Cross Country
Current Announcements, Race Results, and Information:
11/13/08 -- ANNOUNCEMENT -- Thank you so much to athletes and parents for a fantastic season. As a reminder, there will be a Polar Bear Track Company (winter training) meeting at 8:25 AM on Wed, 11/19 in Room 408.
11/13/08 --ANNOUNCEMENT -- White Pass X-C camp registration is open, and it is highly recommended that you sign up early as spots will fill up very quickly. The majority of the team will be attending the third session (if you cannot make this week you should still go, but the bulk of OHS runners will be there July 26th-31st). Sign up ASAP. Here is the website for more info and registration forms: http://www.whitepassxccamp.com/ . If you cannot make this camp, there are many day camps in the area -- more info is listed on the left sidebar at watfxc.com.
11/13/08 -- ANNOUNCEMENT -- Thanks to Sally Brennand for posting her 2008 x-c pictures on the web at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohs-x-country/. Also at this site will be the pictures that were showing at the Banquet. Here is the link to the slideshow that Ted Knudsen made for the banquet: http://picasaweb.google.com/knudsented/OHSXC08#slideshow
11/8/08 – State Championships @ Sun Willows GC, Pasco – On an unusually overcast and rainy weekend, the Olympia harriers arrived in Pasco amidst a fury of cross-country activity at Sun Willows Golf Course, the venue of Washington state cross-country championships since 1988. With no pomp and/or circumstance, the races started for the Bears at dusk Friday evening as Colin Lang and Luke Vannice beat the course into submission in the inaugural Pre-State Race. After (for some athletes) dainty portions of spaghetti and a night of Ted Knudsen’s Fantasy X-C Draft the ladies raced in fierce 4A competition, once again led by Clare Kane in 27th place overall with Marissa Ang and Monica Madrigal turning in fine sub-21 minute performances. The injury plagued Bears finished 16th in the state of Washington. Nate Brennand raced beautifully in the boys race turning in one of the best Oly 5K times in recent past; in all classifications at the meet his time placed him 59th overall and in the top ten underclassmen! Ted Knudsen turned in a fine time on this slow course to venerably finish in the top 100 followed closely by Sam Hales and Dusty Miller, the latter of whom especially had an outstanding break-through race. Sam Hales’ time ranks him in the top ten freshman in the state of Washington! Ryan Lawrence, Sam Fleckenstein, and Jared Shorten ran 5,6,7 for the 14th placing Bears, a fine performance for this team that no pre-season analyst in their right mind would have picked to qualify for this meet. Well done teams on a memorable, competitive, and generally fantastic season!
Mens Results
5,000 Meters Varsity Womens Results
5,000 Meters Varsity
11/1/08 -- West Side Classic (Districts) @ American Lake GC -- The top six teams and top 30 individuals advance to state in the 4A Westside Classic race. On a muddy 5k course the girls started off the day with an outstanding 4th place overall team finish, led once again by a terrific race from Clare Kane. Running on a debilitating injury with an individual state qualifying gutsy performance was Annie Dear, and following her was Marissa Ang with an outstanding PR performance for third place on the team. Katy Hoza and Emily McHugh finished out the scoring for the girls, and in fine displacing races were Clare Fleckenstein and Sarah Kohlbry-Cheetham. Although it may sound hackneyed at this point to say that the boys team ran like warrior poets, there are few other descriptors which accurately reflect the sheer fortitude, competitiveness, and general joy of racing that these old-school uniform clad Bears showed today. It was truly one of the most entertaining races that I have witnessed, every member of the team running faster than last year's #2 OHS boy (on a dry course). Nate Brennand moved up very well in the beginning of the race to finish in 15th overall; Ryan Lawrence raced his first sub-17 minute 5K racing in brand new shoes and after rolling his ankle whilst cheering for the lady Bears; Ted Knudsen ran like a man possessed (in the most positive sense possible), passing upwards of ten competitors in the last 3/4 mile to earn an individual qualifying place for state; Sam Hales was not far back, passing competitors with veritable alacrity throughout the entire race, the last of which was Sam Fleckenstein right at the finish, who ran a similarly spectacular race as compared to the freshman; Dusty Miller and Jared Shorten utilized their displacing roles by besting almost every other teams' #5 runners (besides those in front of us). The race was truly a thing of beauty, and the boys team placed an outstanding 4th (Tahoma 70, GH 91, Auburn-Riverside 107, Oly 140, CK 158, Emerald Ridge 159, Puyallup 219). Overall it was a great day for the Bears -- Congratulations! ... ON TO STATE!!!
Mens Results
5,000 Meters 4A Varsity Womens Results
5,000 Meters 4A Varsity
10/22/08 -- League Championships @ Ft. Steilacoom -- Creating the stuff of which legends are made, the Junior Varsity boys began what would be an epic league meet for the Bears. Due to transportation issues the buses pulled up to the meet four minutes before the JV boys race, yielding a warm-up consisting almost entirely of a false start; so the harriers were faced with a decision: Whine and complain about circiumstances out of their control or race to the best of their ability with the situation they were dealt. They chose the latter option, and led by an outstanding 8th place finish from Dusty Miller the boys took 2nd in the JV team competition! Brennan Taylor also had a fine race in the #2 JV slot for the final official race of his Oly x-c career, Johnny Wakefield turned in some great improvment in his finale race, improving 3:29 over last year's league meet was Matt Gomez, and literally diving for the finish line and a huge 40 second PR on the course was freshman Max Robinson. The varsity girls then showed themselves to be the Narrows League powerhouse that they are, led by an outstanding win/time from Clare Kane and a third place finish from an injured Annie Dear. Despite multiple injuries the girls bested Bellarmine Prep for the first time in recent history to take 2nd overall in the team competition! Katy Hoza, Emily McHugh, and Marissa Ang all individually qualified as well. The varsity boys raced very well, and in parenthesis next to their names will be their time improvement from last year's league race. Led by Nate Brennand (1:46) with a 4th place finish the Bears narrowly placed 3rd behind Central Kitsap (GH 36, CK 64, Oly 67). All placing in the top 20 was a beautiful pack of bears which included Ryan Lawrence (55 sec), Ted Knudsen (6 sec), Jared Shorten (50 sec), and Sam Fleckenstein (1:25). Also qualifying individually for the district race was freshman Sam Hales, and also displacing was Colin Lang (1:21). Led by Sarah Kholbry-Cheetham The JV ladies turned in a fine 4th place finish in the team competition. Well done Bears! Full results at athletic.net.
Mens Results League Championships @ Ft. Steilacoom 5,000 Meters Junior Varsity 5,000 Meters Varsity | Womens Results 5,000 Meters Varsity 5,000 Meters Junior Varsity |
10/18/08 -- "The Classic" Frosh/Soph Invite @ Wright Park -- Competing like warrior poets, the Olympia boys dominated this race of ten complete and competitive teams, literally. The boys' team beat a powerhouse squandron of Gig Harbor Tides to come away with 1st place in the team competition, led by an individual 1st place finish (6th all-time for this meet) from Nate Brennand. Not far behind, finishing 5th overall with an outstanding freshman time, was Sam Hales. Jared Shorten, Colin Lang, and Kyle Steen rounded out the scoring, all placing in the top 25. Well done, Bears!!!!! Full results are up on athletic.net. (Boys scores -- Oly 53, GH 62, Todd Beamer 85, Bellarmine 89, Thomas Jefferson 121)
Mens Results 3,500 Meters Frosh/Soph | Womens Results 3,500 Meters Frosh/Soph |
10/15/08 -- "Pre-league" (South Kitsap, Bellarmine, Gig Harbor, Shelton, and Central Kitsap) -- This was potentially the shortest meet in OHS cross-country history, with only two races spaced ten minutes apart. The boys varsity ran the first mile in a pack as instructed and then proceeded to pass multitudes of runners over the course, racing experimentally on this beautiful fall day. Notably outstanding improvements were turned in by many boys, the most notable from Max Robinson, Devon Hulteen, Matt Hankins, David Kirchmeier, and Andrew Mullinax. Showing outstanding improvement and earning a varsity spot for the league meet next Wednesday was Luke Vannice, just behind Colin Lang who also deftly raced his way back to varsity. Fine performances and stellar improvements abounded on the girls' side as well, led once again by Clare Kane. Notable improvements for the ladies were turned in by Eloise Ryser, Abby Mountjoy-Venning, and Sarah Wynder. The boys finished third (GH 26, CK 54, Oly 71, BP 91, SK 141, Shelton 171) as a team and the girls finished 4th (GH 28, CK 81, BP 83, Oly 88).
Mens Results 5,000 Meters Varsity | Womens Results 5,000 Meters Varsity |
10/9/08 -- Home meet vs. South Kitsap, Wilson, and Lincoln -- Amidst perpetual rainy weeks, sunny skies opened up for what was the last home meet for OHS X-C seniors. Outstanding performances abounded, led unequivocally by junior Clare Kane with a new LBA course record perfomance. A standout senior performance on the boys' side was given by Curtis McCoy, with a huge PR 3 mile time. The boys were led once again by Nate Brennand, and following him was a tight (and fast) pack, taking eight of the top ten spots in the race. Both boys' and girls' teams improved their records to 7-1. Well Done!
Boys: Oly 15, SK 49; Oly 15, Lincoln 50; Oly 20, Wilson 43. Girls: Oly 23, SK 39; Oly 15, Lincoln 50; Oly 15, Wilson 50
Mens Results 3 Miles Varsity | Womens Results 3 Miles Varsity |
10/6/08 -- The Sunfair Invitational -- The boys' team finished 13th out of 59 teams and the girls were 12th, both teams finishing in front of many district 3 rivals. Highlights of the meet included Clare Kane's win in the Varsity #6 flight and Annie Dear's 3rd place overall finish, both in outstanding times. On the boys' side Sam Fleckenstein ran an outstandingly noteworthy race, moving from midpack into a great time and 7th place finish in his race. Colin Lang, Luke Vannice, and Jared Shorten also placed top ten with gutsy races. More importantly than the fine performances turned in by the boys' team was their collectively positive attitude on this soggy, van-break-down, $1 store parking lot-spaghetti-making, torrentially-downpouring camping trip.
Mens Results Sunfair Invitational 10/4/08 3 Miles Junior Class 3 Miles Sophmore Class 3 Miles Varsity Flight 1 3 Miles Varsity Flight 2 3 Miles Varsity Flight 3 3 Miles Varsity Flight 4 3 Miles Varsity Flight 5 3 Miles Varsity Flight 6 3 Miles Varsity Flight 7 | Womens Results 3 Miles Varsity Flight 1 3 Miles Varsity Flight 2 3 Miles Varsity Flight 3 3 Miles Varsity Flight 4 3 Miles Varsity Flight 6 3 Miles Varsity Flight 7 |
10/1/08 -- JV Open @ Bellarmine -- While muggy, the Bellarmine "European Style" spectator friendly 2.0 mile JV Open was a great success for the Bears. The boys were led by an outstanding race from Kyle Steen in 2nd place overall. Running with him the whole race and finishing a solid 3rd overall was Colin Lang; rounding out the scoring positions were the nearly inseperable duo of Brennen Taylor and Luke Vannice (separated by mere tenths of a second), followed by Richard Jensen and two outstanding break-out displacing races for Ian Robinson and Max Robinson. On the girls' side, following Sarah Hulteen in their traditional fashion was a pack of bear harriers, led by Sienna Kuykendall. Crystal Garcia, Clare Fleckenstein, and Kylee Smith rounded out the scoring. The boys finished second overall to Gig Harbor (25-34) and the girls were fourth overall. Great Job!
Mens Results JV Open @ Bellarmine 2 Miles Junior Varsity | Womens Results 2 Miles Junior Varsity |
9/24/08 -- Oly @ Lincoln vs. Central Kitsap, Lincoln, and Foss --Both the boys and the girls teams won their meets against Central Kitsap, Lincoln, and Foss on Wednesday at a rainy 2.7 mile course at Lincoln High School. The boys scores were as follows: Oly 27, CK 30; Oly 15, Foss 50; Oly 15, Lincoln 50. The girls' scores were as follows: Oly 25, CK 30; Oly 15, Foss 50; Oly 15, Lincoln 50. The boys were led by Nate Brennand with a gutsy performance for second overall, managing not only to stay alive down the concrete monstrosity but also to outkick the competition for second place. Noteable performances are too numerous to mention, but Ted Knudsen had an outstanding "back from illness" performance; Ryan Lawrence, Sam Hales, Sam Fleckenstein, Dusty Miller, Jared Shorten, and Colin Lang raced the competition so well that it almost brought tears to the eyes of their coach. On the girls' side Annie Dear and Clare Kane turned in a great 1-2 finish to propel the lady bears to victory. Both teams improved their season records to 4-1. Well Done Bears!!!!! Full results on athletic.net and below.
Mens Results (Oly @ Lincoln vs. Central Kitsap, Lincoln, and Foss) 2.7 Miles Varsity 2.7 Miles Junior Varsity | Womens Results 2.7 Miles Varsity |