Crater's boys cross country team poses with the blue trophy in celebrating the win Saturday during the Class 5A cross country state championships in Eugene.

One team lived up to its promise and the other finally reached its pinnacle, and both had the Crater “C” emblazoned across their chests as they took to the No. 1 spot on the podium during Saturday’s Class 5A cross country state championships in Eugene.

Crater saw its boys and girls cross country teams sweep the championship titles after covering the 5,000-meter course at Lane Community College in stellar fashion on a day when the weather was more accommodating than usual for the athletes.

“I think 5A, in general, is super strong — individually and team-wise this year,” said Crater head coach Justin Loftus, “so to come out and do this well and have a sweep on the boys and girls side is super impressive.”

“I’m just super proud of them for fighting through everything,” he added. “The guys coming back after winning three years in a row and holding on and not making pressure any part of their year, and the girls not looking back at last year and being sad about it but using that for motivation and just coming out and being amazing kids overall.”

Tayvon Kitchen led a parade of Crater boys with top-20 finishes by repeating as the individual state champion to help the Comets secure a fourth straight team title and seventh top medal in the past eight years.

Crater was the 5A boys runner-up to Ashland in 2019 as the only hiccup during that string, and now boasts 12 state titles and three second-place showings since 2006 under Loftus.

“It means a lot and, most importantly, it just means a lot to win my fourth state title with the team,” said Kitchen of Saturday’s dual championships for the senior standout. “I’m super happy to be on such a great team.”

Kitchen ran a strong race that saw him cross the line in 14 minutes, 43.3 seconds, which was six seconds faster than runner-up Hayden Boaz of Summit after the two had separated themselves from a leading group with about 1,000 meters to go.

Kitchen said his game plan entering the race was just to run a fun race and work off the other runners to make it a fast one. The good weather allowed him to push the pace and he found himself feeling pretty good around the 1K mark so he settled in for a fast finish.

“Hayden was in it for a while just working off of me to keep going but with around 1K to go I think I pulled ahead a little bit,” he said. “I was trying to run a fast time and just knew I needed to finish hard so I just started pulling ahead.”

Crossing the finish line first was nothing new to Kitchen, who won last year in 15:26.2 under heavy rain conditions and entered the championship meet with a state-best time of 14:23.

The best part of the day for Kitchen was still to come, as he stood at the finish and watched his teammates sprint in shortly behind him. Josiah Tostenson, who had to miss the Midwestern League championships due to illness, place sixth in 15:274, while fellow senior Ivar Hokanson placed ninth (15:35.8), freshman Garrett Faught was 15th (15:47.8) and senior Grant Headley finished 19th (15:57.4) to round out the team scoring at 46 points.

“That’s the biggest thing, seeing my team race and seeing them do well, it’s awesome,” said Kitchen.

For good measure, Crater sophomore Reece Hvall finished 33rd (16:30.0) and sophomore Maxwell Miracle wound up 35th (16:41.7) in the individual competition.

Kitchen’s second straight championship continued a trend for Southern Oregon runners, with this area producing the 5A boys champion dating back to Walter Vail in 2015. Andy Monroe (Crater, 2016-17), E.J. Holland (Ashland 2018-19) and Tyrone Gorze (2021-22) preceded Kitchen in OSAA sponsored culminating events.

While the Crater boys were busy doing what everyone expected them to do as the meet favorite — Summit finished second by 28 points with a 74 total — the Crater girls shook up the 5A girls ranks by halting the Storm’s streak of consecutive state titles at 15.

The Comets nearly pulled off an upset last year — finishing two points behind Summit — and used that as a confidence-builder heading into this year’s cross country campaign.

“I think it not only motivated me but I think it motivated the whole group of girls I run with to really put in a lot of work and effort to make it all happen as a group this year,” said Crater senior Emma West.

West led the charge by placing fourth at the state meet for a second straight year, coming in at 18:06.2 to closely trail runner-up Jadyn Kipe of Wilsonville (18:04.2) and third-place finisher Maddie Carney of Caldera (18:04.8).

That group was in the rearview mirror early for Crescent Valley senior Emily Wisniewski, who became the first Oregon girl to win four state titles in cross country. Wisniewski won in 17:14.5 to finish just off her course record pace set last year of 17:05.

To date, Junction City’s Bill Harper is the only other Oregon student-athlete to win the cross country state title every year in high school. He accomplished the feat from 1992-95.

Crater sophomore Brynn Davenport boosted her team’s effort by placing sixth at 18:14.6 ahead of Ashland freshman Natalie Kupka, who was seventh in 18:16.4.

The key to the Comets’ ability to dethrone Summit came within the final three scorers, with freshman Mari Dunlap placing 11th (18:37.0), junior Reese Garnica finishing 18th (18:58.6) and sophomore Grace Havniear crossing 21st overall (19:9.5).

That allowed Crater to total 55 points to finish 15 points ahead of Summit and 25 ahead of third-place Caldera.

“For me and my whole team, it was super rewarding,” said West. “We all worked really hard as a cohesive group to make this happen so it was really exciting when they all crossed the finish line and I heard the word that we had won.”

West and Davenport had somewhat shared lead duties in finishing performances this fall, with Davenport claiming the MWL title to continue what has been a breakthrough campaign for her while West typically serving as standard-bearer for the Comets.

On Saturday, West said she just went for it.

“I got a good start and then I held my own and ran my race and just focused on my race and how I was feeling,” she said. “I kind of just got in my zone and ran to the best of my ability and I just gave it my all and left it all out there and did what I can do.”

She felt the same of her teammates that poured in soon after.

“We all worked really hard and did really well and all showcased just the work we’ve put in over the summer and the season,” she added.

It was the second team title earned by the Comets, who won the 5A title in 2007 and then had to sit back and battle a Summit program that has won every OSAA sponsored state meet since beating the Comets in 2008.

“The last time we were on the podium for first was our 2007 girls so it’s been a long time coming,” said Loftus. “As we saw last year, it’s not an easy task at the state meet. They’ve come on well this whole year and we went through a little ouchies over the last couple of weeks with a few of the girls but they came out and fought hard for themselves and our team. It’s cool.”

“For someone like Emma West, this is her fourth year here, so it’s just nice to see her get her first team championship,” he added.

In the 6A boys meet, North Medford’s Elijah Zavala (15:53.3) finished 23rd overall and Devon Scott was South Medford’s top placer in 75th at 16:37.9. Sheldon’s Malachi Schoenherr won in 15:04.3.

The 6A girls meet saw Chloe Huyler of Lakeridge set the standard in 17:11.6, with Nettle Grey of Grants Pass placing 24th (19:01.0) to lead her team. South Medford’s lead runner was Cyerra Mejia, who finished 58th in 19:55.9, and North Medford’s top finisher was Evlyn Crooks (81st, 20:25.6).

The Phoenix boys placed seventh in the 4A team competition, with William Pyeatt leading the charge by placing 34th in 17:36.5, Teammates Lincoln Potochnick (44th, 17:59.3), Cail Decker (45th, 17:59.4), William Acord (59th, 18:21.2) and Quin Davis (70th, 18:40.4) rounded out the scoring.

Aleah Polansky (62nd, 22:43.9) was the lone Pirate to compete in the 4A girls meet.

Cascade Christian finished 11th in the 3A/2A/1A girls meet, led by senior Saige Griffin (29th, 20:36.0).

St. Mary’s freshman Adley Damon came in 38th among the individuals (20:58.9), while also scoring for the Challengers were Madyson Winters (43rd, 21:04.5), Raena Crisp (44th, 21:06.6), Emma Coats (91st, 23:43.8) and Josie Scaglione (101st, 24:45.0).

Nash Crisp was the only local runner in the 3A boys meet, finishing 28th in 17:15.7.

Cross Country State Championships

Saturday’s results at Lane Community College

CLASS 6A

BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Jesuit 52, Central Catholic 100, Ida B. Wells 128, Lincoln 181, Franklin 209, Grant 224, Sherwood 230, Glencoe 265, Sheldon 272, West Linn 283, Oregon City 290, South Eugene 301, Sunset 311, Forest Grove 340, West Salem 354, McNary 366, Lake Oswego 370, Nelson 434.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10): 1, Malachi Schoenherr, Sheldon, 15:04.3; 2, Sawyer Marquis, Forest Grove, 15:05.1; 3, Brennan McEwen, Franklin, 15:07.3; 4, Kellen Williams, Jesuit, 15:12.7; 5, Dylan Weniger, Sherwood, 15:15.7; 6, Kai Jensen, Cleveland, 15:19.4; 7, Farhan Ibrahim, David Douglas, 15:24.9; 8, Matthew Wroblewski, Jesuit, 15:25.8; 9, Zafer Courcelle, Franklin, 15:27.6; 10, Emiliano Diaz-Garcia, Clackamas, 15:28.5.

Other Local Results

23, Elijah Zavala, North Medford, 15:53.3; 75, Devon Scott, South Medford, 16:37.9; 93, Ezra Dixon, South Medford, 16:48.7; 99, Gabriel Luksich, South Medford, 16:53.3; 134, Trace Hoskins, Grants Pass, 17:35.3.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES: Lincoln 90, Lake Oswego 102, Lakeridge 111, Franklin 164, West Salem 170, Jesuit 170, Sherwood 177, Tigard 198, Sunset 205, South Eugene 235, Westview 247, Ida B. Wells 270, Central Catholic 283, Grant 343, Grants Pass 384, Spague 446, Nelson 467, McMinnville 488.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10): 1, Chloe Huyler, Lakeridge, 17:11.6; 2, Nelida Dalgas, North Salem, 17:26.8; 3, Ellery Lincoln, Lincoln, 17:46.7; 4, Hannah Huyler, Lakeridge, 17:48.1; 5, Elissa Schaeffer, Sunset, 17:57.6; 6, Ana Peters, Lake Oswego, 18:11.5; 7, Elyse Henriksen, Lincoln, 18:15.5; 8, Olivia Gaugel, Westview, 18:18.9; 9, Marilyn Phelps, Central Catholic, 18:24.0; 10, Lauren Gerlach, Tualatin, 18:24.3.

Other Local Results

24, Nettle Grey, Grants Pass, 19:01.0; 58, Cyerra Mejia, South Medford, 19:55.9; 81, Evlyn Crooks, North Medford, 20:25.6; 87, Lily Zavala, North Medford, 20:31.9; 88, Taylor Weber, Grants Pass, 20:32.8; 90, Kahryn Fjarli, South Medford, 20:38.1; 108, Olivia Allen, Grants Pass, 20:58.9; 109, Alexa Green, Grants Pass, 21:00.6; 144, Zoe Marcus, Grants Pass, 23:00.5.

CLASS 5A

BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Crater 46, Summit 74, Corvallis 99, Hood River Valley 175, Caldera 184, North Eugene 195, Central 201, Wilsonville 206, Silverton 209, Crescent Valley 236, Bend 246, Churchill 265, Milwaukie 270.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10): 1, Tayvon Kitchen, Crater, 14:43.3; 2, Hayden Boaz, Summit, 14:49.7; 3, Mason Morical, Caldera, 15:16.5; 4, Ty Cirino, Central, 15:16.7; 5, Liam Wilde, Wilsonville, 15:27.4; 6, Josiah Tostenson, Crater, 15:27.4; 7, Logan King, Hood River Valley, 15:32.0; 8, Bjorn Blankenship, Summit, 15:35.3; 9, Ivar Hokanson, Crater, 15:35.8; 10, Zander Campbell, South Albany, 15:39.8.

Other Local Results

15, Garrett Faught, Crater, 15:47.8; 19, Grant Headley, Crater, 15:57.4; 33, Reece Hvall, Crater, 16:30.0; 35, Maxwell Miracle, Crater, 16:41.7.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES: Crater 55, Summit 70, Caldera 80, Crescent Valley 85, Corvallis 183, Dallas 192, Wilsonville 223, Bend 246, Silverton 256, North Eugene 258, Springfield 260, Putnam 268, Canby 308.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10): 1, Emily Wisniewski, Crescent Valley, 17:14.5; 2, Jadyn Kipe, Wilsonville, 18:04.2; 3, Maddie Carney, Caldera, 18:04.8; 4, Emma West, Crater, 18:06.2; 5, Sophia Capozzi, Summit, 18:14.1; 6, Brynn Davenport, Crater, 18:14.6; 7, Natalie Kupka, Ashland, 18:16.4; 8, Eva Dicharry, Summit, 18:17.1; 9, Lillian Weiss, Crescent Valley, 18:19.0; 10, Kenzie Bigej, Canby, 18:29.8.

Other Local Results

11, Mari Dunlap, Crater, 18:37.0; 18, Reese Garnica, Crater, 18:58.6; 21, Grace Havniear, Crater, 19:09.5; 25, Mackenzie Schmidt, Ashland, 19:35.0; 27, Haddie Barsalou, Crater, 19:42.8; 53, Claire Davenport, Crater, 21:22.8.

CLASS 4A

BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Newport 85, The Dalles 93, Crook County 104, Cottage Grove 139, Molalla 141, Philomath 173, Phoenix 215, La Grande 219, Pendleton 226, Scappoose 230, Klamath Union 239, Marist 240, Tillamook 266.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10): 1, Carter Bengtson, Cottage Grove, 15:41.2; 2, Conor Thompson, Marist, 15:58.4; 3, Corbin Sage, Marist, 16:16.3; 4, Connor Brown, Newport, 16:19.0; 5, Leo Pausch, Philomath, 16:19.1; 6, Noah Larsen, Newport, 16:26.8; 7, Adam Radabaugh, Crook County, 16:30.0; 8, Nick Wood, Molalla, 16:43.3; 9, Trey Hodges, The Dalles, 16:45.9; 10, Peter Moline, Hidden Valley, 16:46.8.

Other Local Results

34, William Pyeatt, Phoenix, 17:36.5; 44, Lincoln Potochnick, Phoenix, 17:59.3; 45, Cail Decker, Phoenix, 17:59.4; 59, William Acord, Phoenix, 18:21.2; 70, Quin Davis, Phoenix, 18:40.4; 71, Trevor Gannaway, Phoenix, 18:40.5; 93, Javier Quintana, Phoenix, 20:22.8.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES: Philomath 76, Klamath Union 89, The Dalles 139, Scappoose 174, Junction City 178, Stayton 180, Baker 180, Molalla 181, La Grande 181, Crook County 186, Cottage Grove 246, Henley 261, Tillamook 288.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10): 1, Brooke Perry, La Grande, 18:36.5; 2, Alaina Casady, The Dalles, 18:52.9; 3, Cecilia Villagomez Edvalson, La Grande, 18:59.7; 4, Emma Whitton, Sweet Home, 19:01.9; 5, Annalyse Jenson, Molalla, 19:06.7; 6, Hallie Pyfer, Klamath Union, 19:18.8; 7, Emily Picard, Madras, 19:19.8; 8, Lola Esplin, Junction City, 19:32.6; 9, Ella Cardwell, Cottage Grove, 19:33.6; 10, Cassidy Smart, Philomath, 19:34.2.

Other Local Results

62, Aleah Polansky, Phoenix, 22:43.9

CLASS 3A BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Banks 79, Valley Catholic 79, Siuslaw 87, Oregon Episcopal 125, Enterprise 128, Yamhill-Carlton 184, Nyssa 200, Sisters 200, Santiam Christian 217, Burns 225, Neah-Kah-Nie 248, Glide 249.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10): 1, Clayton Wilson, Siuslaw, 15:37.8; 2, Jett Leavitt, Enterprise, 15:41.0; 3, Diego Zambrano, Santiam Christian, 15:59.3; 4, Ronan Gantzos, Oregon Episcopal, 16:00.3; 5, Amin Diani, Banks, 16:10.1; 6, Alejandro Abnal, Banks, 16:12.5; 7, Henry Stone, Siuslaw, 16:24.7; 8, Zayden Aspey, Yamhill-Carlton, 16:33.8; 9, Benjamin Hoffman, Valley Catholic, 16:39.6; 10, Leif Gilster, Oregon Episcopal, 16:40.7.

Other Local Results

28, Nash Crips, Cascade Christian, 17:15.7.

CLASS 3A/2A/1A GIRLS

TEAM SCORES: Oregon Episcopal 79, Enterprise 82, Union 126, Banks 163, Siuslaw 164, Imbler 200, Pleasant Hill 218, Valley Catholic 222, Heppner 222, Coquille 249, Cascade Christian 266, Taft 285, Central Linn 289, Westside Christian 296, Sisters 319, Knappa 323.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Top 10): 1, Daisy Laloe, East Linn Christian, 18:07.8; 2, Lauren Tittel, Oregon Episcopal, 18:23.8; 3, Isabelle Wiebe, Valley Catholic, 18:36.0; 4, Ella Henthorn, Coquille, 18:42.6; 5, Sophie Schoolmeester, Banks, 18:48.6; 6, Lily Nichols, Heppner, 18:53.6; 7, Lindsey Brown, Pine Eagle, 18:57.3; 8, Paiten Braseth, Imbler, 18:58.0; 9, Lilly Weer, Enterprise, 18:58.2; 10, Kate Vasanth, Oregon Episcopal, 18:58.8.

Other Local Results

29, Saige Griffin, Cascade Christian, 20:36.0; 38, Adley Damon, St. Mary’s, 20:58.9; 43, Madyson Winters, Cascade Christian, 21:04.5; 44, Raena Crisp, Cascade Christian, 21:06.6; 91, Emma Coats, Cascade Christian, 23:43.8; 101, Josie Scaglione, Cascade Christian, 24:45.0; 109, Tanaya Mahar, Cascade Christian, 25:17.2.