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Oregon XC State Championships Preview 2015 - DyeStat

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DyeStat.com   Oct 30th 2015, 6:23pm
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Donaghu, Sunset girls in spotlight at LCC

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor


 

For once, the big interest around Saturday's Oregon (OSAA) cross country championships centers on the girls. 

 

Senior Ella Donaghu of Grant might have the best chance to take down Melissa Lucas' 1993 state meet course record at Lane Community College (although rainy weather may squash that) in 22 years. 

 

Sunset's girls are ranked fifth nationally and seem to have the best chance to give the state a representative at NXN. 

 

The Oregon state meet is steeped in lore, but the legends are congregated on the boys side.  Bill Dellinger. Steve Prefontaine. Billy McChesney. Ian Dobson. Galen Rupp. Matthew Maton

 

There was an upswell of female talent in Oregon in the late 1970s and early 1980s with Eryn Forbes, Leann Warren, Kathy Hayes and Kim Roth, but that era was short-lived. And Lucas, of Jesuit, was a meteor that burned out too quickly in 1993. The Oregon high school records on the track for the 1,500 and the 3,000 were nearly three decades old until Donaghu arrived on the scene at the Northeast Portland school. 

 

Donaghu has a chance to go down as the best high school girl distance runner in state history. If she can win a third consecutive title in the 6A final on Saturday she will join Forbes and Annamarie Maag as the only three-time winner in the largest classification. 

 

But the legend of Lucas deserves to be brought back into the light. In 1993, Jesuit High School opened its doors to girls for the first time. Meanwhile, the OSAA lengthened the girls race to 5,000 meters so that it was equal with the boys. Lucas, a junior, had a sensational fall season and covered the Lane Community College layout in 17:34.9. She beat reigning state champion Marie Davis of Lincoln by 40 seconds and then went on to Foot Locker and placed second -- just three seconds behind national champion Erin Davis of Saratoga Springs NY. In that same race, Marie Davis placed eighth. 

 

Lucas got hurt after that. She didn't run in the 1994 state track championships. She didn't run in the 1994 cross country season. A trail-blazer at her school, and the brightest running talent of her generation among Oregon girls, saw her competitive career come to a premature end.

 

It would be 19 years before another girl broke 18 minutes at the state meet at Lane Community College, when Sara Tsai of South Eugene ran 17:42 in 2012. 

 

Donaghu has run 18:01, 18:01 and 17:51 in her first three state meets. In 2012, as a freshman, she helped Grant become the first PIL team champion at the state meet since 1978. 

 

The defending NXN Northwest champion has cut loose only a couple of times this fall. She dominated the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle in September, and ran hard enough to beat freshman sensation Ember Stratton of Sunset by 17 seconds at the Sandalie Golf Course XC Classic. 

 

The record is on her mind. Last year at LCC, the plaudits all belonged to Maton of Summit after he delivered one of the outstanding performances of the entire season nationwide by breaking Rupp's course record by 10 seconds.

 

The weather forecast is not favorable. It has rained enough this week in Western Oregon to soften up the course at LCC and more rain is expected Saturday. 

 

Meanwhile, the meet also provides another opportunity for Sunset to show that it is one of the top girls teams in state history. The Apollos won the title in 2013 but were upset on a sixth-runner tiebreaker in 2014 by South Eugene. 

 

The boys 6A race is filled with intrigue as well. Jackson Mestler of Sheldon has been strong all season, building upon last spring's state titles in the 1,500 and 3,000. But there are capable challengers, such as Ahmed Muhumed of West Salem, Roman Ollar of West Linn, Murimi Nyamu of Forest Grove and Joshua Schumacher of Jesuit, who could rise up and take it. 

 

Central Catholic has won the last three 6A boys titles and may be in line to do it again after a strong Mt. Hood district result.

 

In Class 5A, Olivia Brooks is back to lead Summit of Bend, which has won seven championships in a row. The Summit boys have won the last four Class 5A titles but will have its hands full against Crater, which might be the state's best overall team. 



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3 comment(s)
dkap
^ He only mentioned the top teams and top individuals who figured to be the focal points at State. And he wasn't wrong.
KaraT
Right or wrong in predictions, anyone who finishes second in districts is worthy of mention and capable of being a strong runner at state, especially when unexpectedly upsetting all but one Central runner. Try to keep it classy, dkap.
KaraT
What a missed opportunity to not include Ollie Tuffa of David Douglas High School when mentioning the Mt. Hood Conference district race- he outran and finished ahead of all Central Catholic runners but one- and yet only Central was lauded. Well done, Ollie!!
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