PREP XC: Crater sweeps MWL titles, again

Published 9:45 pm Wednesday, October 25, 2023

CENTRAL POINT — The Midwestern League championship on Wednesday afternoon was just another coronation for the Crater cross country program, with the Comets sweeping the boys and girls team titles for a second straight year.

Tayvon Kitchen placed first for the boys with a time of 14 minutes, 57.16 seconds to earn Crater its third straight MWL title with 17 points.

After being outside the top-3 runners on varsity last year, Kitchen put in dedicated work last summer and has been happy to finally reap the benefits of those extra efforts.

“The offseason is when things happen,” said Kitchen, who finished fourth last year. “I’m a very different runner from last year, and I am expecting state to be very different as well.”

The junior’s emergence has also helped pull his teammates with him as Shaun Garnica finished second (15:13.36), Josiah Tostenson was third (15:33.84) and Caleb Doddington followed in fourth (15:42.97).

The Comets dominated with all seven runners finishing among the top-11 runners, as Ivar Hokanson got seventh (15:56.44), Grant Headley tied for ninth (15:58.33) and Maxwell Miracle was 11th (16:09.69).

This type of depth has created an incredible atmosphere for Crater, as all runners are pushed to perform their best at every practice and race.

“You can feel the burn behind you (at practices),” Kitchen said about the competitiveness on Crater’s roster. “It is nice knowing that you have people that are putting in the work but also you have to make sure that you are working just as hard so your fight doesn’t get taken.”

Even with competition for a varsity spot, Crater coach Justin Loftus doesn’t see there being any animosity between athletes.

“They all like each other,” said Loftus. “But when we hit the track or we’re doing workouts, it definitely is sometimes more intensive than races. So that definitely leads to some good racing because the kids are polished and ready to go.”

Kitchen credited Loftus for his ability to create such a positive environment for practices, which has allowed this program to flourish over the past few years.

“(Coach Loftus) is awesome,” said Kitchen. “He knows what he is doing and he keeps us working hard and improving.”

With the skies clear for the boys, the weather and North Eugene rained a little bit on the Crater girls’ parade.

Artana Nice pulled off an upset win (18:01.39) for North Eugene after taking the lead with a mile remaining in the 5,000-meter race.

Crater’s Lindsay Siebert, who won the MWL individual title last year, was just behind Nice for second place (18:10.99), while teammate Emma West placed third (18:22.89).

The race may have been a dress rehearsal for the Comets as they are looking to dethrone the Summit girls, who are seeking a 15th straight state title, at state on Nov. 4.

“We’ve got some work to do going into state, because it’s gonna be way more intense with more players there,” said Loftus of the Class 5A state championships.

With some teammates improving their times by nearly a minute after racing the same Jackson County Expo course during the Max King Invitational last month, Siebert said she’s optimistic moving forward with her teammates peaking before state.

“That’s the highlight right there,” said the Washington State commit. “That makes my day knowing that my teammates did that while going in the right direction for the season.”

Crater had six runners make up the top-10 finishers, with Reese Garnica earning fifth (18:47.06), Brynn Davenport at sixth (19:31.44), Claire Davenport placing eighth (19:40.51) and Hannah Pygman hanging on for ninth (20:14.04).

With two more MWL titles secured, Loftus holds his Crater teams in very high regard, noting their passion for running as the main proponent for success.

“They really want to compete and really want to practice everyday,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be coaching in a different place in the world, I love doing this.”

BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Crater 17, Springfield, 68, North Eugene 90, Churchill 92, Thurston 121, Ashland 140, Eagle Point 206.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 20): 1, Tayvon Kitchen, Cra, 14:57.16; 2, Shaun Garnica, Cra, 15:13.36; 3, Josiah Tostenson, Cra, 15:33.84; 4, Caleb Doddington, Cra, 15:42.97; 5, Alesandro Gibbs, Chu, 15:52.16; 6, Owen Fuller, Spr, 15:55.14; 7 Ivar Hokanson, Cra, 15:56.44; 8, Conner Lamb, 15:58.33; 9, Grant Headley, Cra, 15:58.33; 10, Joseph Wofford, NE 15:59.79.

11, Maxwell Miracle, Cra, 16:09.69; 12, Carson Buergey, Thu, 16:11.92; 13, Aonghas Houston, Spr, 16:22.41; 14, Alder Davis, NE, 16:22.70; 15, Kobi Prenevost, Chu, 17:04.25; 16, Hestin Duff-Estrada, Chu, 17:09.09; 17, Nate Glazier, Thu, 17:11.68; 18, Tobias Snyder, Spr, 17:20.49; 19, Owen Smith, Thu, 17:21.42; 20 Ashenafi McKinnis, NE, 17:21.44.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES: Crater 25, North Eugene 62, Springfield 88, Ashland 88, Churchill 104, Thurston 142.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 20): 1, Arana Nice, NE, 18:01.39; 2, Lindsay Siebert, Cra, 18:10.99; 3, Emma West, Cra, 18:22.89; 4, Cricket Phipps, NE, 18:47.02; 5, Reese Garnica, Cra, 18:47.06; 6, Carrie Babcock, Spr, 19:21.07; 7, Brynn Davenport, Cra, 19:31.44; 8, Claire Davenport, 19:40.51; 9, Hannah Pygman, 20:14.04; 10, Claudia Stadtmueller, Ash, 20:14.91.

11, Fiona Birchler, Chu, 20:18.43; 12, Mackenzie Schmidt, Ash ,20:32.90; 13, Peyton Groshong, NE, 20:53.74; 14, Ellen Auxier, Spr, 21:11.25; 15, Izzi Peila, Chu, 21:12.77; 16, Karli Bettencourt, Cra, 21:13.77; 17, Eleanor Sperry, Spr, 21:32.43; 18, Eliana Chacon, NE, 21:59.88; 19, Genevieve Woodward, Thu, 22:04.53; 20, Eliana Scelza, Ash, 22:05.90.

SWC CHAMPIONSHIPS: At Eugene, North Medford junior Elijah Zavala posted the top local effort in either 5,000-meter at Lane Community College, placing sixth overall in the boys meet with a time of 16 minutes, 39.3 seconds.

Black Tornado senior Logan Huffman finished eighth (16:46.3) and junior Porter Webster placed 15th (17:19.7) to help North Medford land all five of its scoring runners among the top-20 finishers.

Brayden Downey (18th, 17:37.2) and Uriah Webster (20th, 17:41.90) rounded out the effort as North Medford’s boys team placed third behind South Eugene and Sheldon.

Jazz Hernandez and Devon Scott posted consecutive finishes to lead South Medford, with Hernandez crossing 23rd in 17:55.2 and Scott in 24th place (17:56.4).

Cyerra Mejia of South Medford scored the top finish among the local girls after crossing the finish line eighth (21:42.79).

The trio of Maritza Villa (21st, 22:28.23), Lily Zavala (22nd, 22:28.37) and Juliana Scull (23rd, 22:31.24) finished consecutively to pace North Medford.

Boys

TEAM SCORES: South Eugene 51, Sheldon 54, North Medford 67, Roseburg 74, Grants Pass 133, South Medford 135.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 20): 1, Malachi Schoenherr, She, 16:01.5; 2, Adam Reeder, She, 16:10.6; 3, Timothy Johnson, Ros, 16:10.7; 4, Yosuke Shibata, SE, 16:36.4; 5, Peyton Fisher, Ros, 16:38.6; 6, Elijah Zavala, NM, 16:39.3; 7, Jan Bremer, SE, 16:43.1; 8, Logan Huffman, NM, 16:46.3; 9, Jaia Hannagan, GP, 16:49.3; 10, Silas Kohler, SE, 16:59.8.

11, Benjamin Kehrein, She, 17:03.0; 12, Matt Rieman, GP, 17:04.6; 13, Joseph Latham, Ros, 17:08.5; 14, Raul Verges, SE, 17:16.8; 15, Porter Webster, NM, 17:19.7; 16, Tejas Sanghvi, SE, 17:22.3; 17, Isaiah Myco, SE, 17:27.5; 18, Bayden Downey, NM, 17:37.2; 19, Lucas White, She, 17:37.3; 20, Uriah Webster, NM, 17:41.9.

Girls

TEAM SCORES: South Eugene 44, Roseburg 50, Grants Pass 73, Sheldon 85, South Medford 119, North Medford 134.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 20): 1, Elizabeth McCart, SE, 19:35.62; 2, Sylvia Eckman, Ros, 19:47.78; 3, Nettle Grey, GP, 20:17.92; 4, Addison Allen, GP, 20:43.99; 5, Ansley Johnston, SE, 21:02.21; 6, Ella McDonald, Ros, 21:15.75; 7, Karalyn Gilbert, She, 21:31.14; 8, Cyerra Mejia, SM, 21:42.79; 9, Jessica Chinitz-Mital, SE, 21:45.77; 10, Vikki Vanderwerff, Ros, 21:46.71.

11, Augusta Bosone, She, 21:53.16; 12, Sylvia Czarnecki, She, 21:53.24; 13, Cora Ludwig, SE, 21:55.94; 14, Rylie McLaughlin, Ros, 21:57.15; 15, Taylor Weber, GP, 21:57.49; 16, Cassidy Miller, SE, 22:15.13; 17, Alexa Green, GP, 22:23.01; 18, Julie Ojeda-Guzman, Ros, 22:26.04; 19, Noelle Kroeker, Ros, 22:26.67; 20, Molly Smith, Ros, 22:28.17.

SKYLINE CHAMPIONSHIPS: At Klamath Falls, Phoenix senior Kael Feeley finished runner-up in the boys race and four Pirates overall secured top-10 marks to secure the boys team title at Steen Sports Park.

Feeley crossed the finish line in 17:21.16 after a tight battle with Henley’s Samuel Iversen (17:18.45), with strong showings also for Phoenix from Ethan Dobbins (fifth, 18:16.04), Orlando Contreras (sixth, 18:32.34) and Adrian Merlina (ninth, 19:10.49)

Freshman Aleah Polansky led the Phoenix girls team by placing ninth in 24:05.2, while top-15 marks were also earned by Brisa Bauer (12th, 24:27.1), Ashleigh Erwin (14th, 24:40.0) and Ava Robinson (15th, 24:59.6).

Boys

TEAM SCORES: Phoenix 42, Hidden Valley 54, Klamath Union 55, Henley 72, Mazama 134.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 20): 1, Samuel Iversen, Hen, 17:18.45; 2, Kael Feeley, Pho, 17:21.16; 3, Carter Harmon, KU, 17:38.74; 4, Peter Moline, HV, 18:08.73; 5, Ethan Dobbins, Pho, 18:16.04; 6, Orlando Contreras, Pho, 18:32.34; 7, Joseph Mills-Price, HV, 18:37.90; 8, Brent Peterson, KU, 19:02.45; 9, Adrian Merlina, Pho, 19:10.49; 10, Wyatt Fussel, Hen, 19:12.97.

11, Rowan Wiedel, HV, 19:15.38; 12, Jacob Martin, KU, 19:31.51; 13, Kylan Wieder, Hen, 19:46.65; 14, Kevin Yates, HV, 19:56.37; 15, Tristan Klecker, KU, 19:59.67; 16, Christopher Barajas, Maz, 20:00.28; 17, Jonas Southwell, KU, 20:11.02; 18, Ryker Rasmussen, HV, 20:16.04; 19, John Potter, KU, 20:29.64; 20, Angel Ramirez-Rojas, Pho, 20:40.80.

Girls

TEAM SCORES: Klamath Union 22, Henley 45, Phoenix 70, Hidden Valley 100.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 20): 1, Isabela Coffman, KU, 20:53.2; 2, Leona Higgins, KU, 21:50.9; 3, Joey Clark, HV, 22:02.7; 4, Aubrey Syrnyk, KU, 22:20.9; 5, Macie Schultz, Hen, 22:38.0; 6, Kiera Welch, Hen, 22:39.9; 7, Hazel Squibb, KU, 23:26.5; 8, Eleanor Rodriguez, KU, 23:44.0; 9, Aleah Polansky, Pho, 24:05.2; 10, Halle McKay, Hen, 24:15.2.

11, Kelsey Whitaker, Hen, 24:21.1; 12, Brisa Bauer, Pho, 24:27.1; 13, Randi Benson, Hen, 24:39.4; 14, Ashleigh Erwin, Pho, 24:40.0; 15, Ava Robinson, Pho, 24:59.6; 16, Ainsley Tripp, Hen, 25:16.8; 17, Icelynn Chase, Hen, 25:27.0; 18, Sandra Martin, Maz, 25:29.3; 19, Lina Stanfield, KU, 25:39.3; 20, Paetyn Eckert, KU, 25:47.2.