Allie Powers (left) and Mikayla Wagner can run in any environment. (Photos courtesy Elizabeth Bitting)
They returned to the motherland to kick off a new season.
Well, to my mother’s land, that is.
Making an overnight trip to Tillamook, Oregon — where the cows outnumber the humans and I spent a considerable number of summers dragging wet sand back from the beach to deposit on my grandmother’s rug — the Coupeville High School cross country team competed Saturday at the massive Ultimook Race.
Just how massive?
Well, there were 93 high school teams, 18 middle school squads, and seven clubs in attendance, likely all fueled by cheese and ice cream from the nearby world-famous Tillamook Creamery.
Event organizers ran 16 races across a course which featured a “REAL cross country experience without sacrificing a quality, race able course.”
There were “two river crossings, a mud pit, a mile of wood chipped trails, and, of course, a bunch of beautiful flowers.”
Emphasis on mud pit.
“Mud? What mud?”
“This mud!”
Coupeville’s harriers, repping a 2B school, punched above their weight class, competing in the 5,000-meter varsity races for schools in classifications 1A-4A.
Those duels drew a combined 526 runners, with 234 girls and 292 boys zipping across the frontier.
The Wolf boys finished 15th in the team standings, while their female counterparts were 25th overall.
A pair of Oregon schools took top honors, with Philomath leading the way in the girl’s race and Knappa out of Astoria ruling the boy’s competition.
Individual honors went to Cassidy Smart of Philomath, who is the defending Oregon high school state champion, and Gus Kirby of Neah-Ka-Nie.
Coupeville’s cross country mentors also left their mark at the meet, with Andy Wyman finishing 6th in the open race for adults.
The Wolves return to action next Saturday, September 12, when they travel to Bellingham for the GearUp Northwest XC Preview.
Claire Lachnit’s first high school cross country race was a messy one.
Saturday results:
GIRLS:
Anna Powers (87th) 24:21.29 *PR*
Mikayla Wagner (146th) 26:54.21
Allie Powers (167th) 27:47.56
Devon Wyman (179th) 28:08.88
Laken Simpson (187th) 28:40.48 *PR*
Claire Lachnit (193rd) 29:03.75 *PR*
Ava Lucero (217th) 31:50.53
BOYS:
Cyrus Sparacio (39th) 19:05.49
Henry Purdue (66th) 20:06.47 *PR*
Ossian Merkel (130th) 21:43.56
Archer Schwarz (134th) 21:46.99 *PR*
Beckett Green (213th) 24:07.35
Hunter Atteberry (220th) 24:22.63
Isaiah Allen (271st) 28:09.75
Flashback to earlier in the day, before the Wolves hit the trail.
Coupeville Sports 