrieve” his mom in the mud, sixth grader Gracie Perry temporarily lost her shoe in the goop, older brother eight grader Ethan Perry had to “unstick” his best friend and classmate Bryce Condon who got stuck in the middle of the pit, and finally seventh grader Lucy Albaugh recovered (and carried to the finish line) eighth grader Danica Stinchfield’s “Jungle Hunt” bandana that broke and fell off her head in the middle of the race. The only thing we could not recuperate throughout the meet was the time spent on detours as many of the Middle School girls and freshman Sydnee Boothby deviated off course.

 

The first race of the day was extremely impressive (although expected) for the future Panthers as the MS girls dominated the other schools in the race. The next closest school exactly doubled JMS’s 54 points in a highly competitive race. It was five eighth graders that paved the way: Elle Thomas won the race some 14 seconds ahead of second place, Jamie Maas (8th) easily made the podium with Elle, Audrey Grice improved nearly a minute over last year’s performance landing in 13th place and Danica Stinchfield out leaned Bella Albaugh (her XC debut) for 17th place.

 

What was nearly as impressive (but not necessarily as expected) was the performance of the MS boys, as the second best school there scored double our total of 52 points, which, like the girls, was also produced by five eighth graders. Samuel Grice made a huge statement as he won by 18 seconds. Vince Dayley joined him in the top 10 with a 7th place finish, running more than 90 seconds faster than last year. The “mud pit” buddies of Ethan Perry and Bryce Condon were 14th and 15th while Dawson Sprinkle was 24th, in spite of spending unexpected extra time in the mud pit.

 

At the High School level, we had many freshmen (both boys and girls) that made their XC debut. The first was Laura Wagner. We downsized her race distance to 3K (novice) to protect her shins, and it worked. She negotiated the course with minimal pain so she will get the green light to move up to 5K next week. Lauren Filipczak and Ava Rana completed the Future Varsity 5K, well, almost 5K. The lead pack found a shortcut back to the finish line thus the whole field ran more like 4K. Lauren placed 16th and Ava was 73rd in the field of 82.

 

Our Future Varsity boys also included two freshmen new to the sport of XC. Nolan Johnson (45th) and John Costa (47th) worked together very well and placed in the upper fourth of the 181 competitors. Our veterans in the race were junior Sage Morris (17th), sophomore Fischer Lees (82nd) and Blake Scott (99th).

 

At the varsity level, both our boys and our girls put just one returner from last year on the starting line. For the girls, junior captain Meryl Keeler had the leadership assignment of guiding the newbies through the first half mile in a strategic location. She then catapulted past a couple dozen runners before the mud pit. Senior Clara Best courageously went with her and they both stepped into the mud in the top 35. That, along with freshman Sydnee Boothby and sophomore Savea Mansfield establishing top ten positions on the exit of the mud pit, put the Panthers in a highly competitive position, looking like they could replicate last year’s third place finish. With inexperience being our biggest opponent, Clara (72nd) slipped back a ways, but was able to encourage freshman Daya Sathyaraj (66th) through the second half of the race. Their places were good enough to secure a respectable 6th place finish for the team. Freshman Violet Hancock was “baptized” into the sport of XC with a challenging day, as she impressed us with her courage and perseverance as she encountered multiple obstacles. She finished in 131st, beating 27 opponents to the finish line.

 

For the boys, it was obvious we would not be able to match last year’s performance. Senior team captain Caden Lowman, who was the only on returning from last year’s record-setting team, started well and exited the pit just inches from the top ten. Caden slipped back into the pack while the other Panthers moved up in position. Freshman Trey Keyser caught up to Caden right at the finish line, while our “4 pack” (which consists of one runner in each class) all finished within 12 seconds and in the upper half. Here is how they performed in order of youngest to oldest: Blake Mattern (105/20:42), Jacob Streuli (111/20:45), Ted West (109/20:44) and Hayden Stinchfield (99/20:33). Considering that none in this pack were close to being varsity last year, we feel good about their individual progress. Jacob has the honor of being the only HS Panther to break a “black course” P.R., and it was huge – by almost 2 minutes! He just missed accomplishing the impossible by setting a new “any course” P.R. – he was just 2 seconds off of that mark. His consistency and hard work is producing amazing results.

 

We will wrap things up with a poem from our “recently blooming” creative coach – Coach Seekins.

 

A competitive trip we undertook

    Journeying to the famous Ultimook

Big challenges were faced in the gook

    Where strong Panther runners overtook

Followed by cleansing in the brook

   Initial results begged a second look

Refreshing pause at the creamery nook

    First race of 2019 is now in the book

 

Our next race is in my old stomping grounds. We will travel south about 30 miles to Oregon City on Saturday morning.

 

Coach Terry L. Howard

 

Line scores: 

Varsity Boys		5000 M
Trey	47th	19:18.4
Caden	48th	19:18.8
Hayden S.	99th	20:33.5
Blake M.	105th	20:42.1
Ted	109th	20:44.4
Jacob	111th	20:45.9	P.R. Black
	of 241
Future Varsity Boys
Sage	17th	21:17.8
Nolan	45th	22:36.7
John	47th	22:44.9
Fischer	82nd	24:16.1
Blake S.	99th	24:57.7
	of 181
Varsity Girls		5000 M
Sydnee	7th	21:11.3
Savea	14th	21:53.5
Meryl	32nd	23:47.3
Daya	66th	25:50.8
Clara	72nd	26:09.9
Violet	131st	30:42.8
	of 158
Future Varsity Girls
Lauren	16th	21:24.2	4000 Meters?
Ava	73rd	27:15.4	4000 Meters?
	of 82
Novice Girls		3000 M
Laura	66th	19:37.6
	of 91