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Cross country stars: Runners from Kennedy, Silverton off to state

James DayBy James Day

Maddie Fuhrman finally corralled a district title. The Silverton senior, who finished sixth as a freshman and third the past two seasons, dominated the field Oct. 21 at the Mid-Willamette Conference cross country meet, running a school record 18:38.14 on the 5,000 meter Crystal Lake Sports Park course in Corvallis. “The race went pretty much exactly as I planned,” Fuhrman said. “(Coach Erik Cross and I wanted) to take it out hard and try to get into my rhythm right and away and be way out in front the whole time.”

Fuhrman finished 37 seconds ahead of runner-up Geneva Wolfe of Corvallis. Corvallis claimed the girls team title – the Foxes were fifth.

“I couldn’t be more proud of Maddie,” Cross said. “It’s very difficult mentally to run out front by yourself for an entire race.”

Silverton’s boys squad, meanwhile, finished second behind Corvallis in the team race. The Foxes will be headed to the state meet on Oct. 31 at Lane Community College in Eugene. Fuhrman will be the lone girls participant for the Foxes.

Sam Roth took second for Silverton in a personal best 16:29.74, 12 seconds behind champion Gavin Bomber of Corvallis. Also scoring points for the Foxes were freshman Haile Stutzman (eighth in 16:47.76), junior Anthony Eubank (11th in 17:07.8, a 20-second PR), senior Wolfgang Seifer (12th in 176:09.17) and junior Hosea Catterall (11th in 17:26.24). The Foxes totaled 52 points, 18 behind champion Corvallis.

Seifer and Catterall have been battling upper respiratory infections and Seifer had to rally from a fall in the first 150 meters.

“It is easy to forget how important team is in a sport like cross country,” Cross said.  “The training is tough and there are always ups and downs in racing.  When someone isn’t 100 percent or has a rough race, someone else has to step up.  This group of guys have done this all season.”

Kennedy turned in a sparking showing at the Special District 2 meet Oct. 22 at Bush Pasture Park. The Trojans’ girls team captured the team title, while the boys took third. Both squads advanced to the Oct. 31 3A-2A-1A state meet in Eugene. Kennedy’s girls have been to state 12 of the past 14 years (and won nine district titles in that stretch), while the boys have gone to state 17 out of 18 years.

The Trojans were dominant individually as well. Senior Adrian Parra, who has the third fastest time in 3A-2A-1A, won his second consecutive district title, running the 5,000 meters in 16:34.9, nearly 30 seconds faster than runner-up Alex Olson of Horizon Christian. Also scoring for Kennedy were Noe Jines (ninth in 18:03.1), Kyle Kinyon (12th in 18:26.5), Brandon Salazar (34th in 19:25.6) and Brandon Rendon (37th, 19:36.4).

Kennedy’s Kaylin Cantu, also the defending champion, and Alejandra Lopez finished 1-2 in the girls race. Cantu set a new school record on the Bush Park course, 19:22.6, and finished 44 seconds ahead of Lopez, who ran 20:06.2. The Trojans placed four runners in the top 10, with Clarissa Traeger fifth in 22:33.3 and Ysenia Gomez 10th in 23:08.7. Kennedy’s No. 5 runner, Natividad Ortiz was 14th in 24:11.5. All five scoring runners are freshmen or sophomores.

Cantu and Parra were named district girls and boys runners of the year for the second consecutive season.

Football: Silverton heads into the weekend battling for its playoff life, while Kennedy gets a well-deserved bye after wrapping up at least a co-title in the Tri-River Conference.

The Foxes, who have been decimated by injuries, are 3-3 in the Mid-Willamette heading into Friday’s Oct. 30 home game versus Dallas. But the Foxes remain in the hunt for one of the topsy-turvy league’s four playoff berths. Central, Crescent Valley and South Albany lead the way with 4-2 records, while four other teams, including the Foxes, are 3-3.

If Silverton beats Dallas, Crescent Valley beats Lebanon and South Albany beats Corvallis … the Foxes are in.

Silverton’s Perry Davis has turned in monster games in back-to-back weeks carrying the ball in place of the injured Noah Dahl and Ben Biben. The 5-11, 170-pound junior ripped off 202 yards on 38 carries Oct. 16 in a 35-21 loss to Central and added 175 yards on 14 trips Oct. 23 in a 56-14 win against Woodburn.

Kennedy closed out the regular season with a classic Trojans win, a 34-7 thumping of St. Paul. Kennedy, which is 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the Tri-River, allowed just two teams to score more than seven points in a game this season. The St. Paul win followed the Trojans’ lone loss of the campaign, a 33-0 defeat at Central Linn.

“C.L. was big and physical,”  Kennedy Coach Joe Panuke said. “They made some big plays early and kind of got us on our heels. The guys bounced back against St. Paul. We controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball for most of the game. We got back into a groove of running the ball and doing the things we like to do. Our defense was back to be physical and flying to the ball and causing turnovers.”

Panuke said the Trojans are trying to get quarterback Brett Traeger more involved in the ground game and the senior responded with a 57-yard TD run vs. St. Paul. Running backs Jacob Lopez and Bishop Mitchell scored twice.

If Central Linn and Regis win Oct. 30 the Cobras and Rams will share the title with Kennedy. Because all three teams are ranked in the top four (Central Linn is No. 1, Regis is No. 3 and Kennedy is fourth) all three schools will get a home game in the Class 2A playoffs, which start the Nov. 6-7 weekend.

Volleyball: Earlier this season Silverton Coach Jill Walker said the Foxes sometimes get overlooked because they don’t have the tradition of other Mid-Willamette programs. No more. Silverton finished an 11-3 league campaign, second behind undefeated Lebanon, and the Foxes are on a 9-1 run heading into the playoffs. “The Foxes have worked hard to be noticed and have been successful in doing so,” Walker said.  “It’s encouraging for the team to be recognized and viewed as a tough competitor and they are excited and ready for postseason play.”

The Foxes are ranked 11th in Class 5A by the OSAA and their second-place league finish earned them a bye in the playoffs. Silverton played against an as yet to be determined opponent Oct. 31 and a win there would put the squad in the state tournament, Nov. 6-7 at Liberty High in Hillsboro. “Each day and multiple times during the day, I’m checking and double-checking the rankings and seeing what all the other schools are doing throughout the state,” Walker said. “I think we are in a good spot heading into playoffs.”

Kennedy is looking like a state tournament contender. The Trojans were 10-2 in the Tri-River heading into their finale against St. Paul. Kennedy is ranked No. 5 in Class 2A and will host a playoff match Oct. 31 with a berth in the Nov. 6-7 state tournament at Redmond on the line. The Trojans, in their first year under coach Jessica Schmidtman, have been in the state tournament three consecutive years, taking fifth a year ago and fourth in 2013.

Follow me on Twitter.com @jameshday. Got a news tip? Email me at [email protected]

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